This report, focusing on the state of the rule of law in Europe, has been published by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) - a network connecting all National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) across the Council of Europe (CoE) region. Through this joint reporting, NHRIs continue their strategic engagement with regional rule of law mechanisms.

The report comprises an overview of trends and challenges in the rule of law identified by ENNHRI members across Europe and ENNHRI’s key recommendations. It presents country-specific chapters zooming into the national rule of law situation, with a particular focus on the system of checks and balances and the impact of securitisation on the rule of law and human rights.  

NHRIs are independent, state-mandated bodies with a broad human rights mandate, established in line with the UN Paris Principles. The independent and effective NHRIs are regarded by international and regional actors as indicative of the state’s respect for the rule of law and checks and balances. 

In the report, ENNHRI’s members underline persisting challenges affecting the rule of law and human rights environment: 

• Inconsistent and insufficient follow-up by state authorities to the regional actors’ rule of law recommendations, pointing to a need to strengthen the effective implementation of recommendations and decisions issued by those actors;
• Numerous issues negatively impacting the enabling space for NHRIs, including: an unsatisfactory level of consultations with NHRIs by national authorities in view of relevant legislative and policy-making processes and follow-up to NHRIs’ recommendations; lack of adequate human and financial resources and financial autonomy to carry out NHRIs’ mandates effectively; lack of transparent and objective criteria for the appointment and dismissal of heads of institutions; undue limitations in access to information; as well as, in some cases, harassment and attacks on NHRIs. On the other hand, there is some progress regarding the establishment of the NHRIs, in line with the UN Paris Principles, in countries without one.
• Weakening of the system of checks and balances, including by undermining the legitimacy and authority of judiciary; excessive use of accelerated legislative procedures; insufficient time for public consultations; lack of human rights impact assessment; obstacles in the access to information; insufficient resources for all independent institutions and a low level of the implementation of their recommendations; as well as continued attempts to shrink civic space and restrict human rights defenders’ activities. 
• The impact of securitisation on the rule of law and human rights, namely restrictive measures introduced in numerous countries in response to securitisation of migration, threats of terrorism, as well as conflict in the regions; raising concerns over the lack of compliance of these measures with human rights principles, including proportionality, and their impact on, for example, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to privacy.  
• The unsatisfactory level of the effective and timely implementation of European Courts’ judgments, which is caused by the financial, legal, structural and organisational obstacles identified at national level.  

Based on the findings of ENNHRI members, ENNHRI has formulated the following key recommendations to the relevant regional actors, such as the Council of Europe, the European Union, as well as state authorities: 

1. Further advance the implementation of regional actors’ recommendations and decisions on the rule of law by state authorities, in a timely manner and in cooperation with NHRIs;  
2. Firmly support the establishment and enabling space for independent and effective NHRIs, which are a key element of healthy checks and balances; 
3. Safeguard and strengthen other checks and balances across the region;  
4. Ensure the effective implementation of European Courts’ judgments, in consultation with NHRIs and civil society; 
5. Ensure a human rights-based approach to securitisation; 
6. Address other persisting challenges for the rule of law, including structural human rights issues, while acknowledging that the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing.  

These key recommendations are explained in more details in the next section.

1. Further advance the implementation of regional actors’ recommendations and decisions on the rule of law by state authorities, in a timely manner and in cooperation with NHRIs

To further advance the implementation of regional actors’ recommendations on the rule of law by state authorities, ENNHRI suggests the Council of Europe and the European Union to:

• Refine their recommendations to provide concrete and actionable steps, along with an envisaged timeline for implementation by state authorities;
• Assist state authorities to establish and strengthen a dedicated mechanism to monitor and follow-up on state authorities’ implementation of rule of law recommendations;
• Ensure that the implementation of recommendations is consistently addressed in dialogues and discussions held at national and regional level, including independent information provision by NHRIs;
• Consider, when available, initiating enforcement actions to support effective and timely follow-up to regional actors’ recommendations and decisions and consider the lack of implementation of recommendations and decisions as evidence for triggering such enforcement actions.

ENNHRI also recommends that relevant regional actors and national authorities:

• Include NHRIs in country-specific rule of law dialogues at the national level (in particular in parliamentary debates), and consult NHRIs to determine the most relevant rule of law and structural human rights issues to be addressed in the current domestic context;
• Involve and consult with NHRIs throughout the implementation of regional actors’ recommendations and decisions concerning the rule of law and human rights, including by providing timely information on the progress of the implementation.

2. Firmly support the establishment and enabling space for independent and effective NHRIs, which are a key element of healthy checks and balances

To support the establishment, independence and effectiveness of NHRIs in Europe, ENNHRI:

• Calls on European countries with no NHRI yet to establish NHRIs in full compliance with the UN Paris Principles, and to make use of ENNHRI’s technical advice in doing so;
• Calls on European countries that have an NHRI to maintain and strengthen existing NHRIs in line with the UN Paris Principles, in consultation with their respective NHRI, including by effectively following-up to recommendations issued by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA);
• Encourages all pertinent international and regional organisations, namely the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union, to support the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs across Europe, in consultation with NHRIs and ENNHRI.

