CHR Office published Summary Report on the Activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights in 2022.

"2022 was a complex and challenging year for the people of our country and the institution of the Commissioner for Human Rights. We started to recover from the health and social trauma caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The problems regarding the judiciary remained unsolved and the related rulings of European courts were not implemented. The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border continued. In addition, new problems significantly impacting citizens and the functioning of the state emerged. They included the war in Ukraine, economic problems and perturbations connected with the implementation of the Polish Deal, and tightening of the Criminal Code provisions. The scale and consequences of these phenomena resulted in a record number of 75,239 applications received by the CHR Office." - wrote Marcin Wiącek in the Summary.

Attachments:

• Document

  Summary of the report on the activities of CHR in 2022.pdf

Asylum, migration and borders

On 18 December 2023, FRA presented its report on human rights defenders to the Visa Committee which brings together all EU Member States.

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The EU prioritised support to human rights defenders globally in its 2016 EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.

However, FRA’s report notes that human rights defenders face significant obstacles when applying for a visa to come to the EU.

FRA listed the different mobility needs of human rights defenders. It suggested possible changes to the Visa Code Handbook which would enable visa staff to make full use of the flexibility included in the Visa Code.

La Conselleria de Servicios Sociales, Igualdad y Vivienda rechaza coordinar la labor de los Ayuntamientos y unificar modelos de recopilación de datos, aunque acepta otras recomendaciones del Síndic

El síndic de Greuges de la Comunitat Valenciana, Ángel Luna, ha cerrado la investigación realizada por esta institución para diagnosticar la realidad social y administrativa sobre las situaciones de riesgo en la infancia y la adolescencia en la Comunitat Valenciana, y cómo lo abordan los servicios sociales, tanto a nivel autonómico como desde las entidades locales.

En el informe remitido por la entonces Conselleria de Igualdad y Políticas Inclusivas durante la tramitación de la queja se señalaba que la administración autonómica sólo cuenta con los datos aportados desde los Equipos Específicos de Atención a la Intervención con Infancia y Adolescencia (EEIIA), pero no con los de los equipos de atención básica municipales.

En este sentido, Luna recomendó a la Conselleria que asumiera su responsabilidad de coordinación y de obtención de datos no solo de los equipos autonómicos (EEIIA), sino también de los municipales (atención primaria básica). Una recomendación que la actual Conselleria de Servicios Sociales, Igualdad y Vivienda, en respuesta remitida en fecha 18 de octubre de 2023, no acepta al entender que no tiene competencias para obligar a las entidades locales a utilizar un modelo unificado de información para atención primaria básica.

Sin embargo, el Síndic argumenta que la Conselleria no puede eludir la responsabilidad de obtener los datos necesarios para avanzar en el diseño unificado de acciones para prevenir y atender a los niños, niñas y adolescentes (NNA) que puedan encontrarse en situación de riesgo, alegando que la competencia en esta intervención corresponde a las entidades locales; ya que solo así podría conocer el grado de eficacia de dichas intervenciones y si hay necesidades que no están cubiertas en las entidades locales y que impiden mejorar su eficacia.

“Es la facultad de coordinación de la actividad de las corporaciones locales por parte de la comunidad autónoma la que va a permitir prevenir las posibles disfunciones en el sistema. Esta coordinación debe desarrollarse tanto en el diseño de los criterios y la planificación de los programas a realizar para la atención a la infancia y la adolescencia, como en el soporte financiero a los mismos y aportación de protocolos de actuación, en la recopilación de datos sobre su implementación, y en la supervisión y evaluación de la calidad de los servicios prestados”, señala el Síndic en la resolución con la que cierra esta queja de oficio.

Por otra parte, esta institución entiende que una de las tareas básicas de la Conselleria es establecer procesos de recopilación de datos unificados y desagregados que permitan el diseño de políticas de protección a la infancia y adolescencia en el ámbito de la Comunitat Valenciana. Algo que no tiene por qué afectar a la autonomía competencial que corresponda a otras administraciones locales o autonómicas.

Asimismo, el Síndic de Greuges dirigió otra serie de recomendaciones, en su resolución de consideraciones del 11 de septiembre de 2023, que han sido aceptadas por la Conselleria.

Adjuntamos la resolución de cierre de este expediente que contiene tanto todas nuestras recomendaciones como la respuesta de la Conselleria a las mismas.

12029382.pdf (elsindic.com)

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has been compelled to highlight two cases where a council has not acted to put things right in good time.

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council has taken too long to carry out the Ombudsman’s recommendations in two separate education complaints, leading the LGSCO to publish reports on both cases.

In the first case, the council agreed to update its transport to education policy for young adults with Special Educational Needs. Despite agreeing to this in 2022, the process is not expected to be complete till Spring 2024.

In the second complaint, the council agreed to improve the service it provides to children who are being home educated, and whose parents want them to return to school. In this case the council failed to apologise to the family who complained, or provide them with a sum for additional tutoring to make up for the missed education.

In both cases, the council has now agreed to fresh recommendations to improve its services along with carrying out the previously agreed actions.

Paul Najsarek, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"It's essential that councils put in place our recommendations and we will take action to highlight where this is not the case.

“In both these cases the council agreed to our recommendations – and timescales – to put things right for families in its borough, and at no time did it let us know these would not be achievable. These failures can only have compounded the dismay felt by these families following their initial complaints.

“It should not have taken the threat of publicly highlighting these failures for the council to take more urgent action. However, I am pleased the council has agreed to the further recommendations I have made to put things right and will be paying close attention to ensuring these are carried out without delay."

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In the first case the council has agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence to show it has carried out actions to issue a revised post-16 transport policy by the end of May 2024.

In the second case, the council has apologised to the family and provided the required payments to them. It has also introduced a range of new measures, including a new policy on elective home education. The team responsible for this service has since been restructured and additional staff employed.

It has introduced additional support for families who want their children to be re-integrated into school and provided staff training on good complaint handling.

Article date: 11 January 2024

Published 

29.12.2023

The Parliamentary Ombudsman received 16 complaints about the actions of the police at the demonstrations at Töölöntori on the Independence Day. Based on what was stated in the complaints, Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen decided to begin an investigation of the actions of the police on his own initiative. 

In the complaints, the police were criticised for issues such as use of disproportionate force against peaceful demonstrators and for the use of horses, which had caused dangerous situations in the crowd. In addition, the complainants reported that the freedom of assembly had been unduly restricted when the ‘Helsinki without Nazis’ demonstration was not allowed to go ahead. The Ombudsman has requested the police to report on how efforts had been made to negotiate with the organiser of that demonstration both before the Independence Day and on the actual day.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman has requested a report and a statement on the matter 8038/2023 from the National Police Board by 15 April 2024.

For more information on the matter, please contact Principal Legal Adviser Juha Haapamäki, tel. +358 9 432 3334