The Ombudsperson participated in the 57th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council by intervening in a panel discussion, which took place on September 11, 2024, in Geneva, on how to “Promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights in the context of combating inequalities”. In her remote intervention, the Ombudsperson, Maria Lúcia Amaral, stressed the centrality of human…
The Ombudsman’s Office has pleaded with the Social Security Institute’s (ISS) the right to unemployment benefits for victims of domestic violence who have terminated their employment contracts under the terms of the Decent Work Agenda Law, in force since May 2023. A different position is being adopted by the ISS, which only recognises this right in cases of termination after…
The Ombudsperson has sent a Recommendation to the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing to amend the legislation to bring the level of protection afforded to road passengers on par with the higher level afforded to rail passengers. The Recommendation now addressed to the Government is the result of an analysis of a complaint received alleging the unconstitutionality of the rules…
On 7 June, the Ombudsman obtained the renewal of its accreditation as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), maintaining the maximum ‘A’ status it has held since 1999. The demanding accreditation process takes place periodically under the auspices of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), in order to assess and certify the degree of compliance of NHRIs…
The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has made public the summaries of the reports on the visits carried out in 2023 to places of deprivation of liberty. The transparent operation of places of deprivation of liberty is fundamental to compliance with the rules that regulate the activity of these spaces,…
Universal Periodic Review (2024). Ombudsman submits report on the human rights situation in Portugal
In the exercise of its mandate as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), in April the Ombudsman submitted the alternative report with a view to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to which the Portuguese state will be subject at the end of 2024. Recognised as an accredited NHRI with A status, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, the Ombudsman…
The medical certificate of multipurpose incapacity (AMIM) is today a central document in access to a series of rights granted to people with a certain degree of incapacity (generally equal to or greater than 60%), which derive from the State’s duty to promote and protect the fundamental rights of those who are in a situation of physical or mental disadvantage.…
A Provedora de Justiça requereu ao Tribunal Constitucional a declaração de inconstitucionalidade com força obrigatória geral de normas constantes da Lei n.º 22/2023, de 25 de maio, que regula as condições em que a morte medicamente assistida não é punível e altera o Código Penal. Para ler o requerimento, clique aqui.
The Ombudsman has sent a recommendation to the Order of Nurses to amend its Disciplinary Regulations, in order to remove the prohibition on the presence of a lawyer when witnesses are examined in disciplinary proceedings. To read the Recommendation, click here [in Portuguese only].
Vulnerable families who are part of the convergent social protection scheme are still not receiving the extraordinary support to mitigate the effects of inflation created by Decree-Law 21-A/2023 of 28 March, and the Ombudsman recently renewed her call to the Secretary of State for Public Administration in July for the problem to be resolved. The law establishes that, among others,…
