Upon instructions by the Ombudsman, Sabina Aliyeva, as part of the activities of the Ombudsman’s Working Group on “Mental Health and Human Rights”, the Office staff members monitored social media and conducted a public opinion survey to investigate the instances of stigmatization, discrimination, and attitudes towards individuals with mental illness in society.

The 30-question survey, which was created by experts, was completed anonymously by people of various ages while accounting for gender parity. The survey was completed by residents of the Absheron district as well as Baku and Sumgayit cities.

The survey’s findings indicate that getting professional psychological and psychiatric assistance is still viewed as a dubious and hesitant matter in society. Thus, respondents acknowledged that they thought it was “undesirable” in some situations to seek assistance from experts in this field, fearing censure from neighbors, family, and coworkers, being called “crazy” or “mentally ill,” and ultimately fearing that this would have a detrimental impact on their personal and professional lives.

Some respondents said they aren’t in favor of persons with mental illnesses being parents and having kids, and they had concerns about their capacity to be good parents. Regarding their capacity to carry out their official duties and participate in labor activities, similar opinions prevail.

According to certain respondents, those who seek psychiatric assistance, or contact a psychologist, or have mental illnesses are “dangerous” and “untrustworthy.”

According to the results of the survey, stigmatization tendencies are evident and there are certain societal stereotypes around mental health and getting professional assistance.

WG members monitored popular social networks in addition to conducting the opinion survey. As is well known, social networks are especially significant in the fields of information, communication, organization, and service delivery in the modern era.

This must be noted that many of the people, representing themselves on social media so-called psychologists, parapsychologists, mental psychologists, personal development and success specialists, mental health specialists, subconscious therapists, neurolinguists, psychotherapists, hypnotists, and Gestalt therapists, who are involved in psychological services, and, in certain situations, and offer relevant services. Besides this, these people prefer not to answer the question regarding the adequate education for their profession.

It was revealed that sometimes people looking for advice and guidance in mental health are directed to neurologists rather than psychiatrists in online groups that offer medical services and medical advice on “Facebook,” and terms like “psychologist,” “clinical psychologist,” “psychotherapist,” and “psychiatrist” are not always distinguishable. According to an analysis of conversations held in pertinent groups and pages on that social network, stereotypes about professional psychiatric care and the treatment process are especially pertinent. Scientifically unfounded beliefs about the addictive nature of psychotropic drugs, especially antidepressants, that are provided during therapy and that restrict patients’ capacity to lead regular lives, participate in their employment, and further their education are widely spread on social media.

The psychologists’ unprofessional comments, judgments, and suggestions on Facebook, which frequently only discuss family and home-related subjects, lead to social misunderstandings about psychology in society.

It has been noted that there are many profiles and pages on the social media platform “Instagram” where people without the necessary training and expertise pose as psychologists.

In several instances, live broadcasts on the TikTok platform have been used to prescribe medication and offer pertinent advice.

Social network monitoring demonstrates the need for more control over the application of regulations for those who are authorized to offer mental health assistance, and specifically for the creation of safeguards against those who lack such authorization from offering psychological support, sessions, and counseling services online and through social networks.

Considering the findings of the WG’s social media monitoring and public opinion survey, a package of ideas will be prepared and submitted to the appropriate state institutions.

The Ombudsman, Mr Jack Chan, (22 January) announced the completion of a direct investigation operation into the Government’s work in combating the abuse of public housing resources, with 31 major recommendations for improvement made to the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HKHA”) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (“HKHS”).

For the live broadcast of the press conference, please watch the replay on the Office’s YouTube channel

The current-term Government has done a lot of work on housing policy.  By adopting important strategies of enhancing speed, efficiency, quantity and quality, the Government has endeavoured to increase the supply of public rental housing (“PRH”) and shorten the waiting time for applicants.  These measures have yielded significant results and deserve full recognition. In addition to increasing supply, combating PRH abuse is another key area of the Government’ work.  In recent years, various sectors of the community have formed a strong consensus supporting the Government in stepping up efforts to combat PRH abuse and increase penalties.  The public unanimously recognises that precious PRH resources should be used rationally and focused on people and families with urgent housing needs.

Mr Chan said, “Housing has always been an issue of great concern to the people of Hong Kong.  The Office is pleased that the current-term Government has adopted a determined attitude with a range of deepening reform measures to assist members of the public in need of housing to move to PRH and effectively shortening the waiting time, which is a manifestation of its firm commitment to the principle of Improve People’s Livelihood in Pursuit of Happiness.

