Every year, about 100 complainants turn to the Ombudsman because of pensions or benefits "with a foreign element". Cases involving EU countries are among the most easily solved — EU social law guarantees migrant workers benefits under the national legislation of their home country, ensures that people do not lose their entitlement to benefits because of working abroad and, last but not least, guarantees that benefits are paid to another Member State. Interconnection within the Union has also simplified communication between authorities on different sides of the border.

"Seventy-two years ago, the idea of European integration was first mooted, which is why we commemorate May 9th as Europe Day. The coordination of social security systems is one of the pleasant consequences of European cooperation. In this context, we at the Office are particularly confronted with complaints about pensions," said Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček, adding that people working in several EU countries during their lifetime only need to apply for a pension once, in their country of residence. They only have to list all the countries where they were payed pension contributions. If the applicant has the necessary documents in an official EU language, those do not need to be translated.

The periods of insurance are counted on the basis of a certificate from the competent foreign institution. "The pension institutions of the different countries deal directly with each other, so the pension applicant does not have to obtain certificates of social security insurance periods himself. He or she simply indicates on the relevant form the periods during which they were insured in another Member State and for what reason. This form is forwarded by the Czech Social Security Administration to foreign institutions," says Jitka Černá, a lawyer who focuses on the topic of international pensions at the Ombudsman's Office. Each country decides on the pension according to its own regulations, but must take into account periods of insurance from other Member States.

 "The subsequent pension is then calculated by officials in the country where the person applied for the benefit in two ways: the first is the so-called solo pension, calculated only from the periods of insurance in its territory, the second is the so-called partial pension, which takes into account all the periods of insurance in all countries. The two pensions are compared and the higher of the two is assigned to the applicant. Earnings are always taken into account only in the country where the claimant earned them. The periods of insurance in other countries are calculated using the so-called indexed average earnings, i.e. fictitious average earnings calculated from the insured person's earnings in that country," Černá simplifies the complex method of calculating the pension, adding that such a procedure for granting a pension usually takes a longer time. If people suspect that there are delays and are unable to resolve the situation directly with the institution, they can file a complaint with the ombudsman. If there are delays with a foreign institution, they can then contact the foreign ombudsman or SOLVIT, which helps people in the EU to resolve problems with their rights.

Similarly, people can take action if they disagree with a decision not to grant a pension or with the amount of a pension.  They can turn to the ombudsman in their home country or abroad once they have exhausted the available remedies. Objections to the decision can again be lodged through the institution in the country where the pension was applied for, in the Czech Republic the Czech Social Security Administration, which will forward them to their foreign counterparts.

For payment of pensions abroad, countries require repeated sending of an officially certified confirmation of living. This is to prevent the pension being sent to the deceased and the pension being overpaid, which would be difficult to recover. Pensioners in the Czech Republic have to pay an administrative fee to have their signatures verified at regional and municipal offices in order to obtain a confirmation of living for other Union Member States. District social security administrations certify the residence free of charge. Although this is a payment of a few tens of crowns, the cost of repeated verification can amount to several thousand crowns over the period of pension payment. Therefore, the Ombudsman is currently negotiating with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to ensure that people do not have to pay a fee for verifying their signature on the confirmation of living.

Ms. Nigar Aghayeva, head of the Child Rights Protection Unit, and Ms. Yegana Jafarova, Senior Adviser at the Scientific-Analytical War Unit at the Ombudsman Office of Azerbaijan met with Mr. Elnur Mammadli, a Chair of the Azerbaijan Autism Association.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the existing problems and work done in the concerned area in the country.

Later, a meeting was held with the children living with autism and their trainers in the Baku Autism Sports Club and “Osmanli” Life Center operating under the Association in question.

In conclusion, autistic children were presented gifts by the Ombudsman Office. 

Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, stated that determining individual responsibility for spreading hate speech and for posting threats and insults on the Internet, as an adequate sanction for such behavior, should be part of the systemic fight against these negative phenomena in our society.

"Every day, in public space, especially on social networks, we witness verbal attacks, aggression, intolerance, and insults. Because of that, and above all because of the protection of journalists from threats and attacks, several months ago I proposed amendments to the Law on Public Order and Peace, which would punish threats and insults on social networks as a misdemeanor," Pašalić said.

