Category Archives: AOA News Letter
WAFAQI MOHTASIB REVIEWS IMPLEMENTATION OF JAIL REFORMS.
- WAFAQI MOHTASIB REVIEWS IMPLEMENTATION OF JAIL REFORMS.
- FREE LEGAL AID AND PAYMENT OF FINES FOR DESERVING CASES NEEDS ATTENTION.
- VIRTUAL MEETINGS OF PRISONERS WITH THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH ZOOM IS A COMMENDABLE STEP
Federal Ombudsman, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, said that prison reforms process is continuing according to the Supreme Court directions .Under this program 14 Prisons of the Sindh Province have been provided with biometric system. Appreciating the online meeting of jail inmates with their relatives, Wafaqi Mohtasib said that the facility shall enable the relatives to meet the prisoners when not in a position to travel at time, through computers and mobile phones at home. Wafaqi Mohtasib informed that up till now fifteen implementation reports on jail reforms have been submitted to Supreme Court of Pakistan and the 16th Report will be presented soon.
The Wafaqi Mohtasib directed IG Prison Sindh that work on providing biometric system in all prisons in Sindh and construction work on Thatta jail be completed early. Referring to the medical facilities for the prisoners, the Wafaqi Mohtasib asked the Jail Authorities to ensure provision of doctors in all prisons. The Wafaqi Mohtasib said that keeping in view the recommendations of the Reforms Committee, steps should be taken to connect biometric system with NADRA Police, Prosecution and other relevant agencies.
The Wafaqi Mohtasib was chairing a high level meeting alongwith the Chief Secretary during his visit to Karachi which was attended by Home Secretary, IG Prisons and Head of Wafaqi Mohtasib Regional Office Karachi along with other senior officers. Chief Secretary Sindh Dr. Fakhar-e-Alam Irfan informed that effective measures are being taken to resolve prisoner’s issues and he himself was supervising this process.
Earlier in a briefing Wafaqi Mohtasib was informed that with the cooperation of legal aid offices, NGOs and philanthropists the needy and destitute prisoners were being provided with free legal aid and financial assistance to settle their fines. The basic facilities of clean drinking water, wash rooms, sports places, education, health and waiting areas are also being ensured in the prisons, whereas the drug addicts, mentally deranged and those suffering from T.B, Hepatitis and other critical diseases are being kept in separate barracks and are duly attended by doctors. Women, juveniles and transgender prisoners are being kept in separate sections.
Arrangements of technical education have also been made in the prisons and free education system from class one to matric has been introduced in all prisons and arrangements are also in hand to conduct their exams in the premises of the respective jails. Furthermore books and reading material on religious and social themes is being provided in the libraries for character building.
The Ombudsman lauded these steps and hoped that these will lead to better environment for prisoners. He stated that the conditions of prisons located in the interior of Sindh also need to be reviewed to provide compatible facilities of legal aid, medical facilities, skill training and educational facilities as in the Karachi jails.
INVITING HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN “UNI VOLUNTEER SERVICE PROJECT – INTEGRITY PROMOTION PROGRAMME FOR HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS 2024”.
The CCAC will organise “UNI Volunteer Service Project – Integrity Promotion Programme for Higher Education Students 2024”. “UNI” stands for “University and Integrity”. 40 full-time students from local higher education institutes will be invited to participate in a series of training courses and practical works of integrity promotion so as to enhance their awareness of integrity and enable them to accumulate practical experience before entering the workplace.
In addition, the CCAC continued to train teenage ambassadors of integrity recruited among local Form 2 to Form 5 students. In November, the CCAC started to provide them with training in social media promotion strategies and online course on legal knowledge in order to strengthen their awareness of integrity and assist them in organising suitable integrity promotion activities for their peers in their schools.
OMBUDSMAN AS “CLEAR MIRROR” OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION COMMENDS PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS WHO PROVIDED QUALITY PUBLIC SERVICE.
