Today, on 16 March, Ombudsman Juris Jansons participated in an online meeting with representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and the Secretariat-General. The European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report is currently under preparation, and it provides a separate section for examining the situation in each Member State of the European Union. At the meeting, the Ombudsman gave his insight into the situation of the rule of law in Latvia.

The following topics were discussed:

• The Ombudsman’s activities, independence and resources, including in view of the 2021 amendments to the Ombudsman Law;
• The Ombudsman’s views on the openness and functioning of civil society;
• The Ombudsman’s views on media pluralism and freedom, as well as measures to protect journalists.

Regarding the involvement of civil society in legislative processes, the Ombudsman stressed that non-governmental organisations often participate in meetings of both the Sacarry out research into the involvement of civil society in the work of local governments. The Ombudsman also pointed out that, in general, civil society in Latvia is relatively inactive, and he presumes that the lack of activity might be due to the socio-economic situation, as the priority of the population is to take care of basic needs and only then to engage in civil society.

The Ombudsman emphasised that the media environment in Latvia can be considered diverse — both public and commercial media operate, and they are available in different languages. The state is continuously working to ensure that reliable information is available in both Latvian and Russian. In regards to the safety of journalists, the Ombudsman pointed out that journalists face both verbal and physical attacks, as well as unconstructive political criticism of public media.

On 10 March 2022, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Dr. Ákos Kozma conducted an online consultation with Scotland’s Ombudsman Ms. Rosemary Agnew on the issue of the refugees arriving in Hungary, fleeing the war in Ukraine.

During the meeting, Dr. Ákos Kozma talked about the current situation at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, the circumstances of the reception of refugees arriving in Hungary from Ukraine, and the measures taken to provide assistance to them more effectively.

Within this context, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights reported on the experience gathered during his visits at the border crossing points at Záhony–Čop and Tiszabecs–Vilok, and to the reception point at Mándok. Furthermore, Dr. Ákos Kozma informed Scotland’s Ombudsman Ms. Rosemary Agnew that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights had opened a temporary field office at the Záhony railway station on 3 March 2022.

The participants of the meeting also discussed that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, which is Hungary's National Human Rights Institution, had opened regional offices in Szeged, Győr and Debrecen at the beginning of this year, and that additional regional offices would be opened in Székesfehérvár, Miskolc and Pécs in March – which is a unique achievement in international ombudsman practice.

Scotland’s Ombudsman Ms. Rosemary Agnew assured the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of the continued support of the Scottish Human Rights Institution, and she invited Ombudsman Dr. Ákos Kozma to share his experience related to the regional offices.

The Commissioner for Human Rights has forwarded to the Marshal of the Senate his opinion on the draft Act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on its territory, adopted by the Sejm on 9 March 2022.

At the beginning of his opinion Marcin Wiącek emphasized that the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation’s military forces, unprecedented in recent history, has led to the greatest humanitarian crisis in the history of modern Europe. As its result, almost 1.5 million people have already crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border. The solidarity and assistance provided by the Polish public authorities and their services and, in particular, by the society, to Ukraine and people forced to leave its territory deserve the highest respect and appreciation.

For the same reason, the Commissioner emphasized that the draft act under review was an initiative that was much needed and justified.

Nevertheless, the rapid pace at which the act was drawn up has inevitably led to the inclusion therein of provisions and solutions that may raise doubts and discussions. Therefore, the CHR has forwarded his comments on the draft act to the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

Regulations of the Act vs EU regulations on granting temporary protection

On 4 March 2022, the Council of the European Union issued implementing decision (EU) 2022/382 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection. As a result of the decision, a large group of people fleeing Ukraine has been granted temporary protection without the need for additional procedures. The protection gives them, inter alia, the right to move across the EU and to residence therein, as well as access to the labour market and healthcare.

The Commissioner has appreciated the fact that the scope of assistance offered by the Act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine is much broader than the assistance guaranteed by the Act on Granting Protection to Foreigners in the Territory of the Republic of Poland, which sets out, e.g., procedures for implementing the EU temporary protection mechanism.

