Probleme beim Bürgergeld, wie zum Beispiel mit der Übernahme der Kosten für Miete oder Heizung, mit der Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt, dem Wohngeld oder auch mit Leistungen der Krankenkassen oder Schwierigkeiten beim Kindergeld ­ die Bürgerbeauftragte für soziale Angelegenheiten des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Samiah El Samadoni, hilft bei allen Fragen rund um das Sozialrecht. Darüber hinaus berät die Bürgerbeauftragte auch als Leiterin der Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Landes und als Ombudsperson in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe im Rahmen dieser Sprechstunde. Zudem ist die Bürgerbeauftragte auch Beauftragte für die Landespolizei und damit Ansprechpartnerin für Beschwerden von Bürger*innen und Eingaben von Polizist*innen.

Summary of the decision: On its own initiative, the Parliamentary Ombudsman reviewed the County Administrative Board’s processing of three recruitment cases which concerned a head of planning, an organisational developer and a head of department. The review was based on the requirements of objectivity and impartiality laid down in the Instrument of Government, as well as the provisions on conflict of interest in the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman concludes that, in all three cases, the County Governor acted in a way that did not respect the requirement of objectivity. In addition, she had a conflict of interest in the case concerning the head of planning. There, the procedure was also flawed in terms of impartiality. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, this indicates a lack of concern and a lack of respect for fundamental provisions which aim to maintain public trust in public services. The Parliamentary Ombudsman directs severe criticism against the County Governor for her actions.

Further, the Parliamentary Ombudsman criticises the County Administrative Board as an authority, because the recruitment of the head of planning was only announced on the authority’s physical notice board and for a very limited amount of time, and because the Swedish Public Employment Service was not notified of the recruitment.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman also makes statements on the importance of officials acting with integrity and highlights the risk of non-compliance with the provisions of the constitution, including when it is the head of the authority who does not comply with the rules.

El objetivo de este encuentro es reforzar las relaciones entre el defensor del pueblo de España y los defensores autonómicos

El Ararteko ha sido el encargado de organizar esta edición, que ha girado en torno a la promoción del derecho a la buena administración

La síndica de greuges, Esther Giménez-Salinas, y otros miembros de su equipo han asistido a las XXXVII Jornadas de Coordinación de Defensorías del Pueblo en el País Vasco. Este encuentro anual está pensado para reforzar la relación entre las defensorías del estado español y, en esta edición, auspiciada por el Ararteko, las defensorías se han planteado cómo promover el derecho a una buena administración.

Nuestro adjunto general, Jaume Saura, ha participado en la mesa redonda “La buena administración en las relaciones con la ciudadanía”, un espacio de debate con otros asesores autonómicos. Entre otros temas, Jaume Saura ha puesto sobre la mesa las desigualdades que genera la brecha digital en la Administración, basándose en informes elaborados por la institución. También ha compartido una serie de recomendaciones para lograr con éxito la digitalización humanista de la Administración.

La buena administración es crucial para fortalecer la confianza de la ciudadanía en las instituciones públicas y prevenir el deterioro del sistema democrático. En este sentido, las defensorías desempeñan un papel fundamental en la promoción del derecho a la buena administración: actúan como garantes de los derechos de la ciudadanía y proponen mejoras para el funcionamiento de las administraciones públicas.

Las jornadas han concluido con un decálogo de diez recomendaciones consensuadas por el conjunto de defensorías con vistas a salvaguardar el derecho a la buena administración, contribuir a su desarrollo, concretar estándares de diligencia y promover su conocimiento público.

Jornadas de trabajo de los jóvenes asesores 2024

En el marco de estas jornadas, jóvenes asesores de los consejos de adolescentes de las defensorías de Andalucía, Canarias, Cataluña y País Vasco han presentado un documento con propuestas de mejora para una buena administración con una perspectiva juvenil. Estas conclusiones son el resultado del trabajo y las reflexiones del encuentro de jóvenes asesores celebrado en junio en Barcelona. La actividad ha sido presentada por personal del área de infancia del Síndic y ha contado con la participación de dos miembros de nuestro Consell Asesor Jove (CAJ).

