On April 7, 2023, at the plenary session of the Senate, the report of the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) on activities in 2022 was considered.

The Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Feruza Eshmatova made a report on this issue.

It is noted that in 2022, in total, the Authorized Person received 17,761 appeals from citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan and stateless persons, foreign citizens and Ombudsmen of foreign states, as well as persons held in places of detention of persons with limited freedom of movement, their close relatives and defenders (lawyers). Compared to 2021, the number of applications decreased by 977 or 5.2 percent.

Despite the fact that 95 appeals were recognized as anonymous in accordance with the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Appeals of Individuals and Legal Entities”, the problematic issues raised in them were reflected in the corresponding analysis of appeals.

As a result of the measures taken to drastically reduce the number of repeated applications sent to the Ombudsman, the number of repeated applications in 2022 compared to 2021 decreased by 734, or 15.8 percent.

Based on the analysis of appeals received from citizens, by regions, most of the appeals were received from Kashkadarya (2297), Tashkent (2079), Surkhandarya (1582) and Tashkent regions (947), the least appeals were from Syrdarya (267), the Republic of Karakalpakstan (292) and Andijan region (388).

The analysis of appeals by districts and cities showed that most of the appeals were received from the Koson district of the Kashkadarya region (600) and the city of Karshi (414), the Denov district of the Surkhandarya region (370).

When analyzing the appeals received by the Ombudsman, 31.4% of the appeals were in the field of social rights, 27.7% – in the field of citizens’ rights to appeal, political rights and freedoms, 24.2% – in the field of economic rights.

In 2022, the Ombudsman sent 134 documents, including 20 conclusions, 36 submissions, 78 claims, to state bodies and institutions for the restoration of violated rights of citizens in the form of enforcement measures. 73.1% of targeted interventions were resolved positively.

Based on the request of the Ombudsman, violations in the actions of responsible employees of state bodies were revealed, 3 responsible employees were dismissed from their positions, 22 responsible persons received a disciplinary sanction “reprimand”, 6 responsible persons were subjected to a disciplinary sanction “fine” in the amount of 30.0% of the average monthly wages, 3 responsible employees were brought to administrative responsibility for negligent attitude to their work.

Also, 3 responsible law enforcement officers were brought to disciplinary responsibility for improper performance of their duties, 1 person received a strict warning.

In 2022, based on citizens’ appeals, the amount of collected and imposed penalties amounted to 2 billion 372 million soums. Of these, 45.4 million are maintenance payments and more than 505.9 million soums are wages of citizens and payments related to labor relations.

Also, 13 citizens were reinstated at work, 4 citizens were employed. The fact of work of 14 citizens in harmful working conditions was established. A decision was made to recalculate the length of service that was not taken into account when calculating pensions for 7 citizens, and the fact of the death of 11 citizens was established.

The fact of birth was established and assistance was provided in the preparation of documents for 27 persons living in charity homes.

In 2022, the Ombudsman received 3235 appeals on various issues from persons held in penitentiary institutions, their close relatives and defenders (lawyers). 1,699, or 52.5 percent of above mentioned appeals were sent directly by convicts and prisoners.

The Ombudsman and public groups for the detection and prevention of cases of torture under him made 381 monitoring visits to places of detention of persons with limited freedom of movement. In 2021, this figure was 177.

Also, as a result of consideration of complaints and statements of convicts and prisoners received by the Ombudsman, the prosecutor’s office canceled 43 decisions to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings, and additional inquiries and pre-investigation checks were scheduled.

The verdict handed down by the relevant courts to 52 convicted on 21 statements was changed to a lighter one, and the precautionary measure chosen in respect of 13 accused was changed to a lighter one.

Material and social support was provided to family members of 17 convicts (prisoners). 21 convicts were transferred to a colony in a territory close to their place of residence, on the basis of the principle of humanity.

Also, on 9 appeals against 11 employees, disciplinary measures were applied, and on 1 appeal with 1 employee, the employment contract was terminated, also, according to investigations conducted by the prosecutor’s office, the disciplinary measure applied to 3 convicts was declared illegal and canceled.

In the course of investigative actions carried out by the prosecutor’s office, on 2 appeals, criminal cases were initiated against 2 employees of the systems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Health.

The activities of the Ombudsman in the national commissions, cooperation with civil society institutions, raising legal awareness and legal culture, protecting the rights of children, ensuring openness and transparency of activities, and especially the participation of the Ombudsman in the activities of the Commission to study the situation and events that occurred in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, also aroused a wide discussion.

Analyzing the problems in the areas in which the Ombudsman received the most appeals, the meeting noted the need to reduce repeated appeals and widely apply legal measures to restore the violated rights of citizens.