At the 26th Presentation Ceremony of The Ombudsman’s Awards today (15 November), The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, presented the Grand Award to the Immigration Department (“ImmD”), an Award for Public Organisation to the Efficiency Office (“EO”) and the Hospital Authority (“HA”) separately, and the Award on Mediation to the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office (“CSO”). Individual Awards were also given to 62 public officers.
Ms Chiu said, “Throughout the years, our Office has been like a clear mirror when handling public complaints: we examine complaint cases in an impartial manner, reveal the facts as they are, make objective and unbiased comments, then put forward improvement recommendations. Our ultimate goal is to lift the standard of public administration.”
As a six-time winner of the Grand Award, ImmD has triumphed more times at the Ombudsman’s Awards than any other department. In early 2023, there had been a sharp increase in demand for identity document replacement services. ImmD responded by implementing a series of measures, such as extended office hours, special service days on public holidays, additional days available for appointments to replace/apply for identity cards, enhanced website information, etc. It had, as always, provided flexible, efficient and “people-oriented” public services, and been cooperating proactively with the Office of The Ombudsman investigations.
In response to the Office inquiries into complaint cases, EO could always explain the course of events clearly and provide detailed records to give the Office full pictures of the cases. The 1823 contact centre under EO had been helpful in several direct investigations of the Office which involved only other departments. It readily provided the Office with useful data, case studies and its observations so that the Office could analyse the issues from multiple perspectives and make improvement recommendations.
HA had to deploy resources to handle COVID-19 cases and pay close attention to the pandemic situation in order to make necessary adjustments to other areas of work in hospitals. Amid the pandemic, HA staff dedicated themselves to providing quality services and caring for patients, and endeavoured to maintain an effective public healthcare system in Hong Kong. HA positively responded to complaints, provided the Office with information and explained their work in detail despite the challenges at the time.
CSO was presented the Award on Mediation this year. In 2022/23, it handled 95 complaint cases by way of mediation upon the Office’s intervention, which accounted for 31% of all mediation cases the Office handled in the year. Many of the complaints against CSO the Office received were related to Government subsidies provided during the pandemic. CSO handled the complaints by way of mediation. It had promptly contacted the complainants, informed them of the progress of their cases, reviewed their applications and provided a dedicated hotline for checking the progress of the case and results at any time, sparing no effort to relieve the financial stress of members of the public and business enterprises affected by the pandemic.
At the presentation ceremony, Ms Chiu also commended the recipients of the Individual Awards and recognised their contributions. She said, “Government departments and public organisations rely on their committed and diligent staff to provide quality public service. This year, 62 public officers received the Individual Award. I am very pleased to see that more officers are commended for their professional and excellent services, as they have earned the recognition and commendation of the general public, the department/organisation concerned and my Office alike.”
A full list of the recipients of the Individual Awards this year and the experiences and thoughts of some of them about receiving the Awards are in Appendices I and II respectively.
The Ombudsman’s Awards Scheme was introduced in 1997. In 1999, the Scheme was extended to honour individual public officers. In 2018, an additional Award on Mediation for a public organisation was introduced.
Wafaqi Mohtasib addresses Seminar on “Threats of Cybercrime: Growing Vulnerabilities of Societies” at COMSATS University, Islamabad.
- Wafaqi Mohtasib addresses Seminar on “Threats of Cybercrime: Growing Vulnerabilities of Societies” at COMSATS University, Islamabad.
- Wafaqi Mohtasib calls for greater efforts for promotion and protection of child rights.
- Grievance Commissioner for Children in Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat working for safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of children.
Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi addressed a well-attended seminar on “Threats of Cybercrime: Growing Vulnerabilities of Societies” held yesterday at COMSATS University, Islamabad. Besides, participation by the representatives of Federal ministries and the relevant agencies, special arrangements were made for online participation by the members of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), the OIC Ombudsman Association (OICOA) and the Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman (FPO). Mr. Qureshi stated that the Seminar was being held in the backdrop of the Universal Children’s Day which was observed last week and provided an opportunity to renew our commitment towards promotion and protection of child rights. He emphasized that the Constitution of Pakistan recognized special rights of protection for children due to their vulnerabilities and Pakistan was among the first few countries who ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on November 12, 1990.
Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi stated that the exploitation of children including the growing cases of cybercrime was a common feature across the globe and Pakistan was no exception. He added that the Wafaqi Mohtasib Institution has been deeply conscious of its role in pursuing the child rights issues in Pakistan. He further stated that the Office of Grievances Commissioner for Children has been set up in the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat to redress the individual grievances of children, monitor the overall situation and address the systemic issues face by them. This Office provided the children with a forum to raise their voice in matters relating to them and has to its credit various initiatives including Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act 2020 and a Bill on Prevention and Control of Cybercrime against Children/Criminal Law Amendment Act.
The Seminar was addressed by senior experts from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Quaid-e-Azam University and the Grievance Commissioner for Children at the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat. Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi stated that safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of children was an important facet of ombudsmanship and various institutions were operating globally under different names. He said that in line with the mandate of Wafaqi Mohtasib Institution i.e. to diagnose, investigate, redress and rectify injustice done to a person through maladministration, several initiatives have been taken to raise the profile of child rights. Mr. Qureshi added that addressing maladministration is a means to ensuring sanctity of human rights, achieving an ultimate goals of good governance, the rule of law and safeguarding against exploitation of all including children.
Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi invited all stakeholders to work together for developing effective mechanism to protect our children against the growing menace of cybercrimes and other vulnerabilities rampant in various societies. In this regard, he assured the international ombuds community of Pakistan’s readiness to share its knowledge, experiences and best practices in this field in terms of its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the objectives of Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA).
New learning video uploaded to “Website of Corruption Prevention in the Private Sector”
In May, a new learning video was uploaded to the “website of corruption prevention in the private sector”, reminding employees that they should comply with not only the legal requirements but also codes of conduct and requirements of their companies on receiving gifts, so as to guard against committing passive bribery under the law Prevention and Suppression of Bribery in the Private Sector due to oversight.
(https://www.ccac.org.mo/PrivSec/tc/learning_movie_detail/article/ksztvmir.html)
Publication of comics adapted from real cases for the “Filing Rational Complaints & Improving the Systems” series
To deepen the community’s understanding of the CCAC’s ombudsman actions, the CCAC adapted some of the cases concluded by the Ombudsman Bureau into comics. Widely publicised through different channels of the mass media, these comics introduce the ombudsman actions to the public in a relaxed manner.
Public Defender’s statement on degrading conditions in Beteli home for older people
On June 17, 2022, the Public Defender’s monitoring group monitored the Tsnori Nursing Home for Older People NNLE, located in the Sighnaghi district of Kakheti. The monitoring showed that the situation in the facility is alarming and the elderly are in degrading conditions.
The Tsnori Nursing Home is a community organization serving 21 older people. Services for 17 of them are funded by the Agency for State Care and Assistance for Victims of Trafficking LEPL. (2 persons are funded by the municipality and two are self- funded). Accordingly, the State is responsible for monitoring the living conditions of the elderly, as well as for ensuring the provision of adequate conditions by the service provider.
The monitoring conducted by the Public Defender’s Office revealed that the beneficiaries are in severe unsanitary conditions. There is an unbearable smell all over the building. No attention is paid to the hygiene of the beneficiaries. Most of them wear old, torn and dirty clothes. The facility does not provide personal hygiene items or support in observing personal hygiene. The interview with beneficiaries made it clear that they do not have the opportunity to take a shower. According to one of them, she has not taken a shower at all this year.
The nursing home does not have adequate infrastructure. There is only one bathroom for all the beneficiaries; toilets are terribly unsanitary.
The institution neglects the health care of the elderly. In particular, it has no doctor, while the scarce medical documentation is incomplete.
In addition to the alarmingly unsanitary conditions, the facility does not have a menu made by a specialist, which would be tailored to the needs of the elderly. Consequently, members of the monitoring team were unable to assess the nutritional value of the food.