In line with Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation 2021/1 on NHRIs, ENNHRI also recommends that national authorities provide and regional actors support:

• Timely and reasoned response(s) to NHRI recommendations and processes to facilitate effective follow-up by state authorities of NHRI recommendations;
• Adequate financial and human resources, including for accessible premises, for NHRIs to carry out their mandate independently and effectively, and ensure independent budget allocation;
• NHRIs’ timely and adequate access to information, and to policymakers and legislators, including timely and adequate consultations on the human rights implications of draft legislation and policies;
• Preventing and addressing without delay any undue challenges and threats to NHRIs while carrying out their mandate, including harassment, attacks, and attempts to undermine the institution;
• Raising awareness of the role of NHRIs, including among the public.

3. Safeguard and strengthen other checks and balances across Europe

ENNHRI recommends that regional actors:

• Ensure transparent, timely and meaningful public consultations within regional law- and policy-making processes;
• Conduct human rights impact assessments of regional legislation and policies, in consultation with relevant human rights actors, including NHRIs;
• Strengthen the support, protection and empowerment of human rights defenders (HRD) and civil society organisations (CSOs), including through effective regional HRD protection mechanisms to swiftly detect and respond to attacks against HRDs.

ENNHRI recommends national authorities to:

• Ensure transparent, timely, inclusive and meaningful consultations, including with NHRIs, in law- and policy-making processes, while avoiding the excessive use of expedited legislative processes;
• Ensure effective access to data and information for relevant stakeholders, including NHRIs, both online and offline, as well as by the wider public;
• Ensure timely and effective implementation of national and European courts’ judgments by overcoming structural, financial and political obstacles;
• Foster an enabling environment of all independent public institutions playing a role in ensuring checks and balances in addition to NHRIs, such as supreme audit offices, data protection authorities, ombudsperson institutions and equality bodies;
• Ensure enabling space for civil society organisations and human rights defenders by:
  
  • establishing effective national HRD protection laws and mechanisms;
  • eliminating any undue restrictions on their functioning – in particular regarding access to funding, rules on registration and dissolution of civil society organisations, reporting & transparency obligations, criminalization of activities;
  • ensure meaningful and timely participation of civil society in the development, implementation, monitoring, reporting and review of legislation, policies and practices.

4. Ensure the effective implementation of European Courts’ judgments, in consultation with NHRIs and civil society

ENNHRI recommends regional actors to:

• Strengthen follow-up mechanisms to monitor and counter the failure of state authorities to implement European Courts’ judgments timely and effectively;
• Stress the importance of implementing the European Courts’ judgments for a thriving society, and further increase awareness of the public, state authorities and other relevant actors on this issue.

ENNHRI recommends national authorities to:

• Implement the European Courts’ judgments (in particular Grand Chamber/ leading judgments), by tackling financial, legal, structural and organizational obstacles which impact their effective and timely implementation;
• Ensure efficient institutional and procedural frameworks for the effective fulfilment of states’ obligation to implement the judgments of the European Courts at national level, including the participation of different stakeholders such as NHRIs and civil society;
• Make available judgments and decisions issued by the European Courts as well as information about steps taken by the state to implement those judgments (such as national action plans), in an open and accessible manner, including translation into national languages.

In light of the recognised potential and roles of NHRIs to advance the implementation of European Courts’ judgments, ENNHRI recommends the Council of Europe and the EU, as well as state authorities to:

• support the development of procedures of the CJEU and the ECtHR to strengthen meaningful participation of NHRIs, to facilitate meaningful engagement and consultation with NHRIs to advance the implementation of European Courts’ judgments;
• provide sufficient resources and capacity-building opportunities for NHRIs on the implementation of European Courts’ judgments, including through ENNHRI.

5. Ensure a human rights-based approach to securitisation

Considering the impact of securitisation on human rights and the rule of law, ENNHRI recommends:

Regional actors to: 

• Conduct human rights impact assessments of regional laws and policies which bear relevance for national security and law enforcement activities, including timely and meaningful consultations with NHRIs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Develop guidance and tools on how to assess and address the impact of securitisation on human rights and the rule of law at regional and national levels;

State authorities to:

• Implement a human-rights based approach to drafting of laws and policies in the area of security to identify risks of violation of human rights and mitigate them at an early stage, including with regards to migration and anti-terrorism;
• Conduct human rights impact assessments of national laws and policies concerning national security, including timely and meaningful consultations with NHRIs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Ensure that any restrictions on human rights, in particular freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and the right to privacy, imposed to address security threats, comply with the principles of proportionality, legality, necessity, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability;
• Ensure legality and oversight of power, and implement a human rights-based approach when drafting and amending national laws aimed at strengthening and expanding powers of law enforcement authorities;
• Safeguard the right to privacy and data protection while using new technologies, including surveillance;
• Foster a conducive environment for NHRIs to carry out their mandate under all circumstances, including during armed conflicts and situations of emergency, to ensure their meaningful participation in consultations on national security-related legislation and policies, follow up on their advice on human rights compliance, as well as ensure NHRIs’ access to information.

6. Address other persisting challenges for the rule of law, including structural human rights issues while acknowledging that the rule of law and human rights are mutually reinforcing

ENNHRI recommends the relevant regional actors to further identify and recognise the systematic nature of human rights violations across Europe and their interrelated character to the deterioration of the rule of law and tackle systemic human rights issues when safeguarding the rule of law.

The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) brings together 49 members. It provides support for the establishment and strengthening of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) across the Council of Europe region, and is a platform for collaboration, solidarity, and a common voice for NHRIs at the European level to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the region.  

