The Deputy Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, participated in the annual conference of the European Network of Ombudsmen, on “The role of ombudsmen in times of crisis”, focusing on the humanitarian drama caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, travelled to Luanda, Angola, to participate in the fifth Meeting of the Network of Ombudsmen, National Human Rights Commissions and other National Human Rights Institutions of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, CPLP Network – Human Rights. The meeting, which resulted in the Luanda Declaration, was promoted by the Ombudsman of Angola, Florbela Rocha Araújo, who…
The Deputy Ombudsman, Teresa Anjinho, participated in the General Assembly of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). More than 45 European representatives of National Human Rights Institutions met online to exchange information on crucial issues of the network, including the support for the Ukrainian counterpart institution and the situation of migrants in Europe. Speaking from ENNHRI’s Brussels…
The Ombudsman is regularly receiving communications from the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights following Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military invasion and aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, various organisations of which the Portuguese Ombudsman is a member continue to speak out on the conflict: IOI – International Ombudsman Institute ENNHRI – European Network of National Human Rights Institutions FIO…
The Ombudsman welcomes the publication of Regulatory Decree no. 2022, of 10 January, which extended the scope of application of the Informal Carers Statute (ECI) to the entire national territory, establishing the terms and conditions for its recognition, as well as support measures for informal carers and persons being cared for Last November, the Ombudsman had sent a letter to…
The Ombudsman once again addressed a letter to the Secretary of State for Social Security, drawing attention to the persistence of situations of exclusion from extraordinary social support, decreed in the framework of the Covid-19 pandemic, that generate unjustified social deprotection. The insistence arises after the content of the first warning call, made in May 2021, signalling discrimination against the…
The Ombudsman sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Inclusion of Disabled Persons, in which she notes as positive the approval of Administrative Rule no. 230/2021, of 29 October, nevertheless drawing attention to the persistence of serious situations of social unprotection. The aforementioned Ministerial Order made it possible to render feasible the entitlement to Social Inclusion Benefit (PSI)…
To mark International Day of the Person with Disability, the Ombudsman presented a brief assessment of the activity developed by the telephone line especially dedicated to supporting these fellow citizens. Throughout 2022, in the period between 1st January and 30th November, the Disabled Citizens’ Line received 502 calls, a number that exceeds the total received in the previous year. Evolution…
The NPM – National Preventive Mechanism carried out joint visits to places of detention with its UK counterpart in November. The British NPM participated in the visits to the Detention Space at Lisbon Airport and to the Torres Novas prison establishment, and the Portuguese NPM team took part in the inspection of Garth prison, in Lancashire. The joint visits stem…
The Ombudsperson, Maria Lúcia Amaral, received, on 25 October, the Parliamentary Secretary of State of the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany, Benjamin Strasser, accompanied by the Head of Division for Coordination and Cooperation Affairs within the European Union, Lutz Roth, and the Minister Counsellor of the German Embassy, Ludwig Blaurock. During the meeting, issues related to the role of…