The staff of the nursing home does not have appropriate qualifications, in particular, they have not been trained on how to take care of the elderly. It is noteworthy that the institution does not have a male caregiver who would provide care for male beneficiaries so as not to degrade them. It should be noted that the remuneration of the staff working in the institution is the lowest compared to other nursing homes inspected by the Public Defender’s Office.
The stereotypical attitude caused by stigma towards some elderly people is alarming. On the remark made by the Public Defender’s representative regarding the above-mentioned violations, one of the representatives of the administration said that an older person should have dignity in order to abuse it.
Differentiated treatment of the elderly according to their physical and mental health was also observed, which stirs up controversy among beneficiaries.
Fear and mistrust towards the administration is noticeable. In the presence of the administration, the older people avoided talking about problems that were important to them and expressing concern, while when they were left alone, they talked with the monitoring team about the challenges in the facility.
With regard to inappropriate conditions in the Tsnori Nursing Home, the Public Defender of Georgia appealed to the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and the Agency for State Care and Assistance for Victims of Trafficking to react to the above-mentioned violations urgently and to transfer the beneficiaries to other facilities immediately, where they will have decent conditions.
ACRC, “Anti-Corruption education completion ratio among public officials reached 95 percent last year… showing a steady increase”
Anti-corruption education completion rates for elected local government heads (70%) and local council members (77.8%) were relatively low
ACRC announced the results of inspection of anti-corruption education completion status in public institutions
It was found that 1.74 million (95%) public officials in 2,073 public institutions completed their mandatory anti-corruption education last year, a steady increase since 2016.
Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jeon Hyun Heui) published its inspection results of public institution anti-corruption education completion status on May 24th.
Since September 2016 when anti-corruption education became mandatory for public officials to complete, the number of public officials who have completed the education has steadily increased from 1.57 million in 2019 to 1.62 million in 2020 to 1.74 million in 2021, indicating successful establishment of the system.
By type of public institution, the completion ratios for Office of Education, central administrative agency, public service-related organizations, local government, local council, and public universities were 98.1%, 97.3%, 94.5%, 92.2%, 88.8% and 62.7%, respectively.
The number of public institutions with completion rates of less than 60%, such as Pocheon-si in Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Provincial Council, and Gongju University, was 90*.
* 4 lower-level local governments, 20 local councils, 18 public universities, 45 public service-related organizations
Among 2,097 public institutions subject to the mandatory education, 24 institutions have not submitted their completion records.
As for the participation rates of heads of institutions, office of education and central administrative agency showed the highest rates of 98.2% and 94.9%, respectively, followed by public service-related organizations (91.2%), local governments (81.8%), local councils (87.6%), and public universities (68.4%).
The inspection results found relatively lower completion rates among elected heads of local governments (70%) and members of local councils (77.8%), who are responsible for transparency and integrity of local authorities, and the lowest completion rates among public universities.
Accordingly, ACRC will try to enhance the effectiveness and completion rate of the mandatory anti-corruption education through various means, including by offering special training for officials in charge of anti-corruption education management in the institution showing lower anti-corruption education completion rates and disclosing their completion rates to the public.
ACRC Anti-Corruption Bureau General Director Han Sam-Seok said, “It has been six years since the anti-corruption education became mandatory for public officials, showing stable settlement of the system. However, anti-corruption education needs to be more strengthened for public universities, local authorities, local councils, and public service-related organizations which have been newly designated as such,” adding that “there have been many changes, including the launch of a new administration and the organization of new local governments, and the enforcement of the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest Related to Duties of Public Servants. Given these changes, we will put more efforts into further improving anti-corruption efforts and integrity capabilities of public institutions.”
The Ombudsman spoke at the IX Global Baku Forum
The Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva spoke at the panel “Human Rights, Democracy and New Challenges in the XXI century” in the IX Global Baku Forum.
Ms. Aliyeva, gave broad information on the human rights reforms implemented at the national level, greeting the Forum participants.