Proposals were also made to further strengthen measures aimed at improving the legal culture of the population within the framework of the Ombudsman School project and paying special attention to the effectiveness of monitoring visits to places of detention of persons with limited freedom of movement.

Within the jurisdiction of the Mechanism of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, the Members of the National Preventive Group carried out a visit to the Integration Training Boarding School No. 11 under the Ministry of Science and Education of Azerbaijan.

The goal of the visit was to investigate the situation with ensuring the rights of children in the facility, their living conditions, treatment issues and the current situation.

During the visit, the dormitory, canteen, classrooms and administrative rooms of the boarding facility were inspected; and the organization of the children’s leisure time, nutrition, access to drinking water, and the documentation were also monitored.

In the end, a legal awareness talk was held with the management and persons in charge, and recommendations were made for the elimination of the deficiencies found in the conditions, healthcare services, and the documentation.

A widow was paid Rs.750,000/- on the intervention of  Wafaqi Mohtasib, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi by Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) as her son has died of electrocution caused by an electric pole in the street.

The widow has lodged a complaint to the Wafaqi Mohtasib stating therein that her sixteen years old son met a tragic accident and died due to electrocution on 13^th March 2021. It was learnt that an electric pole was installed in the street by IESCO for feeding supply to a private poultry farm. The residents of the areas had repeatedly approached IESCO who failed to address the danger posed by the short circuited electric pole in the street.

Legal proceedings were initiated by the aggrieved family whereby the private poultry farm paid some compensation whereas IESCO did not pay its share of Rs. 7,500,000/- despite hectic efforts by the widow for over two years. Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Office, on receipt of this complaint, took up the matter with the concerned agencies, IESCO and NEPRA including provincial authorities, Punjab Forensic Science Agency and the Punjab Police. Its efforts with these federal and provincial agencies, undertaken as part of the Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) project as well as regular complaint handling mechanism, yielded positive results and a cheque of Rs. 7,50,000/- was delivered to the widow on 14^th April, 2023.

The complainant has thanked Wafaqi Mohtasib for his timely intervention in getting her lawful right without further delay.

By the end of last year, the CCAC held the “Integrity” that Touches My Heart – Micro-movie Production Competition on Honesty targeting at higher education and secondary students of Macao, through which it seeks to encourage the young people to have a deep reflection on the topics of integrity. The CCAC completed the work of the collection and assessment of the entries for the competition in the first quarter of this year. The jury panel selected multiple entries from among 128 entries which embody the messages of honesty and integrity and creativity. In April, the CCAC particularly held an award ceremony to award the teams which won in the activity. Despite broadcasting some of the winning entries, the CCAC also invited some students to share their views on integrity and honesty with the audience in order to exert positive impact from the perspective of young peers.

(https://www.ccac.org.mo/pt/news_details/article/lgg1hhec.html)

In Japan, the Administrative Evaluation Bureau (AEB) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has been conducting “Training Workshops for Administrative Counselors on Counseling with Foreign Nationals” since 2022.

Administrative Counselors are private citizens who are commissioned by the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications as unpaid volunteers. About 5,000 Counselors are working nationwide and receiving complaints, requests, and opinions from citizens regarding the activities of the central government.

The Workshops are aimed at training Administrative Counselors for scenarios in which foreign nationals would like to consult with Counselors but are unable to speak Japanese.

These are an initiative in line with comprehensive measures for foreign residents by the central government due to an increase in the number of foreign nationals residing in Japan.

The AEB plans to hold the Training Workshops in every region of Japan and has held them in Hokkaido, Hiroshima, and Ehime so far.

In addition, the Administrative Counselors’ Association in Tokyo has held its own Training Workshop voluntarily.

In the Workshops, Administrative Counselors learned about the situations of foreign residents in their regions and took part in role playing exercises with international students by using a multilingual speech translation app.

Counselors successfully gained experience and confidence that even if they are not good at speaking other languages, they would be able to help foreign nationals by using innovative tools.

Counselors who participated in the Training Workshops said that they renewed and improved their motivation through the meaningful Workshops.

In the future, the AEB plans to hold the Training Workshops in other regions of Japan as well.

Take part in the field to promote the integrity level of public offices once being registered as professional integrity instructors

The Anti-Corruption Training Institute of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Jeon Hyun-Heui) provided this year’s first “Integrity Instructor Training Course” for 50 trainees in order to educate integrity professionals.

“Integrity Instructor Training Course” is a training program for professionals, enabling them to acquire professional knowledge of anti-corruption laws and systems, which is organized to develop professional competencies as professional integrity instructors through discussion programs regarding anti-corruption laws and cases.

