Residents of Al-Safa Heights get justice through Ombudsman intervention

Under the directions of Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, proceedings through IRD system have started.  The residents of Al-Safa Heights, Islamabad filed a complaint under IRD against the management of Al-Safa Heights for resolution of their grievances. They stated that 150 families are residing in Al-Safa Heights, its management regularly charge Rs.7000/- as service charges but they have not provided the facility of water, cleaning and lift services, due to which the residents are suffering great hardship.  Mr. Muhammad Saqib Khan, Registrar WMS and Ms. Zariyab Mussarat, Dy. Director (Complaints) summoned the management of Al-Safa Heights.  During hearing proceedings the management of Al-Safa Heights promised to resolve the issues of residents on immediate basis.  Later on, the management informed that one lift has been operationalized, whereas the second lift would be operationalized at the end of June this year, damaged pipes have been replaced and better measures have been taken for cleanliness.  The residents of Al-Safa Heights have thanked the Federal Ombudsman through a letter that due to his intervention, their problems have been resolved.

“I advised the Mohtasib to launch awareness campaigns regularly across the country in the form of workshops, seminars, and personal visits to the relevant trade, business and investment institutions to highlight the importance of paying just and lawful taxes and to approach the Federal Tax Ombudsman for the redressal their complaints. The awareness about FTO would encourage a greater number of taxpayers to seek resolution of their grievances and complaints against tax departments”, the President expressed these views while addressing an awareness seminar regarding the services of the FTO on 13.6.2022.

Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Dr Muhammad Khawar Jameel, Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment, Kashmala Tariq, advisors to the FTO, members of the business community, and senior officials of the government attended the seminar.

The President also urged the FTO to adopt the latest technology to address a greater number of complaints, besides bringing efficiency in the working of the Mohtasib.

He said that people needed to be educated about the importance of paying taxes and the role of taxes in national development to persuade people to voluntarily pay taxes.

Addressing the occasion, the President said that important and impactful decisions of the FTO, wherein, relief was provided to the complainants, should be highlighted through the media to create awareness about the services of the FTO.

He said that the FTO was playing an important role in discouraging corrupt practices and arbitrary use of authority by the tax officials besides reducing unnecessary delays caused by the tax machinery. He further stated that due to the FTO’s efforts the number of complaints filed with the FTO against the maladministration of tax authorities had increased which was proof of the rising awareness about the FTO among the people.

The President appreciated that the FTO was providing prompt and free-of-cost justice to taxpayers within 60 days without involving the lengthy litigation process.

FTO Dr. Jah, while addressing the occasion highlighted that the FTO during the year 2021 had resolved 2,867 cases and had succeeded in reducing the average time taken to resolve complaints from 68 days to 57 days.

He said that during the first six months of the year 2022, over 2,500 complaints had been received by the FTO which had been mostly resolved. He stated that the FTO was providing prompt and cost-free redressal of taxpayers’ grievances at their doorsteps and urged the participants to further highlight the services being provided by the Mohtasib.

2022 marks the 30^th anniversary of Macao’s integrity building. The CCAC therefore specifically launched a We Chat quiz game entitled “Positive Energy of Integrity” in the hope that the public may better understand and support the work of the CCAC and will continuously inject positive energy into the probity culture of Macao. Over 25,000 games were played in the first week of launch of the activity.

In June 2022, the CCAC held 19 seminars on integrity for public servants and the private sectors as well as 69 seminars and activities on integrity for teenagers, which recorded a total of 7,341 participants. 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.

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (May 26) announced at a press conference the completion of a direct investigation into the regulation of paragliding activities by the Civil Aviation Department (“CAD”), and made eight recommendations for improvement to the CAD.
Paragliding activities first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1990s and have become more popular in recent years. Nevertheless, related accidents have happened from time to time. Over the past four years, there have been two fatal accidents involving paraglider pilots in Hong Kong and one serious incident in which a paraglider collided with a vehicle when it mistakenly landed on a carriageway. The safety risk involved in paragliding activities is just too obvious to ignore. At present, while there is no specific legislation for regulating paragliding activities in Hong Kong, the CAD regulates paragliding activities under those provisions of the civil aviation laws that also cover paragliding.