NHRIs are state-mandated bodies, independent of government, with a broad constitutional or legal mandate to protect and promote fundamental rights at the national level. NHRIs are established and function with reference to the UN Paris Principles and act as bridge-builder between the state and civil society. NHRIs cooperate with a variety of civil society actors, and bring an accurate overview of the human rights situation, with recommendations to governments, parliaments and other state bodies. NHRIs’ independence, pluralism, accountability and effectiveness are periodically assessed and subject to international accreditation, carried out by the UN Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of NHRIs (GANHRI) with reference to the UN Paris Principles. This accreditation reinforces NHRIs as key interlocutors on the ground for rights holders, civil society organisations, state actors, and international bodies.

NHRIs are a key pillar for the respect of human rights, democracy and rule of law. Strong and independent NHRIs in compliance with the UN Paris Principles have become an indicator for a healthy rule of law in countries across the region. The vital role of NHRIs in upholding human rights and the rule of law has been recognised by a wide range of actors, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Such recognition is reflected in policy documents such as the UN Human Rights Council’s Resolution on NHRIs, the Reykjavík Declaration of the 4th Summit of Heads of State, as well as the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation on the development and strengthening of effective, pluralist and independent national human rights institutions. At the EU level, the crucial role of NHRIs is reaffirmed in the European Commission’s annual rule of law reports, the EU Strategy to Strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU, as well as in the field of external relations - within the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, the EU Enlargement Package and the revised Eastern Partnership framework.

Besides being themselves an indicator of the state of rule of law, independent and effective NHRIs are also reliable sources of information on the rule of law situation at the national level. Given the close interconnection and mutually reinforcing relationship between the rule of law, democracy and human rights, and NHRIs’ broad mandate to promote and protect human rights, NHRIs are in a key position to report to and participate in rule of law monitoring initiatives in a consistent manner.   

Building on their monitoring functions, cooperation with state and non-state actors and their role as a bridge between the state and the public, NHRIs have great potential in raising awareness, mobilising support and maximising impacts of international and regional actors’ efforts to safeguard the rule of law at the national level. At the same time, NHRIs’ engagement in rule of law monitoring mechanisms is seen by NHRIs themselves as an opportunity to further promote and enhance the impact of their work and recommendations, and helping policy makers, at national, regional and international level, to identify the most appropriate responses and interventions. 

In view of this, ENNHRI has been supporting and advancing NHRIs’ engagement in regional rule of law mechanisms based on a common methodology and coordinated approach. Since 2020 ENNHRI has been publishing annual reports on the state of the rule of law in the European Union and wider Europe, compiling European NHRIs’ country submissions and an overview of trends reflecting NHRIs’ insights on the state of the rule of law across the region.  

ENNHRI’s reporting has ensured its timely response to annual consultations by relevant counterparts (the EU rule of law monitoring cycle, the EU annual report on implementation of the Charter, the Enlargement Package, the UN Secretary-General report on NHRI reprisals). It has also been a basis for submissions to some specific thematic initiatives when they emerged (EU anti-SLAPP directive (2023), CoE Recommendation on countering SLAPPs (2023), EU Defence of Democracy Package (2023)). At the national level, ENNHRI’s reporting has been used by members for their follow-up with actors they deemed relevant.

Under the ENNHRI Strategic Plan 2022-2025, more effective promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and democracy is prioritised. To increase the impact of ENNHRI’s joint work on the rule of law, ENNHRI updated its methodology. It envisages an annual targeted rule of law reporting, focuses more on the implementation of recommendations derived from the reporting and only on certain rule of law areas, while further emphasising the interlinkage between human rights and rule of law. Also, a broader report looking at all aspects of the situation of the rule of law will be developed every 4 years in the beginning of the new ENNHRI’s strategic plan. Therefore, ENNHRI’s 2024 annual rule of law reporting covers more in-depth the following topics:  

• NHRIs and their enabling space;   
• implementation of last year’s recommendations, in particular those issued by the European Commission and ENNHRI and its members in annual rule of law reporting as well as actions undertaken by NHRIs to facilitate the implementation at the national level;  
• structural human rights issues affecting the rule of law through reporting on the implementation of European Courts’ judgments; 
• the impact of securitisation on human rights and the rule of law as ENNHRI’s thematic priority for 2024; 
• other rule of law issues of specific relevance in members’ national context; 
• in-depth analysis on one key priority area of rule of law, which in 2024 is the system of checks and balances. 

More in-depth analysis on the system of checks and balances aims to feed into regional developments as means to advance progress on the ground. This includes contributing to analysis and recommendations concerning checks and balances carried out by the European Commission within its rule of law monitoring cycle in the EU and within the Enlargement Package, as well as by the European External Action Service in view of initiatives under the Eastern Partnership. The findings will also support continuous advocacy towards the regional strategy in support of civil society, as indicated in the current civil society and regional actors’ proposals, and calls for stronger HRD protection mechanisms in Europe.

More targeted ENNHRI annual rule of law reporting supports effective advocacy and meaningful engagement with regional stakeholders and other actors to achieve positive change for the rule of law, human rights and democracy across the region. Based on its rule of law reporting, ENNHRI continues to contribute to regional policy and standard-setting initiatives relevant to the rule of law, and to strengthening the capacities of NHRIs to uphold the rule of law and to protect human rights in  Council of Europe countries.  

In 2024, almost all ENNHRI members contributed again to the ENNHRI’s joint reporting. For those countries where ENNHRI has no member, the ENNHRI Secretariat provided information on the progress concerning the establishment of an NHRI.