The Institute recently provided an “Integrity Instructor Training Course” for 3 nights and 4 days from March 6 to 9 at the institute.

The major content of the course included anti-corruption and integrity policies, such as the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest, the Improper Solicitation And Graft Act, the Act on Prohibition of False Claims For Public Funds And Recovery of Illicit Profits, the ACRC Act, and the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act.

Group discussions on cases of the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest and the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act along with lectures given by anti-corruption professionals provided an opportunity to enhance the judgment and sensitivity regarding integrity.

Trainees who complete the “Integrity Instructor Training Course” and pass an evaluation are registered as professional integrity instructors after teaching competencies training course and an evaluation of the lecture demonstration.

Once registered as professional integrity instructors, they are entitled to take part in the field to promote the level of integrity of public offices along with the existing 400 professional integrity instructors.

Chairperson of ACRC Jeon Hyun-Heui said, “Training is the most important instrument for public officials to internalize core values, such as anti-corruption, integrity, and fairness. I look forward to every trainee playing an important role in spreading a culture of integrity in our society.”

The Ombudsman, Ms. Winnie Chiu, today (20 April) announced the launch of a direct investigation into the Government’s work in combating abuse of public housing resources.

Public housing resources are precious to society. As the authorities managing public rental housing (“PRH”), the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HKHA”) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (“HKHS”) have taken measures to prevent abuse of such resources.  According to HKHA and HKHS, common types of PRH abuse include non-occupation (or not retaining regular and continuous residence), false declaration (such as income, assets, marital status and household particulars), subletting, non-domestic usage or engagement in illegal activities.

The Housing Department (“HD”), which is the executive arm of HKHA, and HKHS have both set up designated teams to investigate suspected cases of PRH abuse.  Where a PRH abuse case is substantiated and the tenant’s misconduct amounts to a serious breach of the tenancy agreement, HD and HKHS can terminate the tenancy and recover the flat in accordance with the terms of tenancy.  Tenants of PRH units under HKHA who conceal or make a false declaration are subject to prosecution brought by HD under the Housing Ordinance.  That said, the Office of The Ombudsman has received from time to time public complaints about improper handling of reports of suspected PRH abuse by HD or HKHS.

Ms Chiu said, “ Demand for public housing has always been keen in Hong Kong. Abuse of public housing not only wastes precious public housing resources, it also prolongs the waiting time of families applying for PRH.  There should be a practical mechanism and measures for HD and HKHS to effectively detect and curb PRH abuse so as to ensure that public housing resources are allocated and utilised in a fair and reasonable manner.  In this light, we have decided to initiate a direct investigation to examine the work of HKHA, HD and HKHS in combating abuse of public housing resources.  The investigation will cover the aforesaid authorities’ monitoring of tenants’ usage of their flats, vetting of tenants’ declaration of income and assets, mechanism and measures for following up on suspected PRH abuse cases and procedures for recovering flats from tenants who have abused public housing resources. We will make improvement recommendations where necessary.”

• Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) holds meeting with his Tatarstan counterpart to discuss upcoming meetings of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA).                                          
• Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) prepares for its annual moot under Pakistan’s Chair in Republic of Tatarstan.
• Pakistan assures full support to the annual moot of the Asian ombudsman fraternity in Republic of Tatarstan.

Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr.Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi who is also the current President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), today held a video meeting with his counterpart Ms. Sariya Saburskaya, Commissioner for Human Rights, Republic of Tatarstan to discuss matters pertaining to the forthcoming annual moot of the Asian Ombudsman fraternity. The upcoming meetings of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly of the Association are being hosted by the Republic of Tatarstan in September this year. In addition to the election to various positions in the Association, the General Assembly will consider steps for strengthening mutual cooperation, promoting professionalism and exchange of best practices among its member institutions.

The Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) is a major non-political, independent, democratic and professional body of international character representing more than two thirds of the world population. Its Board of Directors meets once every year and the General Assembly meetings are held within two calendar years. The last meeting of the AOA Board of Directors was held at Baku (Republic of Azerbaijan) in October 2022 whereas the General Assembly meeting took place in Istanbul (Republic of Turkiye) in 2019. The General Assembly meeting is being held after a gap of three years due to COVID-19 pandemic. Pakistan has played a vital role in promoting ombudsmanship at the national as well as international levels.

The upcoming meetings of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) will be followed by an international conference in ‘Kazan’ city which will discuss best practices of ombudsmanship and national perspectives. The AOA meetings will deliberate on measures to promote international cooperation in achieving the ultimate goals of good governance, rule of law and expeditious relief to the aggrieved citizens. In this regard, Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi assured the Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Sariya Saburskaya of his full support and cooperation for the success of the major meetings of the Asian Ombudsman fraternity and the international conference due at Kazan (Tatarstan) in September this year.

