Los defensores españoles han concluido las XXXVI Jornadas de Coordinación de Defensores del Pueblo, organizadas por el Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña
 

Las instituciones de defensa de derechos emitieron una declaración conjunta y trabajarán para que todas las administraciones implicadas la tengan en cuenta. El documento recoge, por un lado, las conclusiones basadas en la experiencia de las defensorías, y, por el otro, los resultados del trabajo que un grupo de jóvenes provenientes de diferentes defensorías llevaron a cabo durante un taller el pasado mes de junio.

Asimismo, en la declaración también se han incorporado los argumentos más relevantes que han aportado los diferentes expertos que han participado en las Jornadas.
 

• Acceso a la Declaración

München, 24. November

2023 Bürgerbeauftragter Wolfgang Fackler, MdL setzt sich für Projekt zum Gewässerschutz ein

Der erste Fall des neuen Bürgerbeauftragen der Bayerischen Staatsregierung, MdL Wolfgang Fackler führte diesen nach Augsburg. Der Augsburger Wasserkraftwerk-Betreiber Karl Ketterl hatte sich im August noch an den Vorgänger des neuen Bürgerbeauftragten gewandt, so dass MdL Fackler nun im Rahmen eines Ortstermins das Anliegen persönlich aufgenommen hat.

Seit über fünf Jahren kämpft der Wasserkraftwerk-Betreiber Karl Ketterl für einen verbesserten Gewässerschutz im Sinne des Klimas und des Umweltschutzes. Er will dafür sorgen, dass Plastik und sonstige nicht natürliche Stoffe bei Wasserkraftwerken an Fließgewässern entnommen werden. Denn immer noch landet zu viel Zivilisationsmüll in Bächen und Flüssen, der herausgefiltert werden sollte. Für dieses Tätigwerden sei aber die Rechtslage nicht ganz eindeutig, auch eine Prämie oder ein Anreiz ist seitens des Umweltministeriums Fehlanzeige.

Politisch begleitet wird Ketterl dabei unter anderem von dem Augsburger Landtagsabgeordneten Andreas Jäckel, der nun zur Unterstützung des Anliegens den neuen Bürgerbeauftragten MdL Wolfgang Fackler darauf aufmerksam gemacht hat, damit dieser es mit noch mehr Nachdruck beim Umweltministerium vertreten kann. Schließlich müsste zur Umsetzung entweder das Bayerische Wasserhaushaltsgesetz präzisiert werden oder aber ein entsprechender Anreiz gesetzt werden, um den wirtschaftlichen Aufwand zu kompensieren. „Wenn sich an der gegenwärtigen Praxis nichts ändert, werden die Folgen für die Gewässer und das Klima gravierend sein. Auch Studien belegen das und mahnen zu einem verbesserten Gewässerschutz“, erklärte der Wasserkraftwerk-Betreiber Karl Ketterl bei dem gemeinsamen Ortstermin mit MdL Fackler und MdL Jäckel. Dabei erinnerte Ketterl auch an die fünfte Umweltversammlung der Vereinten Nationen (UN) im März 2022 in Nairobi (Kenia), die eine Resolution zur weltweiten Plastikkrise verabschiedet hat. „In den vergangenen fünf Jahren konnten wir einiges anstoßen, dennoch ist der große landespolitische Wurf bisher ausgeblieben. Daher freue ich mich umso mehr über die Unterstützung unseres neuen Bürgerbeauftragten Wolfgang Fackler“, so MdL Andreas Jäckel. Jäckel erinnerte in diesem Zusammenhang auch daran, dass er in der vergangenen Legislaturperiode ein Pilotprojekt zur technischen Automatisierung der Entnahme von Zivilisationsmüll aus Fließgewässern starten wollte, aber keine Finanzierungszusage durch den Freistaat Bayern erhielt.

(...)

The Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina met with the athletes’ ombudsman Dr Rožle Prezelj, who received his second mandate at this position on 1 April 2023. In this position, he can actively strive for the establishment of a safe legal framework for uninterrupted activity of sportsmen and -women and work of expert sports workers without an administrative, contextual, or more significant financial base and with the consistent and legally correct implementation of the Sports Act or other legal acts in the field of sports. In his discussions with Ombudsman Svetina they addressed numerous questions they consider in their work and, in fact, have in common. They devoted their time discussing violation of rights in sports, touched upon work conditions and relationships in certain disciplines, and emphasised the importance of equality. They stressed that the abolition of inequality and discrimination regarding gender, discipline, etc. is essential not only regarding access to sports infrastructure, which is a frequent problem in practice, but also in a wider sense of the word. They also discussed the issue of (non)provision of the right to complaint and dispute solution in sports. They agreed that a (r)evolution is needed in the realisation of human rights in sport, since theory and practice are often in mutual opposition. This is also why they agreed to liaise with each other and collaborate more actively in the future, since they believe that together they can be more successful in addressing problems and the protection of rights of athletes.

Since, unfortunately, violations in sports are a constant, Ombudsman Svetina and Dr Prezelj emphasised that there can be no progress without actively addressing violations and the establishment of formal structures ensuring that the voice of athletes and all those working closely with them is still heard even when they do not achieve spectacular results. They also highlighted the importance of the National Sports Programme for the next 10 years, which is currently in preparation, and advocated the establishment of an independent agency for integrity in sports, which would focus on the realisation of rights in this field and the provision of the right to complain. 

In the field of protecting human rights in sports, Slovenia participated in the founding of the Centre for Sports and Human Rights, the task of which is the implementation of human rights in this field, offering protection and help to affected individuals, and resolving disputes in the field of sports. However, unfortunately, Dr Prezelj believes that due to the unclear strategy, Slovenia is not represented in the right light in this field. He and Ombudsman Svetina agreed that this is unacceptable and that the state needs to do more in this field. Namely, an athlete’s career can quickly be endangered, hence in disputes they need immediate, effective, and reliable legal assistance. Therefore, they called on those responsible and the state to regulate the area, while they will continue to actively monitor and demand changes for the better.

The quality of care given to a young person with complex medical needs deteriorated when she turned 18.  

Read our investigation report into a complaint about the Belfast Trust.

Wed, 22/11/2023 - 12:00

Last month we:

• responded to 80 enquiries
• made 62 decisions
  • 14 community care grants
  • 48 crisis grants
• upheld 64% of community care grants and 15% of crisis grants
• signposted an additional 152 applicants to other sources of assistance. 72% of these were calling us instead of their local council in error. Twelve applicants encountered accessibility issues contacting their local council as there was no freephone number in place or due to issues applying online
• received 17 enquiries from local councils seeking advice.

Support and Intervention Policy

We raised one new issue under our Support and Intervention Policy. This concerned a council choosing not to award bedding when awarding a bed. We assessed that this was not in line with section 8.4 of the guidance. We also followed up on two previous issues concerning the guidance not being followed.

Stakeholder engagement

We welcomed over 30 contacts from councils and colleagues from Scottish Government to our local authority sounding board on 31 October 2023. We shared feedback on our findings and the trends we have observed, together with an update on our service improvements. Councils expressed an interest in decision letter templates and training being delivered by SPSO.

Case studies 

Repairs to private property

C asked for an independent review of the council's decision on their application for a community care grant. They had applied for assistance to repay debts, and to arrange a repair to the sink in the kitchen and a broken toilet flush.

The council initially refused the application as they said that the assistance was excluded due to being an on-going feature of expenditure. C requested a review of the decision. At first tier review, the council assessed that the application was excluded as repairs to private properties could not be provided by the fund.

We requested the council’s case file, and spoke with C for further information. They told us that they had recently broken their ankle and shattered one of their hips. They confirmed the scope of the repair amounted to fixing a leak and replacing a flush. We therefore assessed that this would not fall under the substantial repair to private property exclusion in annex A point 21 of the guidance. We instructed the council to make an award of £197.50 to cover the cost of the repair. We also provided feedback that they had incorrectly interpreted the guidance in relation to exclusions, and the applicant's circumstances. Feedback was also given about their written communication.

You can find more case studies in the searchable directory on our website.