The misdemeanor procedure in cases of spreading hate speech, threats, and verbal attacks on social networks would, as I proposed, be initiated in a short period, and the sentence would be executed immediately after the verdict was pronounced, Pašalić emphasized.

"The Law on Prohibition of Discrimination prohibits the expression of ideas, information, and opinions that incite hatred and violence in public media and places accessible to the public, based on the individual's personal traits. The proposed amendments to the Law on Public Order and Peace would sanction attacks, insults, and violence on social networks on any grounds, including hate speech. In this way, the fight against hate speech would be made more efficient", said Pašalić.

The Protector of Citizens reiterated that the changes he proposed refer to the definition of offenses committed against people who perform journalistic work, and the sanctioning of illegal behavior towards other citizens on social networks.
Pašalić added that by introducing misdemeanor sanctions for unacceptable behavior on social networks, Serbia would become one of the European countries that in recent years have introduced penalties for spreading hate speech on the Internet with special laws or amendments to the existing ones.

The Protector of Citizens attended the presentation of the joint campaign of the European Union and the Council of Europe entitled "Block the hatred. Share the love!” on Thursday in Belgrade.

Deputy-Ombudsman Pasi Pölönen proposes that the Ministry of Education and Culture assess whether the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care should be specified. 

The Deputy-Ombudsman took the initiative to investigate how the right to early childhood edu-cation and care is realised for children seeking protection in Finland, particularly ones now flee-ing the attack by Russia. As a matter of urgency, the Deputy-Ombudsman requested a state-ment from the Ministry of Education and Culture on how the ministry’s instructions secure these children access to early childhood education and care on an equal basis and in the best inter-ests of the child. The Deputy-Ombudsman considered it necessary that children’s right to early childhood education and care be assessed while taking their individual situation and needs into account.

Under the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care, in urgent cases or if otherwise required by the circumstances, each municipality must ensure that early childhood education and care is also provided to children who are not residents of the municipality. In the view of the Ministry of Education and Culture, such a situation can be considered temporary protection or international protection. The Deputy-Ombudsman shares this view. The Ministry also stated that it had clari-fied its instructions. 

The Deputy-Ombudsman stressed that under the requirements of the Act, children have a sub-jective right to early childhood education and care, and municipalities cannot use discretion in the organisation of early childhood education and care. However, under the current Act, the obligation to provide early childhood education and care for children applying for protection re-mains open to interpretation and subject to case-by-case assessment. The Deputy-Ombudsman considered that the interpretation practice of the Act on Early Childhood Educa-tion and Care may jeopardise the realisation of the rights of vulnerable children. 

Deputy-Ombudsman Pasi Pölönen’s decision 1992/2022 has been published (in Finnish) on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at www.oikeusasiamies.fi. 

Further information is available from Senior Legal Advisor Piatta Skottman-Kivelä, tel. +358 9 432 3347.

La Institución del Defensor del Pueblo ha registrado en el Congreso y en el Senado el Informe Anual 2021 que realiza en su condición de Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura y otros Tratos o Penas Crueles, Inhumanos o Degradantes (MNP). El pasado año se visitaron 72 lugares de privación de libertad y se realizaron, además, 7 actuaciones no presenciales, dando lugar a 899 resoluciones dirigidas a diferentes administraciones. También se formularon 255 recomendaciones, 618 sugerencias y 26 recordatorios de deberes legales.

Comisarías y comandancias

El año pasado se inspeccionaron 34 lugares de privación de libertad de corta duración: 13 comisarías y otros espacios de custodia de la Policía Nacional, 12 comandancias y puestos de la Guardia Civil, una dependencia de policía autonómica, cinco calabozos de policías locales y tres salas de custodia en sedes judiciales.

El Defensor del Pueblo se interesa por que las instalaciones cuenten con las máximas condiciones de seguridad y de que carezcan de elementos estructurales que puedan suponer un riesgo para la integridad física de las personas detenidas. En este contexto, realizó una recomendación a la Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad para mejorar la seguridad de los 15 calabozos ubicados en la comisaría del Cuerpo Nacional de Policía de Algeciras (Cádiz), donde dos detenidos se suicidaron por ahorcamiento en 2020.