In the CHR’s opinion, the Act should apply to a broader group of beneficiaries

The Commissioner pointed out that the limitation of the Act’s applicability only to Ukrainian citizens and their spouses who legally entered Poland after 24 February 2022, directly from the territory of Ukraine, leaves a significant number of people, who are in a similar situation, outside the aid system. The protection and rights provided for by the Act will not apply, consequently, to Ukrainian citizens who, for example, reached Poland via another country, or to family members who are not spouses and have no Ukrainian citizenship. Therefore, the Commissioner proposes to broaden the group of persons covered by the assistance under the Act in question by stateless persons and foreigners of non-Ukrainian citizenship, who are Ukrainian citizens’ family members other than spouses.

The Commissioner also calls for introducing solutions to protect non-Ukrainian citizens fleeing Ukraine, in particular those whose private and professional lives were centred in the territory of Ukraine. In the opinion of the Commissioner, such persons should have access to the state aid to an extent similar to that offered by the Act to Ukrainian citizens.

The CHR pointed out that the act limits the provision of assistance at reception points only to Ukrainian citizens and their spouses who entered Poland directly from the territory of Ukraine after 24 February 2022. The Commissioner requests that the provision be extended to cover all foreigners who cross the Polish-Ukrainian border. 
The Commissioner also proposes not to make the statutory protection dependent on the legality of entry into the territory of Poland. While currently the border traffic is uninterrupted, the developments in Ukraine may lead to a situation where people fleeing the war may start crossing the border at various points and in any possible way. It is therefore worth drafting the regulations in a manner giving such people the possibility to legalize their stay under the procedure provided for in the act.

Access to education in Poland: too general powers assigned to the Minister of Education and Science

The Commissioner’s significant objections have been raised by the provisions on access to education in the territory of Poland for persons fleeing Ukraine. The Act grants the Minister of Education and Science the general powers to determine, by way of regulation, the organization of education and care for children and young people who are citizens of Ukraine. The Commissioner points out that the solution may give the minister new broad powers, and that it may be inconsistent with Article 92 para. 1 of the Polish Constitution, according to which statutory powers to issue regulations should be specific.

The Commissioner also pointed to:

- Conditions of access to Polish universities: in the opinion of the CHR, the Act should take into account the fact that a significant number of people fleeing Ukraine will not have documents confirming their status as a student.

- Meeting housing needs, and the rights of tenants: in the opinion of the CHR, the solution provided for in the Act may pose a risk of homelessness to people from particularly vulnerable groups (mothers with children, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, bedridden persons, etc.), as the Act does not specify what accommodation assistance, if any, will be provided to this group of people after the expiry of living space lending for use.

- Acceptability of allocating juvenile detention centres and youth shelters as temporary accommodation for people leaving Ukraine: The Commissioner warns against the solution due to prison-like features of such facilities, which may highly negatively impact the psychological condition of the accommodated persons who may have often suffered traumatic experiences.

Fritz K. ist 20 Jahre alt und hat Morbus Hunter (MPS). Er erhält seit seinem fünften Lebensjahr eine Enzymersatztherapie. Die Therapie ist lebensnotwendig und wird bisher einmal wöchentlich in Form einer mehrstündigen Infusion im Krankenhaus durchgeführt. "Der Zeitaufwand für die Familie, die in Wien lebt, ist enorm“, sagt Volksanwalt Bernhard Achitz, „deshalb kämpft die Volksanwaltschaft seit Jahren bei Krankenkassen und Spitalsbetreibern, dass die Therapie in solchen Fällen zuhause durchgeführt werden kann. Für Fritz K. jetzt mit Erfolg: ÖGK und AKH Wien machen die Heimtherapie endlich möglich.“ Es fehlt nur noch ein Formalakt, die Unterschrift des Dachverbands der Sozialversicherungsträger. Die Volksanwaltschaft fordert, dass das in allen Bundesländern funktioniert. Achitz: „Beispielsweise gibt es in der Steiermark einige Fälle, wo es noch keine Lösung gibt. Wir werden weiter Druck auf die Länder als Spitalsbetreiber machen!“

Die Volksanwaltschaft fordert die Krankenkassen und die Spitalsbetreiber weiter zu einer einheitlichen Regelung für Menschen mit seltenen Krankheiten auf. Patientinnen und Patienten mit seltenen Stoffwechselerkrankungen müssen Woche für Woche ins Spital, obwohl die Behandlung auch zuhause stattfinden könnte. "Ob das ermöglicht wird, ist aber davon abhängig, bei welcher Krankenkasse die Betroffenen versichert sind – und vom Bundesland", kritisiert Achitz regelmäßig, zuletzt wieder in der ORF-Sendung „Bürgeranwalt“. Hintergrund ist, dass für die Kosten von Heimtherapien grundsätzlich die Kassen zuständig sind, für Spitalsbehandlungen jedoch die Bundesländer.