“After the Office initiated the direct investigation operation, HKHA and HKHS have taken the initiative to seriously review and implement the enhanced Well-off Tenants Policy.  New measures to step up combating PRH abuse are also introduced in succession, such as exploring amendments to the Housing Ordinance for greater deterrent effect, establishing a data matching and verification mechanism with the Land Registry (“LR”), and launching the Report Public Housing Abuse Award.  In respect of the new mechanism established between HKHA and LR, the land search fee has been significantly reduced, with the average fee per search dropping significantly from $640 to around $4.  HKHA has compared in batches about 358,000 cases of tenants’ declarations of their residency status and ownership of residential properties in Hong Kong with the information in LR, with a view to more effectively detecting applicants and tenants who have withheld information on their properties.  It precisely demonstrates that on the front of combating abuse and ensuring the rational use of PRH resources, the Office is highly aligned with the Government in both principles and actions, working together to address the urgent needs of those who have waited a long time for PRH, thereby enhancing the public’s sense of happiness and contentment.

“Since the current-term Government took office in July 2022, the Housing Department (“HD”) has recovered more than 7,000 flats on the grounds of abuse or breaches of tenancy terms.  The number of recovered flats has already exceeded the total number of flats in a large estate.  The results are remarkable and deserve recognition and commendation from the community. I would like to recognise the positive attitude, correct approach and remarkable results of HKHA and HKHS in combating PRH abuse.

“To go the extra mile, there is still room for improvement on the part of HKHA and HKHS to ensure that their administrative work against PRH abuse is more precise, comprehensive and effective.

“I believe that most PRH tenants are law-abiding and good citizens; however, the minority of tenants who abuse public housing must not be tolerated by the Government.  Having carefully examined the work of HKHA and HKHS in combating PRH abuse, the Office has made a number of recommendations, covering the applicable scope by HKHS for the full implementation of the Well-off Tenants Policy, detection of abuse relating to ‘income and assets declaration’ and ‘occupancy status’, routine home visits, and the feasibility of increasing the deterrent effect with heavier penalties imposed on PRH abuse.  The Office is pleased to note that HKHA and HKHS have generally accepted our improvement recommendations.”

The Ombudsman’s major recommendations for improvement to HKHA and HKHS include:

• remind estate management office staff to stringently scrutinise the particulars in the declaration forms submitted by tenants, to be more vigilant in clarifying suspicious or incomplete information, and to be more proactive in obtaining tenants’ relevant information from other government departments or organisations where necessary;

• review whether there is any duplication of resources or the possibility of revamping the arrangement of routine home visits and other measures against PRH abuse, thereby ensuring that the measures for combating PRH abuse are complementary and more effective as a whole;

• explore ways to enhance communication with Mainland and Macao authorities and agencies, and establish channels, as far as practicable, for more convenient access to information about tenants’ property ownership on the Mainland or in Macao;

• consider formulating specific incentive schemes to motivate staff members of property services agents and security services contractors to participate in combating PRH abuse;

• explore any possibilities for imposing heavier penalties on tenants for non-law-breaching PRH abuse cases, where HKHA and HKHS can still impose additional sanctions through administrative measures to achieve greater deterrence;

• step up the collection and analysis of data relating to the crackdown on PRH abuse to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the actual situation, analyse the effectiveness of work, and adjust relevant strategies and enhancement measures; and

• consider conducting a land search on all PRH applicants through the data matching and verification mechanism established with the LR before confirming their eligibility for PRH allocation, rigorously screening them for any domestic property ownership in Hong Kong, and randomly selecting cases for in-depth investigation during the waiting period of PRH applicants, to intercept PRH abuse at the source.

The Ombudsman’s major recommendations for improvement to HKHA include:

• draw on experience and comprehensively review its strategies and policies to raise the prosecution rate, and explore ways to identify and collect sufficient evidence for prosecution within the limitation of time for prosecution, thereby enhancing deterrent effect and cost efficiency to the extent that tenants who have been abusing PRH will voluntarily surrender their flats.