This is the second time that ENNHRI’s report reflects on the follow-up given by national authorities to regional actors’ recommendations. The effective and timely implementation of such recommendations constitutes a crucial step in advancing the rule of law compliance and human rights protection. This holds true not only in respect of recommendations that concern the setting up and functioning of NHRIs but also in respect of all other recommendations related to upholding and securing the rule of law compliance at domestic level.  

Input from NHRIs based in the European Union (EU) and EU enlargement countries mostly concerns follow-up to recommendations made last year by the European Commission (EC) in its annual rule of law reports and the EU Enlargement Package. Some NHRIs reported on the follow-up to the rule of law recommendations issued by other regional actors, such as the Council of Europe (CoE) and UN treaty bodies.

The recommendations mostly concern justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, as well as checks and balances. Some progress has been noted in connection with their implementation. However, what also clearly transpires from the national reports is lack of consistency of state authorities’ approach. In respect of some issues, ENNHRI members considered that there has been no follow-up at all.  

Authorities’ reaction to recommendations concerning the justice system has been mixed. On the one hand, according to the Finnish NHRI, ambitious proposals for improvement in this area have been submitted, while the report of the Polish NHRI analysed at length the wide-ranging reforms introduced in this connection in its country. However, in other countries progress has been slow. The concerns expressed by different NHRIs about their countries’ systems of justice vary considerably but there are several common themes: the staffing of the courts and the adequacy of resources put at their disposal, legal guarantees of independence, the reform of judicial councils, the length of the proceedings, as well as – in some states – the limited possibilities of reviewing their Attorney General’s decisions. The Albanian and Ukrainian NHRIs raised concerns about delays in the appointment of judges in many courts, especially lower ones and courts of appeal.

The Croatian, Danish, German and Portuguese NHRIs reported an increase in resources for justice systems and so did the Spanish NHRI in respect of the Attorney General’s Office. Similar changes have been noted in Finland and Belgium reports. One of Belgium’s ENNHRI members (FIRM-IFDH) has criticised the conditionality attached to budget growth and the Danish NHRI has taken issue with some reforms introduced to promote efficiency in the administration of justice. As regards legal guarantees of independence, the Georgian, Slovak and Spanish NHRIs have drawn attention to a lack of sufficient safeguards or the stalling of the reform of their countries’ judicial councils. In Ukraine, there has been progress with the appointment of members of the High Council of Justice, which has been able to resume the examination of disciplinary complaints, and the High Qualification Commission of Judges. While there have been positive developments in Finland in assessing the system of lay judges, Sweden is still grappling with this issue. The Greek NHRI reports no progress in ensuring the involvement of the judiciary in the appointment of President and Vice-President of the Council of State, the Supreme Court and the Court of Audit. The Georgian NHRI has long advocated for the implementation of a democratic process in appointing court presidents. Such a process would involve judges from each individual court electing their own president, rather than the High Council of Justice making the decision on their behalf. The Slovak NHRI continues to express concern about judges being open to prosecution for bending the law.

While the Greek NHRI noted some progress regarding the acceleration of the administration of justice linked to initiatives at the legislative level, the Albanian ENNHRI member has again raised length of proceedings issues. The NHRIs from Cyprus and Slovakia reported little headway in connection with possibilities of review of their countries’ Attorney General’s decisions.  

Other justice issues where individual NHRIs have reported some positive developments include enhancing the efficiency of the tax and administrative courts in Portugal, the amendment of the Crime Victims Compensation Act in Slovenia and the enactment of the law on the organisation of legal aid in Luxembourg. 

As regards the anti-corruption framework, there have been positive developments in connection with asset disclosure in Cyprus and the competent authority has seen staff growth. Spain has enacted a law on whistleblowers’ protection. Hungary has extended its whistleblower protection mandate in alignment with Directive (EU) 2019/1937, establishing protections for whistleblowers and tasking the Hungarian Ombudsman and other entities with overseeing a secure electronic reporting system for public interest disclosures and abuses. Croatia has enacted legislation on lobbying and Latvia has been in the process of doing so through the introduction of lobbying-related registers. In Liechtenstein, proposals for court reform have been submitted for public consultation but not yet presented to the Parliament. The Slovak NHRI has reported no progress or even regression in the fight against corruption. The NHRI from Bosnia and Herzegovina has stressed the need to adopt the Draft Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Public Institutions.

According to some NHRIs, there have also been positive developments in the field of media pluralism and freedom. This includes: the ongoing process of ratification by Belgium of the Tromsø Convention; Croatia’s National Plan for the Development of Culture and the Media that contains provisions on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs); Estonia’s legal review procedure in connection with the effective implementation of the right to information; and Poland’s efforts to redress the situation in the national television and radio. There has been no progress in connection with journalists’ safety in Greece and Slovakia, the right to information in Germany, and the initiation of legislative process in Greece to counter SLAPPs in follow up to the EC’s recommendation. 

When reporting on other institutional issues related to checks and balances, some ENNHRI members mentioned civic space issues. The German NHRI drew attention to lack of progress in connection with the tax-exemption system for non-profit organisations and the Swedish institution reported that civil society organisations (CSOs) increasingly experienced uncertainty in funding. The Greek NHRI highlighted the burdensome formal requirements affecting the functioning of CSOs, particularly those working on migration. The Slovak NHRI noted that despite the improvements promised by the government as regards the legislative process and public participation in the procedure for adopting statutory proposals, there have been no concrete steps to ensure it and the use of the accelerated legislative procedures without proper public participation persists. The Greek NHRI also reported the lack of sufficient time ensured for public consultations of draft laws and the accelerated legislative procedure frequently being used without proper or any justification. The Danish NHRI discussed the current reform of the law governing access to public administration documents. 