• Documento conclusiones

La Institución de la Valedora do Pobo, convoca de nuevo, en colaboración con las tres Universidades gallegas, los premios Valedora do Pobo a los mejores trabajos fin de grado (TFG) y fin de máster (TFM) en materia de igualdad y derechos de las mujeres.

Los trabajos deberán haber sido leídos, defendidos o juzgados y aprobados, según proceda, ante cualquier universidad gallega durante el curso académico 2023/24.

El plazo de presentación finaliza el 30 de noviembre.

On 23 and 28 October, experts from the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office held training sessions for specialists from social care institutions. The training was held both remotely and in person. The remote training attracted a record number of participants – 800 people from 40 social care institutions. The live training took place at the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library in Vilnius. The training covered a wide range of topics, from the international standards to be applied in social care homes to the use of easy-to-understand language in presenting information to the residents of these homes.

"Thank you very much for your active participation and interest in this training. It shows that the issues related to human rights in social care homes are important. Only through joint efforts can and must we ensure that these institutions meet international human rights standards and that people live in dignity. The contribution of each and every one of you is very important. Thanks to you, formal legislation comes to life – to life in practice. I wish you the best of luck in continuing to apply human rights principles in your daily work,” said the Head of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, Erika Leonaitė, welcoming the participants to the training.

In her presentation, Fausta Viktorija Osičnaitė, Senior Advisor at the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, presented international standards that should be used as a basis for human rights-based living conditions in social care homes. She highlighted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and noted the importance of its provisions in guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of persons living in social care homes.

Fausta Viktorija Osičnaitė also presented the preventive activities carried out by the Seimas Ombudsperson in social care homes in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. During the training, the participants were informed that the Seimas Ombudsperson, together with the staff of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office and other experts, regularly visit social care homes to inspect the treatment of the residents therein. The aim of these activities is to prevent human rights violations, to draw the attention of the responsible entities to areas for improvement and to cooperate more effectively in order to improve the treatment of persons whose liberty is restricted.

Greta Bylaitė, Chief Specialist of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, spoke at the training about promoting empathy and creating a non-discriminatory environment in social care homes. She stressed the harm of stereotypes prevalent in society and the need to question them and reflect on them in one’s daily work when interacting with and providing services to the residents of a social care institution.

During the training, Greta Bylaitė reviewed the types of discrimination defined in the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as other types of discrimination that do not fall under this definition, but which are equally important in order to avoid discriminatory practices. In her presentation, she focused on the creation of a non-discriminatory psychological and physical environment in social care homes, highlighting the importance of diversity and equality policies throughout the institution, as well as the importance of ensuring physical accessibility for persons with visual, hearing and/or mobility disabilities.

Gabrielė Marija Baltrušytė, a lawyer from the NGO “Mental Health Perspectives”, gave a presentation on the use of “easy-to-read” language in the provision of information to residents of social care homes. It is estimated that more than one in 10 people in Lithuania at some point in their lives will benefit from easy-to-understand language. The applications of this method range from health, social services, education to fiction.

The expert outlined the differences between easy-to-understand and plain language. Plain language is aimed at the general public, while easy-to-understand language is aimed at people with reading and comprehension difficulties. She also discussed the actors involved in the process of developing plain language, highlighting the important role of text checkers. Participants learned about the levels of plain language, text checking with readers, and best practices in Lithuania and abroad. Participants also had the opportunity to practice how to simplify information based on the rules of plain language, i.e. breaking the text into paragraphs, bullet points, maintaining a logical sequence, writing shorter sentences etc.

Goda Jurevičiūtė and Sergejus Stoma, Advisers of the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, engaged the participants in practical workshops and tasks. Participants were invited to analyse various situations related to the work of social care home workers and living conditions in social care homes, and were asked how they would behave if they were faced with specific challenges in their work. Participants were also shown photographs of different rooms and spaces, where they were asked to identify good practices and risks related to the guarantee of human rights.

The training organised by the Human Rights Division of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office on “Human Rights-Based Care of Persons in Social Care Homes: Standards, Challenges, Practices” for the staff of social care homes is an ongoing activity, which is aimed at contributing to the enhancement of the competences of the staff of social care homes and to the improvement of the situation of human rights in these institutions.