The Ombudsman’s major recommendations for improvement to HKHS include:

• conduct a renewed study on the full implementation of the Well-off Tenants Policy, seek legal advice and seriously explore ways to cover all tenants of its rental estates under the policy as soon as possible;

• remind all staff to strictly adhere to the practice of issuing the Notice-to-Quit outright to tenants in serious breach of the tenancy agreement without prior warning, and review the implementation of the new practice in a timely manner;

• review the existing arrangements for accepting appointments for routine home visits; and

• consider liaising with the Social Welfare Department to set up a notification mechanism in the same way as HKHA.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has officially announced its readiness to host the Fourth General Assembly and the Twelfth Board of Directors Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ombudsman Association (OICOA). These events are scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13–14, 2025, in Tehran.

In a formal letter addressed to Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, Secretary-General of the OICOA, Justice Zabihollah Khodaeiyan, President of the General Inspection Organization of Iran and Vice President of the OICOA, emphasized the importance of enhancing international cooperation among Islamic countries to promote justice, peace, and the protection of Muslim rights.

The meeting is expected to provide a platform for the exchange of experiences and collaboration to advance good governance and social justice across member states.

The 3^rd Workshop under the Provincial Ombudsman Sindh’s Ambassador Programme was held at Salim Habib University, Karachi, on December 11, 2024 to instill the concept of civic responsibilities and advocacy skills in the youth of Sindh by carrying out the community outreach of ombudsman mandate to student community and general public. The workshop, initiated through the Regional subsidy of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), focused on the role of the Provincial Ombudsman Office in providing administrative justice to the public, and was chaired by the Honourable Ombudsman of Sindh, Mr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, who was welcomed in Salim Habib University by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder, and other members of the management of the university including Mr. Tariq Amin, Member Board of Governors and Registrar Dr. Muhammad Hussain Habib.

In his speech at a packed Salim Habib University Auditorium, Honourable Ombudsman Sindh, congratulated the management and for establishing such an state of the art university and appreciated the role of the university to promote and produce skillful youth. The Honourable Ombudsman emphasized that almost 16 million children are out of schools and collective efforts are required to bring them to school. He added that office of Ombudsman receiving about 8000 complaints in average per annum though population of the province is above than 50 million and approximately the majority of the residents have complaints against government departments. The Ombudsman emphasized that he has vision to make the institute of Ombudsman a proactive department likewise Ombudsman office in Europe.

The objective of the ambassador programme is to disseminate our message through them to general public so that people should know they have some forum to address their grievances expeditiously free of cost. He informed that his office has already selected 20 Ambassadors
(10 each) from the Hamdard and Sindh Madressatul Islam Universities, who have been disseminating the message of the Institute through social media and community meetings. He also underlined how important it is for students to educate the society about resilience, their legal rights and the channels through which they may address issues.

The Ombudsman Sindh also highlighted that students selected as Ambassadors will bridge the gap between community and the Ombudsman office by promoting accountability, openness, and good governance.

Vice Chancellor, Salim Habib University, while speaking on the occasion, commended this initiative to connect with citizens and students, and emphasized the need to serve the community by spreading knowledge and awareness.

Ms. Rehana G. Ali Memon, Advisor and Masood Ishrat Registrar, Secretariat Provincial Ombudsman Sindh also spoke on the concept of the Brand Ambassador Program and Mohtasib operations respectively at the event, which was also attended by advisors and consultants from the Ombudsman Office.

The event concluded with a Q&A session during which Honourable Ombudsman Sindh addressed students’ queries.

• WAFAQI MOHTASIB REDRESSES RECORD NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS DURING 2024
• LAUDS MEDIA’S ROLE IN ENHANCING ACCESSIBILITY
• PLEDGES FOR GREATER SERVICES ON THE EVE OF NEW YEAR– MEDIA INTERACTION

Islamabad –January 14, 2025:  The Wafaqi Mohtasib, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has said that his office received and redressed a record number of complaints during the outgoing year 2024, which stood at 226,371 and 223,171 respectively, indicating an increase of 17% and 16% in the receipt and disposal.

He was informally interacting with a group of journalists, who called on him at the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat here today.

Warmly felicitating the journalists and media persons on the advent of the New Year, the Wafaqi Mohtasib termed members of the media his partner and stakeholders in his efforts to raise awareness about the Wafaqi Mohtasib and its services in support of the citizen’s rights. Wafaqi Mohtasib further added that the outreach of his office was continuously being increased and the new regional offices have been established at Muzaffarabad (AJ&K) and Gilgit which brings the number to 24. He added that the institution is planning to establish more regional offices in remote areas during this year.