President Dr. Arif Alvi has asked the Wafaqi Mohtasib to intensify awareness campaign to inform the people about the role of the institution in the provision of speedy and cost-effective justice against the maladministration of federal government organizations. He emphasized the need for strengthening the capacity of the Federal Ombudsman’s Office andenhancing its outreach to the far-flung areas of the country to address the grievances of the people at their doorsteps. He added that people suffering from the excesses and injustices at the hands ofgovernment’s functionaries needed to be provided immediate relief.

The President made these remarks while talking to the Wafaqi Mohtasib (WM) of Pakistan,
Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi, who called on him and presented the Annual Report-2022 of the institution, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, on 17 March 2023.

Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi apprised the President about the role and achievements of the Federal Ombudsman in providing justice to the people against the maladministration of government organizations during the year 2022. He informed the President that his institution received an unprecedented 164,174 complaints in 2022 as compared to 110,405 in 2021.  He added that Wafaqi Mohtasib disposed of 157,770 complaints in 2022 as compared to 106,732 complaints in 2021, which was an increase of 49%. He further stated that the phenomenal growth in the number of complaints and swift disposal of cases showed that the people trusted the institution of Mohtasib that was providing them speedy and cost-effective justice.

The Mohtasib highlighted that one-window facilitation desks had been established at all international airports in Pakistan to address the grievances of Overseas Pakistanis. He said that 137,647 overseas Pakistanis had been facilitated by the concerned agencies of the government, including NADRA, Passport Office, OPF etc during 2022. He further apprised that the Mohtasib had extended its outreach to the far-flung districts by establishing its offices in Mirpur Khas, Khuzdar and Swat as well as the former tribal areas of Kurram and South Waziristan to provide speedy relief to the complainants of those areas.

The Federal Ombudsmanupdated the President on his special initiatives regarding Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) and Khuli Katchehries for ensuring better service delivery to the general public. Complaints were also being heard online when requested by the complainants to provide them justice at their doorstep, he added.  The Wafaqi Mohtasib further stated that a 97% increase was recorded in receipt of online complaints. He underlined that the Ombudsman wanted to further enhance its outreach and strengthen its capacity but was facing financial difficulties.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib also apprised the President that under the Integrated Complaint Resolution (ICR) System, the Mohtasib had integrated 183 different agencies of the Federal Government for facilitating the quick disposal of complaints.

Underlining the need for providing quick and free-of-cost justice to the common man, the President asked the Mohtasib to increase its outreach using modern ICT tools and create awareness through media about its functions and services.

The President appreciated the Mohtasib for its excellent performance in improving service delivery and the rule of law in the country.  He assured the Federal Ombudsman of his full support in further strengthening the institution and enhancing its stature as a premier institution of administrative accountability.

( Note: Annual Report 2022 is available on www.mohtasib.gov.pk  and www.asianombudsman.com)

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, participated in the next Annual Meeting of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) held in Geneva. The Annual Meeting, organized by the Global Alliance in collaboration with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was attended by nearly 200 heads and representatives of NHRIs, as well as heads and experts of various UN agencies.

At the GANHRI Annual Meeting, general presentations on the activities carried out in the field of protection of human rights were made, and upcoming issues were brought to attention. The issues related to climate change, the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and the elderly, and the strengthening of mutual cooperation were discussed at the meeting, and the Strategic Plan for 2023–2027 was adopted. Later, NHRIs shared their experiences on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. The information about preventive visits conducted within the mandate of the national preventive mechanism of the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, the composition of the National Preventive Group, which includes psychologists, social workers, and representatives of civil society, as well as the recommendations made for the correction of prisoners and their future integration into society, were also brought to attention.

At the end of the Annual Meeting, a Conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the UDHR and the 30th anniversary of the Paris Principles on the Status of NHRIs was held.

Within the frame of the Annual Meeting, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan held meetings with the representatives of the OHCHR, the heads of the GANHRI and the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of this institution, as well as the Chairwoman and Secretary-General of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). During the meetings, the issues related to the full alignment of the activities of the Ombudsman Office with the Paris Principles, the measures taken to implement the SCA Recommendations and expand the mandate, including the draft amendments to the Constitutional Law “On Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” were discussed. The printed materials related to the Institution’s activities and a compilation of the Ombudsman’s various reports, statements, and appeals on violations of international law covering the period since the Patriotic War were presented to the officials who participated in the Meeting.