ENNHRI members also reported on progress in relation to the regional actors’ country-specific recommendations concerning NHRIs, issued by the EC and the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA). Those recommendations address the establishment of NHRIs in the countries where there is no accredited NHRI yet and aim to ensure the enabling space for NHRIs’ functioning in several countries under this report. 

On the one hand, the ENNHRI member from the Czech Republic – Public Defender of Rights – drew attention to the risk that the bill aiming to convert the institution into an accredited NHRI might not guarantee full respect for the Paris Principles. Accreditation issues were also raised by the NHRIs from Azerbaijan, Montenegro and Romania. The NHRIs from Kosovo and Poland stressed that their funding remains insufficient (although the Polish NHRI noted receiving an increase in its budget for 2023). The Polish NHRI continues to stress vague legal grounds for the dismissal of its head. The same NHRI and the NHRI from Serbia refer to regulatory gaps. The latter also referred to the inadequacy of its premises. The NHRI from Kosovo* complained about delays in parliamentary proceedings related to the institution (appointment of one of the deputy heads and approval of the annual report) and stressed the need for increased cooperation with the country’s Assembly. The Croatian NHRI raised concerns over the functioning of mechanism for the implementation of the Ombudswoman’s recommendations. The same NHRI and the one from Ukraine complained about continued obstacles in access to information.

On the other hand, the Lithuanian NHRI reported positive developments concerning its financial resources and so has the one from Serbia concerning the implementation of its recommendations. The ENNHRI member from Azerbaijan reported on the expansion of its mandate to include ensuring the right to equality and preventing discrimination. The NHRI from Hungary has also reported an expansion of its mandate, in 2023, for the protection of persons with disabilities in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Finally, some NHRIs reported – in connection with the implementation of regional actors’ rule of law recommendations – on progress made in the fight against gender-based violence (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* and Moldova) and the sexual exploitation of children (Moldova), property (Albania and Kosovo*) and minority (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Norway) issues and the overall human rights strategic framework (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Scotland).

In view of the above and to support the existence and functioning of NHRIs in the region, ENNHRI recommends the Council of Europe to monitor and encourage the full implementation of the Committee of Ministers Recommendation 2021/1 on NHRIs by the CoE member states. ENNHRI also urges the European Commission to adopt a dedicated recommendation on NHRIs as well as to further develop its country-specific rule of law recommendations to address the key issues faced by NHRIs.

NHRIs play a key role in monitoring and supporting the implementation of regional actors' recommendations. It is in line with the UN Paris Principles which require NHRIs to engage with international actors and to report on the implementation of international obligations. It also enhances NHRI’s recognition as an important actor to monitor, report on and issue recommendations on how to advance the rule of law compliance in both regional and domestic context. ENNHRI invites the relevant regional actors to further build upon the added value of NHRIs’ engagement in the rule of law mechanisms, including by further engaging with them within relevant consultations at the national level.  

Thanks to their broad mandates, ENNHRI members engaged in a range of activities to support the implementation of regional actors’ rule of law recommendations to bring about change on the ground in this area.  

In addition to monitoring how state authorities have reacted to regional actors’ recommendations, NHRIs themselves take initiatives to promote their implementation. One way of achieving this is by integrating such recommendations in their everyday work, as pointed out by the NHRIs of Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania and Romania.  

The same objective can be achieved via dialogue with the competent authorities, as reported by the ENNHRI members of Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania and Serbia; by disseminating recommendations and raising public awareness through dedicated events or the media, as did the Albanian, Danish, French, Greek, Polish, Scottish and Slovak NHRIs; through participation in relevant public consultations and bodies, as did ENNHRI members from Albania, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Moldova, Northern Ireland, Poland and Sweden; by issuing opinions on the underlying issues, as did the ENNHRI members from Belgium, Finland, Georgia, Great Britain, Poland and Scotland; and by referring to the implementation of regional actors’ rule of law recommendations in their annual reports, as did the NHRI from Kosovo*, Northern Ireland and Norway.    

NHRIs should have the internal capacity to support the implementation. While the NHRIs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Serbia and Türkiye have reported on their efforts to create this, the NHRI of Luxembourg has underlined insufficient resources to carry out such dedicated activities.  

ENNHRI members pay particular attention to recommendations issued by regional actors about their own regulatory framework and functioning, as evidenced in particular by ENNHRI members from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Romania (in the context of seeking accreditation as an NHRI), Türkiye, and the Czech Republic, the latter referring to an expert roundtable organised to advance on the Public Defender’s transition into an NHRI.  

Finally, NHRIs can promote implementation of regional actors’ recommendations by referring thereto in their reports to various international monitoring mechanisms. This is the practice of, for example, the NHRIs of Ireland, Luxembourg, Moldova and Slovakia. NHRIs have been raising rule of law issues in all relevant regional and international fora, which shows that European and UN roles can be mutually reinforcing. This was pointed out, among others, in the Austrian report, which raised concerns over the lack of implementation of UPR recommendations. Many NHRIs – including the Polish NHRI – stressed the need to comply with the findings of international human rights monitoring mechanisms, of which the NHRIs are the natural national institutional partners.

