MALTA | The Parliamentary Ombudsman meets with the Director of the European Fundamental Rights Agency

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, met with the Director of the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), Ms Sirpa Rautio, to discuss the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in Malta.

For years, the Office of the Ombudsman has advocated for the establishment of an NHRI in Malta, emphasising that the Ombudsman could naturally extend its current remit to include a broader human rights mandate. This proposal, submitted to the Government in November last year, aligns with the practices of many European countries where ombudsman institutions also function as NHRIs. The Ombudsman Act 1995 already empowers the Office to investigate complaints regarding unfair, oppressive, or improperly discriminatory acts or omissions, of Government and the public administration, thus laying a solid foundation for such an expansion.

The Ombudsman updated the FRA Director on the two bills that were presented by the Government in Parliament in 2019, namely the Bill to establish the Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Equality Bill. The dissolution of the Thirteenth Legislature on February 20, 2022, resulted in the lapse of all pending legislative items, including the Equality Bill and the Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill. The subject matter of these two Bills has not been re-proposed.

Due to the lack of tangible progress on the agenda over the past two years, the Office of the Ombudsman has again proposed integrating the functions of an NHRI within its existing structure - a move both practical and necessary under the circumstances.

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Source: The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Malta