Ob Österreich die UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention einhält, war diese Woche Inhalt der Staatenprüfung durch die UNO in Genf. „In Sachen Inklusion und Partizipation von Menschen mit Behinderung hat Österreich noch viel zu tun“, sagt Volksanwalt Bernhard Achitz, der am 22. und 23. August die Fragen des UNO-Fachausschusses beantwortet hat: „Menschen mit Behinderungen können zwar viele Unterstützungsleistungen bekommen, aber sie haben keinen Rechtsanspruch darauf. Österreich muss weg vom Almosen, hin zum Anspruch!“

NAP Behinderung braucht echte Partizipation und verbindliche Finanzierung

Die UN-BRK ist in Österreich seit 2008 in Kraft, die Umsetzung ist vor allem im Nationalen Aktionsplan Behinderung (NAP) geregelt. Bei dessen Erstellung war zwar von Partizipation die Rede, Menschen mit Behinderung und deren Vertretungen wurden zwar angehört, ihre Forderungen aber teils nicht berücksichtigt. Achitz: „Der NAP bleibt leider zahnlos, wenn er zwar Ziele definiert, aber die nachhaltige Finanzierung ungeregelt bleibt.“

Gravierende Mängel aus Sicht der Volksanwaltschaft sind fehlende österreichweit einheitliche Bestimmungen für Barrierefreiheit, enorme Hürden bei der inklusiven Schulbildung, zu wenig Persönliche Assistenz, fehlende Fortschritte bei der Deinstitutionalisierung, die steigende Anzahl von Freiheitsbeschränkungen in Einrichtungen, und nicht zuletzt, dass die Betroffenen mit ihren Unterstützungsanträgen oft zwischen Behörden auf Bundes- und Landeseebene, aber auch Sozialversicherungsträgern hin- und hergeschickt werden.

Appell an Bund und Länder: UN-Handlungsempfehlungen umsetzen!

„Die Menschenrechte der Menschen mit Behinderungen müssen gestärkt werden. Ich habe den Eindruck, dass die österreichische Regierungsdelegation die Fragen des Fachausschusses und die Kritikpunkte ernst nimmt. Die Staatenprüfung muss aber auch Impuls dafür sein, Inklusion und Partizipation voranzutreiben“, so Achitz. Die bindenden Handlungsempfehlungen werden voraussichtlich im Herbst fertiggestellt sein. Achitz appelliert an Bund und Länder, diese dann auch umzusetzen: „Menschenrechte dürfen weder am Geld noch an zersplitterten Kompetenzen scheitern!“

SERVICE: Die Volksanwaltschaft ist unter post@volksanwaltschaft.gv.at sowie unter der kostenlosen Servicenummer 0800 223 223 erreichbar.

Complaints handled by Health Boards

Welsh Health Boards received nearly 19,000 complaints in 2022/23. This is the equivalent of about 6 complaints for every 1,000 residents of Wales. We use this type of representation to better compare public services in Wales which vary greatly in size. Records show that complaint volumes have remained stable for health boards in general compared to the previous year.

Records show that the highest proportion of complaints (28%) recorded by Health Boards were about the clinical treatment which people received, 19% were about appointments, and 16% were about communication issues.

The data shows that about 75% of complaints were closed within the target of 30 working days. This was about the same as last year, but varied greatly across the Health Boards.

Over 900 complaints relating to Health Boards were referred to us in the year, which represents over 5% of all complaints closed by these bodies in the same period.

We also closed over 900 complaints about Health Boards last year. Some of those complaints would have been referred to the office during the previous financial year.

We intervened in 30% of those cases, by recommending Early Resolution**, Voluntary Settlement, or upholding a complaint after an investigation. This is broadly consistent with previous years.

Complaints handled by Local Authorities

We are also publishing information about Local Authority complaints today – with more than 15,500 complaints being logged by Local Authorities in Wales during the 2022/23 year, the equivalent of 5 complaints for every 1,000 residents. Records show that this has increased slightly since the previous year, and is much higher than when we launched the Complaints Standards work in 2019/20.

Similar to the Health Boards, about 75% of complaints were handled within the target time – although Local Authorities use a shorter target of 20 working days. This performance is similar to previous years.

Records show that about 30% of complaints recorded by Local Authorities were about waste and refuse – a theme continuing from previous years – 19% were about housing, an increase from last year, and 14% were about social services.

Around 40% of all complaints were upheld by Local Authorities, broadly the same as last year.

Over 1,000 complaints relating to Local Authorities were referred to us in the year, which represents about 7% of all complaints closed by these organisations in the same period – a reduction, in terms of the proportion, compared to the previous year.

We closed nearly 1,100 complaints about Local Authorities in 2022/23. Some of those complaints would have been referred to the office during the previous financial year.

We intervened in 13% of those cases, by recommending Early Resolution**, Voluntary Settlement, or upholding a complaint after an investigation.

Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales said,

“We’re pleased to continue our publication of complaints data for public services in Wales – our Complaints Standards Authority plays an important part of promoting transparency on complaints and publishing this data helps us achieve that. When looking at this data, alongside the information from our own casework, we begin to learn more about how well public bodies manage complaints, and we can target our improvement work accordingly.”