El MNP también analiza si los abogados pueden acceder a los detenidos de forma reservada y en cualquier momento, y se fija especialmente en las condiciones en las que se desarrolla la privación de libertad de menores. Sobre este último asunto, y tras una visita a la comisaría de la Ertzaintza en Bilbao, realizó una recomendación para que se elabore un protocolo de actuación policial en el ámbito de esta policía autonómica que garantice una normativa específica para toda clase de intervención policial con personas menores de edad.

Centros de extranjeros

En 2021, el Defensor del Pueblo formuló una recomendación a la Dirección General de la Policía para que dictara una instrucción en la que se incluya un protocolo de tramitación de quejas y denuncias de malos tratos de las personas internas en los centros de extranjeros.

Asimismo, recomendó que se faciliten datos como la edad de los extranjeros que ingresan en estas instalaciones, el tiempo de permanencia y la identidad de los solicitantes de protección internacional

Prisiones

En 2021 se visitaron 28 lugares de privación de larga duración: 17 centros penitenciarios, 1 hospital psiquiátrico penitenciario, 7 centros de menores infractores y 3 unidades dedicadas atender a personas con problemas de salud mental.

Por lo que se refiere a las prisiones, la emergencia sanitaria provocada por la Covid-19 siguió condicionando su actividad, si bien se generalizó la vacunación de las personas internadas y del personal penitenciario.

El MNP visitó por primera vez los centros penitenciarios de Algeciras (Cádiz), Huelva, Joves de Barcelona y Sevilla I. El resto fueron visitas de seguimiento (Centro Penitenciario Sevilla II, Puerto I -Cádiz-, Ávila, Segovia, Castellón I, Menorca, Brians I -Barcelona-, Albolote -Granada- y León). Además, se realizaron actuaciones no presenciales en los centros Madrid II, III, V, VI, VII y Castellón II.

La institución Defensor del Pueblo considera necesario seguir avanzado en la reducción de la aplicación de medios coercitivos mediante el uso de medidas alternativas.

En lo que se refiere a la salud mental y prevención de suicidios, ha detectado avances en los centros dependientes de la Secretaría General de Instituciones Penitenciarias y subraya que en los centros penitenciarios de Cataluña hay márgenes de mejora. En cuanto a la asistencia sanitaria de las prisiones, se detectan deficiencias en las condiciones en que desarrolla su trabajo el personal sanitario y persiste la escasez de psiquiatras y psicólogos clínicos.

En 2021 el MNP visitó cinco centros de internamiento de menores infractores (CIMI): El Molino (Almería), el Centro de Educación e Internamiento por Medida Judicial de Zaragoza, el Centro Educativo Arratia (Bizkaia), el CIMI Teresa de Calcuta (Madrid) y el CIMI Ciudad de Melilla.

Tras la recomendación realizada por el Defensor del Pueblo para abolir las contenciones mecánicas en los CIMI que se plasmó en 2021 en un cambio normativo que prohíbe estas prácticas, el MNP ha prestado especial atención en sus visitas a comprobar si se han erradicados estos medios de contención.

En las inspecciones también se han observado con detenimiento los protocolos de prevención de suicidios, la cumplimentación de los partes de lesiones y los procesos de recepción e ingreso de los menores. Además, se formularon sugerencias tras detectar desperfectos en las instalaciones y deficiencias estructurales en los centros.

Falta de psicólogos

La pandemia provocada por la Covid-19 ha tenido un efecto específico en la salud mental. En 2021 el MNP realizó dos visitas a establecimientos en los que se atiende a personas con problemas de salud mental: el Sanatorio Esquerdo (Madrid) y el Hospital Psiquiátrico de Conxo (Santiago de Compostela).

El MNP ha llamado la atención sobre la escasez de profesionales de psicología en los centros visitados y el exceso de medicación de algunos pacientes y la necesidad general de mejorar la atención médica de los internos.

Visitas con enfoques transversales

La institución Defensor del Pueblo ha puesto en marcha dos programas para focalizar la prevención de la discriminación de la situación de determinadas personas privadas de libertad. Así, en 2018 inició uno dirigido a prevenir la discriminación por género en centros penitenciarios, y en 2021 se ha ampliado a centros de menores y de salud mental. Además, en 2022 se ha iniciado un nuevo proyecto para analizar el trato dispensado a las personas internas con discapacidad intelectual.

Por otra parte, en 2021 el MNP supervisó seis operativos de repatriación de extranjeros en los que se monitorizó la repatriación de 306 personas.