The Ombudsman congratulated the participants on the 18 June- Human Rights Day in Azerbaijan, which has been celebrated already for 15 years.
In her speech, S. Aliyeva shared the scope of the activity of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman Institute, which marks its 20th anniversary and good practices.
Referring to the Azerbaijani experience, S. Aliyeva noted the importance of the support of the state to the NHRIs and ombudsmen as non-judicial protection mechanisms.
The Ombudsman touched upon the issues threatening human rights at the global level, underlining that the panel was dedicated to the most topical issues.
Aliyeva also noted that one of the main problems is the demonstration of discrimination and double standards in the prosecution of the crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, given that the punishment of such grave offenses.
The Ombudsman with heartfelt said that silence on fundamental issues by international organizations has led to wars and conflicts, as a result of which the norms of international human rights and humanitarian law.
The panel continued with discussions.
ACRC set to implement the act on the prevention of conflict of interest related to duties of public servants to which 2 million Public Officials in about 15,000 institutions are subject
Anyone can file a report on violations of the Act and reporters will receive thorough protection and rewards of up to 3 billion won
Public officials subject to the Act should comply with their obligations to report conflict-of-interest situations they face while performing their duties and submit relevant s including details of activities in the private sector they were formerly involved in
The Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest Related to Duties of Public Servants to which two million public officials in around 15,000 public institutions started to be implemented on May 19 in order to systematically prevent and control conflict-of-interest situations that may arise while public officials perform their duties.
Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui gave a briefing on the implementation of the Act in the morning on May 18 at the Government Complex-Seoul, calling for active reports on public officials’ violations of the Act for the stable establishment of the Act in Korean society.
The Act stipulates 10 standards of behaviors for public officials and provisions of criminal punishment, including the imposition of administrative fines in cases of violations of the 10 standards.
From now on, two million public officials subject to the Act should faithfully comply with the 10 standards of behaviors under the Act and about 15,000 public institutions of various levels must strictly manage conflict-of-interest situations facing the public officials belonging thereto.
ACRC regards reports on violations of the Act by public officials filed by the public as important for swift settlement of the Act.
ACRC made it possible for the general public to easily file a report on violations at any time anywhere by accessing the Clean Portal at www.clean.go.kr.
In addition, ACRC provides 24/7 free call services such as 110 people’s call and 1398 corruption report consultation call service.
In cases where public officials violate the provisions of the Act, anyone can file a report to the ACRC, public institutions to which the public official concerned belongs, or the supervisory institutions of the public institutions, etc.
No one can hinder the filing of reports, disclose personal information of a reporter, or take disadvantageous measures against a reporting person on grounds of his/her report, etc.
A reporter can request ACRC to take protective measures in the case where there is a concern for him/her to risk life or be physically injured due to the filing of reports, and can apply for a protective measure such as reinstatement when he/she received a disadvantageous measure.
ACRC plans to pay a monetary reward of up to 3 billion won to a reporter in the case where the report filed directly results in a recovery of or an increase in the revenues of a public institution or a reduction in its costs, and a monetary award of up to 200 million won in the case where the report filed advances the public interest.
If conflict-of-interest situation arises while public officials perform their duties, he/she needs to access the standard reporting system in the Clean Portal, go through identification confirmation, and report a person related with his/her private interests under the Act.
The Clean Portal established in the integrated government cloud environment can flexibly respond to the demand from public institutions and favorable for the system security and reporter protection.
Given that the Act came into force at a time when a new administration is formed and the head of local authorities and members of local council are elected, ACRC will conduct a complete investigation during the second half of the year into the status of compliance with obligations under the Act, including those to submit details of activities of senior officials in the private sector, report a person related with private interests and apply for the recusal of himself/herself for stable implementation of the Act.
ACRC Chairperson Jeon Hyun Heui said, “If the general public actively files reports on public officials’ violations of the Act, it will lay a foundation to improve unfair practices in the public sector. The two million public officials will perceive such reports as a stern demand from the public for transparent and fair performance of public duties.”