The state authorities’ follow-up to NHRIs’ own recommendations concerning the rule of law is crucial to ensure rule of law compliance on the ground. This also usefully complements state authorities’ actions to implement regional actors’ recommendations and decisions tackling rule of law challenges. NHRIs’ rule of law recommendations are grounded in their unique knowledge of the national set-up and challenges in their domestic context. NHRIs can thus act as an additional lever for further progress towards rule of law compliance and human rights protection. 

Many of the recommendations in this regard concern the NHRIs’ position within each country’s institutional landscape. Examples include recommendations issued by the ENNHRI member from Sweden asking for changes that would ensure compliance with the UN Paris Principles; those by the NHRIs of Estonia and Luxembourg concerning their involvement in the preparation of statutory proposals; and the recommendations by the German NHRI calling for a public dialogue on its report and its participation in parliamentary hearings. While the NHRI from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been positive about the authorities’ response to several recommendations concerning its regulatory framework, budget and cooperation with civil society, the Albanian NHRI raised concerns about its mandate and the resources put at its disposal. The NHRI of Hungary has reported on their engagement with NGOs, highlighting the contributions of two advisory bodies: the Civil Consultative Body and the Disability Advisory Board.

Some ENNHRI members, including from Cyprus, Hungary, Kosovo* and Ukraine, have been positive about the follow-up provided to their recommendations. Others – including ENNHRI members from Albania, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Ireland and Scotland – were rather critical because of insufficient implementation of their recommendations. This issue should be further addressed by state authorities and relevant regional actors. 

Since ENNHRI’s last regional rule of law report, nine ENNHRI member NHRIs have been reviewed by the SCA. This includes the institutions in Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Northern Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The Russian Federation also came under review, but it is no longer an ENNHRI member: in April 2023, at an Extraordinary General Assembly ENNHRI members voted to exclude the Russian NHRI from the Network.

In October 2023, the NHRIs in Germany, Moldova and Northern Ireland were re-accredited with A-status. Further, the SCA decided to initiate a special review of Great Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, which - following a review by the SCA in May 2024 - has retained its A-status.

In the same session, following the suspension of its accreditation status by the GANHRI Bureau and a subsequent special review, the SCA recommended that the accreditation status of the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights be removed. The institution will have another opportunity to provide evidence of its conformity with the UN Paris Principles at the SCA session in October 2024.

In May 2024, the NHRIs Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, Portugal, and Spain were reaccredited with A-status. The SCA recommended that the Azerbaijan NHRI be reaccredited with B-status, noting with concern ongoing recommendations with regards to selection and appointment and addressing human rights violations. As prescribed under Article 12 of the GANHRI Statute, the Azerbaijan NHRI has challenged the SCA recommendation. Pending the consideration and outcome of this challenge by GANHRI’s Bureau, the SCA recommendation is not considered final and the NHRI retains its current status.

In October 2024, five ENNHRI members will be considered by the SCA. This includes the reaccreditation of the Georgian, Danish, Armenian and Greek NHRIs. The SCA will also consider, for the first time, the accreditation status of the Swedish Institute for Human Rights.

In the past year, there has been progress towards the establishment of an NHRI in compliance with Paris Principles in Iceland and the Czech Republic.

At present, there are 11 countries in the ENNHRI region without an accredited NHRI (Andorra, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo*, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Romania, San Marino, and Switzerland).

Seven of the 11 states have institutions that are members of ENNHRI and have committed to take steps towards accreditation (Andorra, the Czech Republic, Kosovo*, Liechtenstein, Malta, Romania and Switzerland). Since the last report, the Maltese Ombudsman Institution and Swiss Human Rights Institution have joined ENNHRI.

In the Czech Republic, there are concrete steps towards possible legislative amendments aimed at broadening and strengthening the mandate of the Czech Public Defender to that of a fully-fledged NHRI and to pave the way for its future accreditation. The ENNHRI member in Liechtenstein has expressed an intention to apply for accreditation in 2024. In Andorra, national authorities have expressed willingness to initiate amendments to strengthen the legislative basis of the institution.

In Romania, the Romanian Institute for Human Rights and the Romanian Ombudsman have both submitted request for accreditation. In May 2024, the SCA decided that the two institutions will not be invited to submit a full application for accreditation until all the requirements of Rule 6.3 of the SCA Rules of Procedure have been met. The SCA welcomed the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions, however, in line with the requirements of Rule 6.3, will wait to consider an application pending explicit written consent of the Government.

In the remaining four states where no ENNHRI member institution exists, there are varying levels of progress towards the establishment of an NHRI. In Iceland there is a concrete legislative proposal on the establishment of an NHRI. An existing institution in Monaco has been invited to join ENNHRI and take steps towards possible accreditation as an NHRI. In Italy, while ENNHRI has been informed of several legislative proposals at the level of the Chamber of Deputies, there is no clear indication as to real prospects of these being close to adoption. In San Marino, there has been no legislative proposal to create an NHRI.

While the information varies from country to country, most ENNHRI members have taken concrete steps to implement the SCA recommendations, and some made proposals to further strengthen their institutional framework.

In general, NHRIs reported a need for support by national actors – mostly government and parliament – when following-up on some SCA recommendations. Many SCA recommendations require actions that are not within the powers of NHRIs, such as legislative amendments or a budgetary increase. However, NHRIs have the responsibility of advocating for such actions to take place.

