At this very serious moment in our collective life, many citizens are wondering about the meaning and scope of the State of Emergency, decreed on the 18th by His Excellency the President of the Republic. The questions, associated with natural feelings of unease and apprehension, are in themselves more than justified. Never before, during the almost forty-four years of the…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, sent a recommendation to the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security following the receipt, in the last two years, of more than two and a half hundred complaints on issues related to attribution of the Social Inclusion Benefit (PSI). Created by Decree-Law no. 126-A/2017, of 6 October, the PSI would progressively aggregate a set…
The Ombudsman sent letters to the Presidents of the Governing Councils of the Instituto da Segurança Social and of the Instituto de Informática where Maria Lúcia Amaral draws attention to the urgent need to establish articulation mechanisms in order to solve the “application constraints” that, according to the social security services, will be at the base of several problems in the attribution…
One hundred and half complaints were received about the consequences attributed to the rules contained in Portaria No. 119/2018, May 4, when promoting the repositioning of teachers who entered the career of early childhood educators and teachers of basic and secondary education between 2011 and 2017. The analysis and consequent position of the Ombudsman can be consulted here [in Portuguese…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, participates in the XXIV Congress and General Assembly of the Ibero-American Ombudsman Federation (FIO), which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from November 26 to 28, 2019. Representatives of national human rights institutions from more than 20 Ibero-American countries are gathering around the theme of "gender violence and its impacts on equality", including access…
The Ombudsman carried out a training session for the Mozambican Ombudsman, who sent a team of five persons to Lisbon from 7 to 11 October. Organized at the request of the Mozambican Ombudsman, Isaque Chande, the action focused on the methods and procedures for collecting and processing information for the production of reports and other disclosure documents on the action…
The Ombudsman, acting as head of the National Mechanism for the Prevention (MNP) of Torture and Mistreatment, addressed a recommendation to the Immigrants and Borders Service (SEF) to avoid situations of excessive isolation of persons detained in temporary installation facilities in airports, while awaiting the decision to enter the country. The Ombudsman’s recommendation calls on the SEF to establish, after…
In 2018, the Ombudsman’s Office received a total of 48,129 requests through the various channels available to citizens, including 36,111 entries of complaints and other communications. During the year, 9338 new procedures were instituted, five of them from the Ombudsman’s initiative, which translates into an increase in the handling of complaints of 20% over the previous year. Activity indicators are…
Following visits to educational centers, the Ombudsman, acting as the National Prevention Mechanism (MNP), addressed a recommendation to the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) to overcome various identified shortcomings. The recommendation of the Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, urges the DGRSP to establish, in conjunction with the Health authorities, this year, a therapeutic unit for the treatment of acute…
The Ombudsman took part in the conference organized by the Center for Administrative and Fiscal Arbitration (CAAD) on February 26 in Lisbon to commemorate its 10th anniversary. Maria Lúcia Amaral intervened in the debate on "The Frontier between tax collection and taxpayers’ guarantees" alongside Helena Borges, director general of the Tax Authority (TA). After a peak of complaints that coincided…