SPAIN | Rafael Ribó concludes his mandate as Catalan ombudsman

Rafael Ribó ends today his mandate as síndic de greuges de Catalunya (Catalan ombudsman). He first took office in 2004 and was re-elected in 2010, in accordance with the new Act on the Síndic de Greuges.

Over the course of both terms of office, the institution has processed more than 370,000 actions; has assisted more than 617,000 people and has presented more than 100 reports in Parliament (42 annual and 66 monographic), with their corresponding appearances in the Plenary and the Commission of the Catalan Ombudsman (more than 150 in total). In addition, 42 special monitoring agreements have been signed with local councils and county councils and more than 1,200 trips have been made throughout the territory to collect complaints and queries.

Ribó has been a member of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) since 2006, holding various positions: He served two terms (2009-2012 and 2016-2021) as president of the IOI European Board of Directors and also served as a director of the IOI World Board.

He was also one of the founding members of the International Association of Language Commissionners (IALC), established in Barcelona in 2014. He also promoted, with other ombudsmen, the National Energy Ombudsmen Network (NEON), formally founded in Brussels in January 2015.

At the end of May, Ribó gave a speech on the state of rights in the Sant Pau modernista complex, and it served to take stock of his term of office at the head of the institution. In his speech, Ribó warned about the situation of certain basic rights in our society and concluded that it is necessary to defend rights beyond laws to evolve towards a more democratic system that respects people. He also stressed the need to focus on people and move beyond the concept of citizens, which can be restrictive in relation to rights.

Today we present a press dossier with the competences that the institution has acquired over the years, the most important figures, the reports published, and the conferences and seminars held.

Rafael Ribó thanks all the employees of the institution for the work done and encourages the new ombudswoman, Esther Giménez-Salinas, to continue fighting to guarantee the rights of people, especially the most vulnerable.

Source: Office of the Catalan ombudsman, Spain