ENNHRI has a key role to play in supporting NHRIs when following up on SCA recommendations. Other regional actors, such as the Council of Europe and the EU, can liaise with NHRIs to further understand their needs and consider possible technical support. They can also encourage national authorities to consult with the NHRIs and work towards implementing relevant recommendations.

A few NHRIs have reported recent or upcoming legislative amendments in response to recommendations of the SCA. For example, the Ukrainian NHRI has presented legislative amendments to the Parliament which the aim to align with previous SCA recommendations. In North Macedonia, the NHRI sent a proposal for legislative amendments to the President of the Parliament, which could lead to stronger compliance with the UN Paris Principles. The NHRI in Luxembourg is working with the Parliament on possible institutional reforms in follow up to SCA recommendations.

NHRIs need a broad constitutional or legislative mandate which defines their functions, guarantees their independence and provides them with competences to promote and protect human rights. Several NHRIs have pointed to the need to have their regulatory framework strengthened. The ENNHRI member from Armenia considers that it could play a role in the ratification of human rights treaties. So does the member from Albania, which also needs the power to defend human rights in the private sector. In the Czech Republic, the enactment of legislation ensuring that the regulatory framework of the NHRI is compliant with UN Paris Principles is still pending. Particular attention should be paid in this connection to the process of selection and appointment of the head of the NHRI. The NHRI of the Netherlands also needs a proper statutory basis for its recently acquired competence to act as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). 

On the one hand, some NHRIs have seen their competences expanded, sometimes following the ratification/incorporation of human-rights treaties. This has been the case with the NHRIs of Hungary and Liechtenstein, in connection with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), Scotland, in connection with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Azerbaijan, in connection with both these treaties. In addition, one of Belgium’s NHRIs (FIRM-IFDH) has become the national focal point on SLAPPs, the federal level NPM and received a mandate to support whistleblowers. The mandate of whistleblower protection has also been expanded within the NHRI in Hungary. The NHRI of Cyprus monitors human rights compliance in the implementation of EU funding programmes; the NHRI of Denmark has started supporting the NPM in its monitoring visit to Greenland; the NHRI of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been given an NPM mandate; and the NHRI of Ukraine has been given supervisory powers over national minority and linguistic rights. All this has been reflected in the institutions’ regulatory framework. On the other hand, the setting up of a Human Rights Institute in Flanders has resulted in the restriction of one of Belgium’s NHRIs (Unia) competence.   

As regards the expected changes in the scope of the NHRIs’ mandates, the Irish NHRI expects to be assigned an NPM role by the Act that will ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. This will be an addition to its current competences, which include acting as the independent monitoring mechanism of the UN CRPD since 2024. The Scottish NHRI is also considering the implications of the Human Rights Bill for Scotland for its mandate. The Armenian NHRI was additionally mandated to receive complaints and applications from whistleblowers regarding violations of their rights by state bodies.

Several ENNHRI members reported on developments leading to strengthening NHRIs’ regulatory frameworks. For instance, legislation has been introduced in Greece and Slovenia to ensure the financial independence of their NHRIs. There have been developments in the same direction in Slovakia, which formally confirmed the independence of NHRI’s reports and recommendations on discrimination. Changes in the Danish NHRI’s regulatory framework strengthened the independence of the institution by introducing the obligatory resignation of a board member in case of election to the parliament. There have been amendments to the rules governing the Lithuanian NHRI’s appointment and those concerning the investigative powers of the NHRI of Azerbaijan when acting as an NPM.

Significant changes have also been introduced to the regulatory framework of the Moldovan NHRI. Although most of them are positive (e.g. having a whistleblower protection role and defending the rights of legal persons), the one concerning its immunity risks compromising the NHRI’s independence. Other NHRIs that have raised concerns about negative developments in their regulatory framework include Kosovo’s*, which has complained about the application to its staff of rules on public-sector salaries that amounted to interference in its internal organisation and the tendency of vesting it with additional tasks that are frequently not in compliance with its constitutional powers. The Georgian NHRI has stressed the possible negative implications of the law on data protection, which may render its monitoring role more complicated in practice.

Most ENNHRI members have not reported any changes to their regulatory frameworks. Some have, nevertheless, called on relevant state authorities to introduce necessary changes to strengthen them. The Scottish NHRI has, for example, submitted a detailed list of proposed changes. The Swedish ENNHRI member has also called on state authorities to further enhance its regulatory framework in line with UN Paris Principles. The Slovenian NHRI has called for more clarity concerning its mandate to protect some vulnerable groups. The Finnish NHRI has called for an amendment specifying that it has three components, the Human Rights Centre, its Human Rights Delegation and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The NHRIs from Albania and Liechtenstein have thought that their immunity needed strengthening. The NHRI from Armenia has pointed out the need to clarify the rules concerning the timeframe for the election of its head. The NHRI from Great Britain has pointed out a certain asymmetry in its powers. NHRIs also need proper investigative powers, as recalled by ENNHRI members from Belgium (Unia), Northern Ireland (where the NHRI is still unable to visit places of detention without advance notice) and Scotland. The Georgian NHRI noted its limited access to case files of ongoing investigations carried out in cases of deprivation of life and ill-treatment. The NHRIs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain and Montenegro stressed the need to ensure the financial autonomy of the NHRIs in terms of independent budget allocation.