Investigation by the Office of The Ombudsman revealed that the CAD only conducted a review on the regulation of local paragliding activities in as late as 2018, before which the department had not proactively reviewed and modified its regulatory work. The CAD’s enforcement and monitoring have not been adequate either even after the establishment of a permit application mechanism for local paragliding air service providers in 2019. In addition, the effectiveness of regulatory efforts has also been dampened by the CAD’s reliance on a non-governmental organisation for the management of paragliding activities and accident/incident investigation.
Ms Chiu said, “The CAD, as the department responsible for promoting and managing aviation safety, and for enforcing the legislation relevant to paragliding activities, has the duty to ensure that the paragliding activities would not jeopardise public or airspace safety. The Office recommends that the CAD take reference from overseas experience and discuss with local paragliding associations and stakeholders with a view to introducing a new system for managing paragliding activities. It should also participate in investigations and enforcement proactively in order to boost the effectiveness of regulation. Furthermore, for the sake of safety, we encourage members of the public interested in paragliding activities to choose services offered by eligible persons approved by the CAD.”

The Office has made eight recommendations for improvement to the CAD, which include:

• explore legislative or administrative measures, as suited for the local paragliding sector, to introduce a real-name registration scheme for para glider pilots, a registration system for paragliding equipment, and an authorisation regime for local paragliding organisations;
• consider authorising or appointing officially the organisation(s) that the department deems appropriate to conduct investigations into paragliding accidents and incidents, and furnish the organisation(s) with specific guidelines such that the organisation(s) can uncover substantive information for the government authority to decide the necessary investigation and enforcement action;
• before referring complaint cases about allegedly illegal paragliding activities or services to the Hong Kong Police Force, the CAD should collate and analyse case information of those cases from the professional perspective of civil aviation safety for the Police’s reference;
• strengthen enforcement efforts under the permit system for providing air services by paragliders and step up publicity about the system; and
• consider granting renewed permits with a validity period longer than six months.

The CAD has in general accepted all of the improvement recommendations.

The full investigation report has been uploaded to the website of the Office of The Ombudsman at for public information.

The Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib having 15 Regional Offices in all the provincial capitals and other important cities of Pakistan is working day and night for resolution of public complaints against federal agencies throughout Pakistan; and new initiatives are being taken to increase the scope of activities of the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat (WMS) for this purpose. This was stated by the Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi while addressing Khuli Katchchery (Public Hearing) during his visit to Mansehra recently.

Besides general public, the investigating officers of the Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib, Regional Heads of the federal agencies such as PESCO, SNGPL, NADRA, etc. were also present during the address of Wafaqi Mohtasib.  The Wafaqi Mohtasib informed that he has chosen Mansehra as his first ever Khuli Katachchery and similar katcheries will also be held shortly at various districts / tehsils to ascertain the serious problems faced by the general public and ensure redress of those problems by the respective agencies.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib also informed the audience that by virtue of the mandate available to him under the law, he has introduced a system of inspection of the offices of federal agencies. Under this initiative, the Advisors of the WMS visit those federal agencies against which the number of complaints are relatively higher, so as to evaluate their service delivery on-the-spot and to suggest short and long term measures to improve their working. The inspection reports are submitted to the Wafaqi Mohtasib for approval whereafter the recommendations of the reports are forwarded to the respective Ministries and Heads of the federal agencies for immediate implementation.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib also informed the audience that he is empowered to informally conciliate, amicably resolve and settle public grievances; and a pilot project titled “Informal Resolution of Disputes” has recently been initiated to resolve those disputes which do not essentially fall within his jurisdiction. Under this initiative, the Advisors of the WMS ensure amicable settlement of the private disputes of the consenting parties; and this facility is provided free of cost by all regional offices of the WMS without involving the hiring of lawyers by the parties concerned.

On this occasion, the Wafaqi Mohtasib also informed that he has been able to dispose of more than 106,000 complaints during the year 2021 and due to a massive awareness campaign launched by his Office, there has been an approximately 30% increase in 2022 in the number of complaints lodged.

On May 11, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia and Prevention for Progress, a non-governmental organization, presented a joint report “Impact of Covid 19 on the Health and Other Rights of Prisoners and Staff of the Penitentiary System.” The study assesses the impact of special measures taken by the Special Penitentiary Service from March 2020 through 2021 on the rights situation of prisoners.

According to the study, the measures taken to stop the spread of the virus had a positive impact on the prevention of Covid 19. The above was also contributed by the allocation of quarantine spaces and isolation of suspicious patients. The importance of mass and regular PCR and rapid antigen testing of the staff and inmates played a key role in the early detection of the disease. According to the interviews with the medical personnel and prisoners, the vaccination process was proceeding at a good pace in the penitentiaries. In addition, compared to a similar study conducted in 2017, the percentage of respondents, who think that food quantity is inadequate, decreased in 2021.

The results of the study show that restrictions were overused during the pandemic period and no appropriate efforts were made to find possible alternative solutions. No appropriate steps were taken by the state institution to reduce the number of prisoners. During the evaluation process, special attention was paid to the medical issues. The study showed that the number of medical personnel decreased, which led to delays in the provision of medical care. Due to delays and reductions in outpatient services, the number of transfers of prisoners to civil sector hospitals increased, as well as the number of cases of emergency transfers to medical facilities. The reduction in the provision of outpatient psychiatric care also had a negative impact on the mental health of inmates, increasing the need for treatment in psychiatric facilities.