He further informed that 92.9% decisions made by his organization have been implemented during the year 2024, while expressing the resolve to achieve 100% implementation rate. He said that nearly 2.3 million households have benefitted from the services of offered by the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Office since its establishment in 1983.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib further added that during 2024, our investigation officers held 126 Khuli Katcheries (Open Courts) across the length and breadth of the country, thereby sparing the complainants of the hassle to visit the Mohtasib’s Offices and received administrative justice at the door steps. He went on to add that the Heads of federal government agencies and departments have been instructed to ensure implementation of the decisions made by his office within the shortest possible time. He said that the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s office is the poor man’s court established with a view to serving the marginalized and down trodden segments of the society.

He said that by virtue of the untiring efforts made by his officers and staff members towards the resolution of the public problems and due to new initiative like Khuli Katcheries, Inspection Visits, Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD), growing number of people are approaching this institution for speedy and free of cost redressal of their complaints.

Touching on the Mohtasib’s international role, he stated that being President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) he presided over the 25^th meeting of its Board of Directors in Istanbul in June 2024 besides addressing the International Ombuds Summit (IOS) in Hong Kong as the key note speaker.

Even the Costs for Issuing University Electronic Certificates are a Burden When It is Hard to Find a Job

• ACRC recommends public and national universities and the Ministry of Education to ease the burden of issuing electronic certificates from universities… There should be management of the format and costs of issuing electronic certificates to reduce the burden on job seekers.

The costs incurred by young people when obtaining electronic certificates from universities for job preparation or external activities are expected to decrease.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) prepared a “Plan to Ease the Burden of Issuing University Electronic Certificates” on the 9th of this month and recommended it to public and national universities and the Ministry of Education.

The ACRC 2030 Advisory Group* noted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in current students and job seekers obtaining certificates such as enrollment and graduation certificates online. However, they expressed significant burden due to the need to obtain multiple copies depending on the submitting institution, thus requesting institutional improvements to redress this issue.

*The 2030 Advisory Group, operated by the ACRC, consists of 20 individuals in their 20s and 30s from various backgrounds, including university students, education and social welfare workers, and company employees, to reflect the voices of youth in anti-corruption policy formulation and propose innovative policy ideas for young people.

(Table) Current Status of University Electronic Certificate Issuance Costs (Oct. 2024, ACRC Survey)】

Unlike paper certificates, electronic certificates require specifying the submitting company or institution, leading to the inconvenience and cost burden of having to obtain electronic certificates from each institution.

Additionally, the validity period for electronic certificates is approximately 3 months, requiring renewed certificates each quarter for employment or external activities.

In response, the ACRC recommended public and national universities to allow electronic certificates to be issued with only the purpose of submission, such as ‘for company submission,’ without requiring the entry of the place of use, and to extend the current validity period of electronic certificates beyond 3 months to reduce the cost burden for students and graduates.

Furthermore, at the level of the Ministry of Education, ACRC also recommended guidelines on the format and costs of issuing electronic certificates for public and national universities should be established.

For private universities, the Ministry of Education is also expected to create guidelines or share best practices from public and national universities to manage the issuance format of electronic certificates and reduce the costs incurred by current students and graduates.

The Vice Chairperson for Grievance Handling and Secretariat of the ACRC, Park Jong-min, said, “As youth unemployment continues, we expect that this system improvement will reduce the cost burden for university certificates needed for external activities or employment.”

On the eve of the 25^th anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, together with the appointment of the new Macao SAR Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Sam Ho Fai, a new Commissioner against Corruption was also appointed –
Ms. Ao Ieong Seong.

Letter to the President, Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) and the CV of the new commissioner is attached.

The Ombudsman, Mr. Jack Chan, today (27 December) announced the launch of a direct investigation operation to probe the Government’s work on animal management and protection of animal rights and welfare.

In recent years, various sectors of the community have a growing concern about the rights and welfare of animals, particularly in the wake of cases of severe cruelty to animals that have occurred over recent months, with many of these animals found abused to death.  The general public is calling for tougher enforcement by the authorities and heavier penalties. The Office of The Ombudsman notes that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has proposed to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance since 2019 to step up efforts to combat animal cruelty, but it has not finalised the amendment proposals to date, nor has it set a specific timetable for introducing the bill into the Legislative Council.

Moreover, the Government has uncovered a number of illegal animal breeding farms and animal smuggling activities in recent years, and there have been media reports on the illegal importation, illegal breeding and unlicensed trading of animals.  These illegal activities not only pose threats to public hygiene and health, but also cause substantial suffering to animals.