Matthew Harris, PSOW’s Head of Complaints Standards, said,

“Our data publication is now in it’s second year, and we want this to be an important source of information for everyone in Wales to understand how their local services perform. We’ve been working with public bodies across Wales since 2019 to drive up standards in their complaint handling, and we’ve provided more than 400 free training sessions in that time. Tentatively, we can see some of the benefits of that work in these statistics – the proportion of Local Authority complaints coming to PSOW is down, even though the Local Authorities themselves are logging more complaints than ever. It’s important that public services across Wales continue to use complaints as an opportunity to improve, and use their data to help achieve that.”

 

** In some cases, we may take the view that there is action that the organisation being complained about could take quickly to resolve a complaint. In these cases, we will contact the organisation involved to explain what we think might be done and seek its agreement to take that forward.

To see the whole data, go here.

23/08/2023

The Case

On the 2nd of August 2023, the Times of Malta published a letter from Mr Emanuel Galea of Victoria, highlighting a significant health concern on Gozo ferries. The issue pertained to several vehicles that kept their engines running throughout the ferry crossing, exposing both passengers outside these vehicles and the Gozo Channel crew to potentially toxic emissions in an area with limited ventilation. The letter further mentioned that when the Gozo Channel crew attempted to address the issue with the drivers of these vehicles, they were often ignored.

The Inquiry

The Office of the Ombudsman, acknowledging the seriousness of the concerns raised by Mr Galea, initiated a direct engagement with the Gozo Channel. The objective was to gain a deeper understanding of the established policies and measures pertaining to such occurrences. Specifically, the Ombudsman’s Office sought clarity on the Gozo Channel’s Shipboard Operating Procedures and any other related guidelines that address the issue of vehicles idling during transit and passengers staying on the car deck.

Upon investigation, the Gozo Channel confirmed the existence of their Shipboard Operating Procedures, which explicitly prohibit passengers from remaining on the car deck during ferry transit. Additionally, they provided a Fleet Letter that instructs crew members to inform passengers about the inherent risks and policy violations related to staying inside their vehicles with engines running.

Outcome

To further address the matter and ensure the safety of all aboard, the Gozo Channel disclosed an upcoming initiative: starting from the 18th of August, a police officer would be assigned to inspect ferries daily between 8.00 am and 6:00 pm. This step is expected to bolster enforcement, ensuring compliance with ferry regulations and promoting the health and safety of both passengers and crew.

El Diputado del Común, Rafael Yanes, abrirá una actuación de oficio para conocer la situación de los internos del Centro Penitenciario Tenerife II, en el municipio de El Rosario, tras sufrir un corte de agua debido al incendio.

La madre de uno de los internos se puso en contacto con el Diputado del Común para informarle que llevan días sin suministro de agua, tanto para consumo como para higiene personal y desde la dirección sólo les facilitan una botella de agua a cada persona al día. Tras conocer esta situación, desde la Diputación del Común, hemos contactado con el Gabinete de Comunicación del Centro Penitenciario, quien confirma la situación, alegando que están estudiando opciones de empresas que realicen el suministro.

Ante lo urgente del caso, teniendo en cuenta que en el centro existen actualmente más de 880 internos, el Diputado del Común ha contactado con el alcalde de El Rosario, Escolástico Gil, quien le afirma que “llevo mucho tiempo diciéndole a la dirección del Centro que es de vital importancia que cuenten con una infraestructura propia de suministro de agua para situaciones de emergencia como esta, pero no me han hecho caso”.

Rafael Yanes abrirá una actuación de oficio ante la gravísima situación por la que atraviesan estas personas, y solicitará al Defensor del Pueblo de España que actúe de manera urgente ante el Ministerio del Interior.

Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter submitted in July 2023 to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) a Shadow Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Croatia.

The preparation of this Report is one of the Ombudswoman’s roles as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) with Status A. It’s preparation is in accordance with the General Recommendation of CERD no. 28 on the role of NHRIs in the performance of obligations arising from the Convention and the implementation of CERD recommendations.

CERD held its 110th session from 7 to 31 August 2023 in Geneva. Deputy Ombudsman Tatjana Vlašić participated in the session on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Croatia, which took place on August 9 and 10.

The Report is based on complaints acted upon by the Ombudswoman, field work, research, as well as data collected from various stakeholders: public authorities, civil society organizations, trade unions, employers, universities and many others. It contains challenges in protection against discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, including comments on the most important strategic documents. It also describes most common complaints and gives a more detailed overview of the areas under CERD’s jurisdiction.

This especially applies to the problems faced by members of the Roma, but also the Serbian national minority and migrants, as well as violation of rights in work and employment in the context of national and ethnic origin, including those encountered by foreign workers who are citizens of third countries. The report also contains challenges related to hate crimes and hate speech, free legal aid, housing and sustainable return.

The Report particulary highlights the need to introduce mandatory human rights education as a separate school subject and part of civic education. As part of that subject, children would learn from an early age about the right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination, and the implementation of education in that area should be regularly evaluated.

The Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is a body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in the signatory states. All signatory states are required to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention every five years. The committee reviews the report and makes final recommendations to the states.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is available here.

Croatia submitted the last report on the implementation of the Convention in 2020, in the form of a consolidated version of several periodic reports (from the 9th to the 14th). You can find that report here.