The pandemic and the measures taken negatively affected prisoners’ contact with the outside world. The study made it clear that the free phone minutes added as compensation during the period of restrictions were not sufficient to counterbalance the restrictions. Prisoners were restricted from contacting lawyers, psychologists and social workers, and they were unable to receive the relevant services. The number of rehabilitation programmes also significantly reduced. The study also showed that the living and working conditions of the employees, who were not allowed to leave the facilities, were difficult.

Unfortunately, very often in the life of women, and sometimes men, there are situations when they find themselves in a hopeless situation. It is very important at such a moment to provide a person with all kinds of help.

Today, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Tatarstan met with the founder of the center for assisting women victims of domestic violence, “Diva” Dina Valieva. The meeting was held at their center, which also has a sewing workshop, where girls and women who want to get a new specialty and gain financial independence study and work.

The center provides psychological and legal support, and anyone in need can get help from professional psychologists and lawyers. If necessary, assistance in finding employment is provided.

On May 25 this year, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) took part in the international conference “Protection of human rights in the Member States of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries” in Baku, Azerbaijan. The conference is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Ombudsman Institute of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The main goal of the conference, organized within the framework of the Assembly, is to establish a dialogue and strengthen cooperation between members of parliament and the Human Rights Ombudsmen, as well as to exchange views and study the best practices of countries in the field of human rights protection.

The event consisted of two sessions on the topics “The role of parliaments in the protection of human rights” and “The importance of improving legislation for the effective functioning of ombudsman institutions.”

Speakers at the conference focused on the work and results of human rights activities in their countries.

Speaking at the event, the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Feruza Eshmatova, talking about the activities of the institution, drew attention to the state policy and the results achieved in the country to ensure human rights.

She also noted the monitoring visits of the Ombudsman to penal institutions to prevent torture and its importance, the provision of additional rights and powers to work with public appeals, and the strengthening of the activities of the Ombudsman in the regions.

The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (12 May) announced the launch of a direct investigation to examine the e-book lending service of public libraries under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD).

Public libraries launched the first e-book collection in 2001. At present, the number of e-book collections offered by public libraries has increased to 12, comprising titles for adults and children. A wide range of Chinese and English e-books (including audiobooks) are available for readers of different ages.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LCSD has since 2020 temporarily closed its public libraries at intervals and adjusted its services (such as shortening opening hours and limiting number of library visitors). Meanwhile, public demand for e-books of public libraries has surged. The overall use of seven e-book collections rose significantly by more than 250% from 960,000 times in 2019 to 3.4 million times in 2020. Preliminary inquiry by the Office of The Ombudsman revealed that the waiting lists for some popular e-books were extremely long with hundreds of patrons, who would need to wait for months, if not years, to borrow the items.

Ms Chiu said, “The e-book lending service allows members of the public to access remotely a vast book collection free of charge, and enjoy the pleasure of reading even though borrowing printed books is infeasible during the pandemic. In fact, public interest in e-books has grown with more extensive use of the Internet and electronic devices. It has resulted in a decline in the checkouts of printed books from public libraries over recent years, while the opposite trend is seen in the use of e-books. The LCSD should keep pace with changes in the public’s reading habits by reviewing and enhancing the e-book lending service of public libraries, which will also be conducive to promoting a reading culture in Hong Kong. I, therefore, have decided to initiate this direct investigation to examine whether the e-book lending service of public libraries is appropriate and identify any areas for improvement.”

Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, the Federal Ombudsman has said that show cause notice will be issued to the delinquent officers of the concerned Agency for non-implementation of findings regarding pensioners and workers.  He said that timely implementation of findings is of great importance, as a decision becomes meaningless if it is not implemented or its implementation is inordinately delayed. He was chairing a progress review meeting on implementation of findings at WMS at Islamabad. The head of implementation wing, Mr. Muhammad Humair Kareem Additional Secretary gave a detailed briefing.  He said that during the first four months of 2022, a total of 9,229 cases have been implemented.  The Ombudsman directed the Implementation Wing to give special attention to the cases of pensioners especially in EOBI cases, as the poor workers face great difficulties in getting their small amount of pension from EOBI.  He also directed to place more focus on Postal Life Insurance cases.  He emphasized upon Implementation Wing to demonstrate more dedication and make their best efforts in redressal of the grievances of the common man.  He said that according to new policy, he will himself look after such cases and no case of implementation wing will be closed until complete satisfaction of the complainant.