Meanwhile, the Office has from time to time received complaints against the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (“AFCD”) for improper treatment of animals captured or seized, and failure to properly handle reports of animal cruelty or illegal breeding and unlicensed trading of animals.

Mr. Chan said, “With the advancement of society, the public attaches more importance to animal rights and welfare, while pet ownership is also increasingly common in Hong Kong.  Although the Government has indicated that it will step up combating animal cruelty through legislative amendments, I aspire to conduct this direct investigation operation to comprehensively review the adequacy, effectiveness and room for improvement of the Government’s work and measures for preventing and combating animal cruelty, protecting animal rights and welfare, and animal management.  Therefore, I have decided to launch a direct investigation operation to thoroughly examine the AFCD’s work regarding animal management and protection of animal rights and welfare, including the prevention of animal abuse, handling of suspected cases of animal cruelty, measures to combat illegal breeding, smuggling and unlicensed trading of animals, treatment of stray animals and re-homing arrangements, as well as public education and publicity to promote animal rights and welfare.  Where necessary, pertinent recommendations will be made for improvement.”

• Wafaqi Mohtasib inaugurates Regional Office at Muzaffarabad (AJ&K)
• Asks Heads of Federal Agencies to Ensure Speedy Redressal of Public Complaints
• Redresses Record Number of Public Complaints during 2024

Muzaffarabad: January 22, 2025 – The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman), Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has asked the heads of federal agencies in AJ&K to ensure speedy resolution of public complaints. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Regional Office at Muzaffarabad.

He said that this Office is continuously reaching out to the public, as a result increasing number of people are contacting this forum for redressal of their grievances. The outgoing year 2024, he said, witnessed a record increase in the receipt and disposal of complaints. Now with the opening of the Regional Offices at Muzaffarabad and Gilgit Baltistan, it has presence in
24 cities of the country, adding that more Regional Offices are expected to be opened later this year.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by a large number of senior officials belonging to
AJ&K, apart from the heads of federal agencies, members of civil society and media. Speaking on the occasion, the Wafaqi Mohtasib further added that the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat during the outgoing year 2024, received as many as 226,372 complaints, out of which 223,171 have been disposed of, indicating an increase of 17% and 16% in the receipt and disposal of the complaints respectively over the figures of 2023. “Our Investigating Officers travelled across the length and breadth of the country and held Khuli Katcheries to dispense administrative justice at the doorsteps of the people, observing that Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Office is truly a poor man’s court”, he added.

He also presided over a meeting with the heads of federal government agencies, wherein he called upon them to ensure speedy redressal of public complaints. Later, he also addressed a well-attended press conference, wherein he lauded the constructive role being played by press and media and said that it remained instrumental in raising public awareness regarding the availability of this useful forum for prompt redressal of public complaints. He invited them to stand by the institution to enhance awareness for the general good of the people at large.

Dili, 02 December 2024 – The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ) has kicked off another round of its regular human rights training program for Military Police (PM) members, focusing on human rights and the duties of law enforcement. The five-day training, held from December 2 to 6 in Dili, is part of the Ombudsman’s broader initiative to promote human rights within Timor-Leste’s security forces. The program is designed to enhance the understanding of PM members about their responsibilities under national and international human rights law, ensuring that they uphold the rights and freedoms of all individuals they serve.

In her opening remarks, the Deputy Ombudsman for Human Rights, Maria Marilia da Costa emphasized the critical role that the Military Police play in safeguarding human rights and maintaining public order in Timor-Leste. She noted that the training also aligns with the country’s democratic principles, reinforcing that all public entities, including the Military Police, must respect and protect the fundamental rights of every person. The training is part of an ongoing effort by PDHJ to equip both the Police and the Timor-Leste Defence Forces (F-FDTL) with the knowledge and tools needed to prevent human rights violations, both domestically and during international peacekeeping missions.

The session was also attended by Major Mateus de Jesus, the Military Police Unit Commander, who underlined the importance of the training for PM members. He highlighted that understanding human rights and their application is crucial for effective policing and for fostering a culture of respect and accountability within the force. This session marks the continuation of a series of human rights education programs organized by the Ombudsman’s office, which have been ongoing for several years. The current cohort includes 21 participants, three of whom are women, and is expected to contribute significantly to strengthening the PM’s role in upholding justice and human rights across Timor-Lest.