On 5 and 6 February 2025, Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih, head of the National Preventive Mechanism in Slovenia (DPM), attended a workshop in Strasbourg, France, entitled Tackling overcrowding in European prisons: strengthening NPMs' role in safeguarding rights and ensuring effective oversight.

The aim of the workshop was to strengthen the effectiveness of NPMs to improve supervision, advocate systemic reforms, and ensure compliance with international and Council of Europe standards, including the revised European Prison Rules and CPT recommendations. It was organised by the Council of Europe as part of the European NPM Forum and was attended by more than 80 participants representing European NPMs, criminal justice experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

The event participants agreed that prison overcrowding remains a significant human rights challenge across Europe, undermining the dignity and well-being of imprisoned persons and seriously hampering the effective work of NPMs. It is the main cause of poor prison conditions worldwide and probably the most pressing challenge facing prison systems.

Deputy Ombudsman Šelih pointed out in the discussion that the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) has also been experiencing increasing overcrowding in recent years when dealing with the complaints of imprisoned persons and during visits to Prison Service Institutions (ZPKZ) and their departments in the role of NPM. Overcrowding, in addition to the growing shortage of prison officers, also has a significant impact on the length of criminal proceedings (for example due to the cancellation of escorts) and consequently on the duration and occupation of detention, as well as on the security and living conditions of convicts. The consequences of overcrowding in the prison system are also manifested in other ways. They can affect the maintenance of order and discipline, the treatment of incarcerated persons, the exercise of their rights, etc., all of which can lead to humiliating and inhuman conditions for incarcerated persons on the one hand, and to inadequate working conditions and burdens for employees on the other.

Therefore, it is imperative that the competent state authorities ensure that everyone who is deprived of their liberty is guaranteed humane treatment and respect for their dignity, and that the deprivation of liberty is a measure of last resort, which should be determined and used only when, due to the gravity of the crime, a different sanction would be clearly inappropriate. In order to improve the situation, structural changes are also necessary to prevent further disproportionate growth in the number of imprisoned persons, including greater use of so-called alternative criminal sanctions, and the worst and also the most expensive way for the state to solve the problem of overcrowding is the construction of new institutions for serving prison sentences with the aim of increasing the capacity to house imprisoned persons, the head of the NPM in Slovenia, Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih, emphasised.

The CHR, as the body that monitors the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, was pleased to receive information about the opening of public consultations on the Government's draft law on personal assistance for persons with disabilities. At the same time, the Commissioner draws the attention of the Minister to the issues which appear to be crucial to the draft law and which require a broader analysis.

The assistance service will range from 30 to 240 hours monthly for persons over 18 years old, and from 30 to 80 hours for persons between 13 and 18 years old. It seems that this will be insufficient for some beneficiaries. This means an average of about 8.5 hours per day. Some people with disabilities may require 24-hour support.

It is also questionable to differentiate the situation of 13 to 18 year olds compared to adults. The granting of personal assistance to minors will be on the basis of a detailed disability certificate. Their eligibility for assistance is based on a system that does not allow for precise matching of assistance. The number of hours of assistance is clearly unsatisfactory: a person aged between 13 and 18 will be able to benefit from a maximum of 20 hours per week and less than three hours per day. 

The Commissioner highlights the need for a reform of the disability assessment system for benefits and non-benefit purposes. At present, there are seven different systems for assessing disability. To this day, efforts to unify the system have not been successfully implemented.

The restriction of personal assistance to people under 65 needs to be reconsidered. This is based on the stereotypical assumption that older people do not remain in employment or return to the labour market. The age limit should not be a caesura for the availability of personal assistance services. The age limit introduced should take into account other measures to support older people.

According to the draft, an assistant to a person with a disability will not have to demonstrate experience and will meet one of the requirements for assistants, who will also be recruited by implementers after six months of work.

The CHR is concerned about allowing people without ‘any particular experience’ to provide assistants. While confidence in the assistant is crucial, this must not completely overshadow the substantive preparation of the assistant to provide the service. If people who are completely untrained are admitted, it is impossible to foresee the scale and magnitude of the potential consequences, which may endanger health and life and distort the institution of personal assistance.

In addition, the draft law does not provide for the possibility for a person with a disability to submit an application in a non-digital form. Complaints to the CHR indicate that the inability to submit a paper application is a challenge for some persons with disabilities, especially given the need for digital literacy and authentication tools such as a trusted profile.

CHR Marcin Wiącek asks the Minister to take these comments into account in his work on the project. He also requests to be informed about further actions and decisions taken.

https://bip.brpo.gov.pl/pl/content/rpo-projekt-asystencji-osobistej-opinia-mrpips

On February 5–6, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise and Head of the Inspection Visits Department Indrek-Ivar Määrits participated in discussions on the EU Migration Pact in Brussels. The legal acts within the package are complex, and their interpretation has led to significant disagreements. The goal is to swiftly determine at the border who may be in need of asylum while ensuring that others are returned. 

The European Union has decided that each member state must have an independent observer to monitor this process. In many countries, assigning this responsibility to the Ombudsman or a national human rights institution (NHRI) is under consideration. The EU intends to strictly oversee the implementation of this monitoring obligation. It was also acknowledged that this responsibility represents a substantial additional workload, requiring stable funding.

The discussion, led in a Poldershop format by the Dutch Ombudsman, focused primarily on the situation in Southern European countries. Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise introduced Estonia’s experience in protecting the EU’s eastern border and the challenges in ensuring asylum rights, particularly in the context of hybrid attacks.

„Es ist traurig, dass es den Equal Pay Day immer noch gibt“, attestiert Volksanwältin Gaby Schwarz anlässlich der Berechnung von “Business & Professional Women”, wonach Frauen heuer von 1. Jänner bis 13. Februar gratis arbeiten. „Was würden Männer sagen, wenn sie 44 Tage ohne Bezahlung arbeiten müssten? Sicher nicht! Aber genau das ist für viele Frauen in Österreich Realität“, so Gaby Schwarz.

„Bei uns in der Volksanwaltschaft verdienen Männer und Frauen dasselbe. Darauf bin ich stolz und das sollte überall so sein“, betont die Volksanwältin und spricht sich für flächendeckende Lohntransparenz aus. Zudem appelliert sie an alle Männer mutig aufzustehen und gemeinsam mit den Frauen ein Ende dieser Ungerechtigkeit einzufordern.

This report, covering years 2022 and 2023, follows the same structure as the previous ones, thus aiming to help the reader draw conclusions on the progress of the situation relating to detention facilities. It presents the main findings generated from the numerous on-site inspections that were carried out by the National Preventive Mechanism's teams over the past two years; presents the Greek Ombudsman’s observations and remarks on the amendment of the framework governing correctional and welfare policy, and highlights the main findings of the investigations conducted by the Greek Ombudsman.