Kranke Menschen leiden, weil Finanzierungsströme des Gesundheitssystems kompliziert sind

Volksanwalt Achitz: „Die Patientinnen und Patienten müssen freie Wahl haben, wenn die behandelnden Ärztinnen bzw. Ärzte keine Einwände gegen eine Heimtherapie haben. Weder die Krankenkasse noch das Bundesland dürfen einen Unterschied machen." Wer zahlt, sollen sich die beteiligten Kassen und Länder im Hintergrund ausmachen. „Hier müssen kranke Menschen zusätzlich leiden, weil die Finanzierungsströme des österreichischen Gesundheitssystems kompliziert sind", erklärt der Volksanwalt. "Die Betroffenen und ihre Familien sind durch die Krankheit ohnehin schwer belastet. Es sollte daher jede medizinisch vertretbare Möglichkeit ergriffen werden, um ihnen den Alltag zu erleichtern." 

In den vergangenen Tagen stattete Volksanwalt Amon in seiner Funktion als IOI-Generalsekretär dem Präsidenten des IOI und westaustralischen Ombudsmann, Herrn Chris Field, einen offiziellen Besuch ab. Zum ersten Mal seit Ausbruch der Pandemie war es möglich sich persönlich zu treffen.

Begleitet wurde Generalsekretär Amon vom Exekutivdirektor des IOI-Sekretariats, Herrn Meinhard Friedl. Präsident Field wurde von der Leiterin des Internationalen Sekretariats und Büros des Präsidenten, der stellvertretenden Ombudsfrau Westaustraliens Rebecca Poole, begleitet. Die Delegation traf bei ihrem Besuch in Australien auch Herrn Wilfried Wimmler, seines Zeichens Honorarkonsul von Österreich.

Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeitsgespräche stand die Vorbereitung auf das IOI Board-Meeting in New York im Frühjahr, bei dem das IOI ein Memorandum of Understanding mit UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) unterschreiben und einen Antrag für einen ständigen Beobachterstatus bei der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen einbringen wird. Das IOI ist eine globale Organisation, die mehr als 200 Ombudsman-Institutionen aus über 100 Ländern vertritt. Das IOI-Sekretariat hat seinen Sitz in Wien im Büro der österreichischen Volksanwaltschaft.

IOI Präsident Field: „Ich bin meinem Freund und Kollegen, dem Generalsekretär, zu großem Dank verpflichtet, dass er mich nach der Änderung der Grenzen Westaustraliens mit höchster Priorität besucht hat. Nichts, was das IOI tut, wäre möglich ohne die großzügige Unterstützung der österreichischen Regierung und die unermüdlichen Bemühungen des Sekretariats des IOI, das vom Generalsekretär so unglaublich gut geleitet wird.“

Field weiter: „Es war mir ein großes Privileg und eine große Freude, sowohl den Generalsekretär als auch den Exekutivdirektor willkommen zu heißen, um mit großem Stolz unsere herausragende Stadt mit ihnen zu teilen. Der offizielle Besuch hat unsere hervorragende Zusammenarbeit weiter gestärkt. Es hat auch unsere Entschlossenheit bestärkt, sicherzustellen, dass wir die wichtige Arbeit des IOI zum Schutz und zur Förderung der Menschenrechte, der guten Regierungsführung und der Rechtsstaatlichkeit auf der ganzen Welt fortsetzen.“

„Ich danke dem Präsidenten für den großartigen Empfang und kann nur unterstreichen wie gut die Zusammenarbeit innerhalb des IOI funktioniert und wir gemeinsam vieles auf den Weg gebracht haben und bringen werden, im Sinne der Bürgerinnen und Bürger“, so Volksanwalt Amon abschließend.