A report released on 19 January 2021 by the Representative of Children and Youth on the involuntary detention of children and youth underscores recommendations made by the Ombudsperson about the need for legal rights advice for people who are involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.

A l’occasion de la rencontre avec le Conseil national consultatif des personnes handicapées (CNCPH), le 18 décembre, la Défenseure des droits a réaffirmé son engagement auprès des acteurs du secteur du handicap et sa volonté d’œuvrer, durant son mandat, pour garantir l’effectivité des droits des personnes handicapées, que ce soit en matière d’éducation, d’emploi, de logement, de santé, de niveau de vie, etc.

La résolution visant à renforcer le rôle des ombudsmans a été adoptée à l’unanimité lors de l’assemblée générale des Nations Unies qui s’est déroulée le 16 décembre dernier.

El Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña pide revisar la suspensión de las actividades extraescolares y deportivas para niños y adolescentes a fin de garantizar su derecho a la educación y al ocio, al tiempo que demanda revisar el cierre de las librerías.

On 14 January 2021, the Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced the launch of two direct investigations: one to examine the effectiveness of rodent prevention and control by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and another to examine the Government’s regulation of boarding facilities for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs).

The Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz has said that his office received the highest ever number of complaints during 2020 as 133,521 complaints and disposed of 130,112 complaints. He said that this was the result of its robust awareness campaign launched in the entire country especially in the far flung areas of Pakistan. 

La Defensoría del Pueblo presentó el Reporte de Conflictos Sociales N° 202, correspondiente al mes de diciembre de 2020, el cual da cuenta -entre otros aspectos- de 197 conflictos sociales registrados (146 activos y 51 latentes). El documento informa también sobre 183 acciones colectivas de protesta, el 18 % de ellas estuvieron relacionadas a conflictos sociales.

Covid-19 has posed numerous challenges for Ombudsman offices and has made it extremely difficult to connect with vulnerable and marginalised citizens of the country. The Zoom discussion will be held on 19 January 2021, at 10:00 AM Johannesburg time and you are invited to register in advance.