Some ENNHRI members pointed out the need to introduce necessary safeguards concerning the selection and appointment of heads of NHRIs and their dismissal procedures. The Lithuanian NHRI advocated for additional safeguards against abusive dismissal of its head, and the ENNHRI member from Sweden underlined the need to clarify the rules for appointment and dismissal of its board members. The NHRI from Poland continued to raise concerns over vaguely specified legal grounds for the dismissal of the head of the institution. The NHRI also pointed out that it is unclear who heads the NHRI after the end of the term of the head of institution when the successor is not yet appointed. The NHRI from Armenia pointed out to inconsistencies in the rules concerning the timeframe for the election of its head, while the NHRI from Georgia underlined the need to increase transparency of the appointment of the NHRI head.

To be able to function properly in practice, NHRIs need a safe and enabling environment, as pointed out by the NHRIs of Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and Türkiye.   

Some ENNHRI members – for example from Armenia, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, and Slovakia – have been subject to attacks, hate speech, or intimidation, a phenomenon that is amplified by social media. These attacks give rise to legitimate concerns, especially when they have been orchestrated by influential politicians, as in Estonia and Sweden – the latter concerning questioning of the ENNHRI member existence, or when they amounted to breaches of their staff’s human rights, as was the case in Latvia. In Armenia, there is an orchestrated campaign against the head of the NHRI. In Cyprus, the Auditor General of the Republic attempted (unsuccessfully) to influence the parliamentary procedure for the NHRI’s head’s reappointment. In Moldova, the Police General Inspectorate attempted to interfere with the NHRI’s work.

To operate in a safe and enabling environment, NHRIs need adequate financial and human resources. This aspect has been stressed in most national reports. On a positive note, the NHRIs of Albania, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Scotland and Serbia have reported an increase in resources. The NHRI of Hungary has also set up a Disability Advisory Board, composed of experts – including CSOs and professional bodies – working along its office’s General Directorate of Disability and the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary. NHRIs also need proper premises, as noted by those from Armenia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia. The NHRIs from Albania and Montenegro have also stressed the need for more flexibility in staff recruitment. 

Many NHRIs have expressed dissatisfaction about the extent of their access to law- and policy-making processes with human rights implications. This includes a lack of invitation for NHRIs to provide feedback as well as short deadlines set by authorities to submit an input. Some positive developments have been reported by the NHRIs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein and Ukraine who have a close collaborative relationship with both the executive and parliament.

Numerous ENNHRI members, including from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, considered that the effectiveness of their work is challenged by the lack of sufficient follow-up to their recommendations. The Spanish Ombudsman/NHRI publishes in its annual report the list of non-cooperative administrative bodies and maps them in the institutional website. The Spanish Criminal Code envisages penalties for those authorities or officers who hinder an investigation by the Ombudsman. But similar provisions are lacking in Serbian legislation, as pointed out by this country’s NHRI. Concerns have also been expressed by the ENNHRI member from Sweden that it is determined by the government how many and which legislative proposals the NHRI is required to provide feedback on. On the other hand, the NHRI from Georgia noted that the Parliament adopted resolutions based on the NHRI recommendations, assigning state agencies to fulfil them; however, the NHRI reported that the level of their implementation remains low. The NHRI from Moldova noted the collaboration with the state authority to jointly develop a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the NHRI recommendations.

While the French NHRI has complained about its limited impact on the formulation of human rights policies and legislation, it considered that the feedback it receives on its opinions shows willingness for dialogue. The Norwegian NHRI also reports that it can carry its work in good conditions. The Spanish NHRI and one of the Belgian NHRIs (FIRM-IFDH) have reported that they have conducted further actions (for example the power to request explanations, instigate criminal proceedings) in case of non-cooperation from state authorities. The Cypriot NHRI was generally satisfied with the response to its requests for information, even if state authorities’ responses were sometimes delayed.  

Some ENNHRI members pointed to obstacles in NHRIs’ access to information. In Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine, these obstacles are linked to the NHRI’s access to conflict zones; for instance, the NHRI from Moldova reported that sometimes state authorities’ responses did not provide requested information. The Croatian NHRI has also raised concerns about its access to data on irregular migrants in the Ministry of Interior’s information system. The Luxembourgish NHRI reported the lack of access to disaggregated data which hindered carrying out the mandate of the NHRI in an effective way. Finally, the reports of the NHRIs of Croatia and Kosovo* underlined the importance of timely discussions on their annual reports.

Independent and effective NHRIs are a crucial part of the overall system of healthy checks and balances. The importance of establishing and ensuring enabling environment for NHRIs was particularly stressed by the regional actors. For instance, the European Commission recognised NHRIs as a key and indispensable element of the system of checks and balances in democratic countries and underlined that a threat to NHRIs is a threat to the rule of law.  

NHRIs also play an important role in monitoring and responding to any challenges affecting the healthy functioning of the overall system of checks and balances. In this year’s report, ENNHRI members paid particular attention to the problems that should be addressed by national authorities and regional actors to ensure effective system of checks and balances and therefore safeguard the rule of law in the region.

The concept of the rule of law is interlinked with those of democracy and human rights. Respect for all three presupposes a system of checks and balances. A foundation of checks and balances is the principle of separation of powers.  

Any discussion of a state’s compliance with this principle should start from the independence of the judiciary. This has been imperilled in some countries. In Poland, for example, the legality of the appointment of some 2030 judges has been under serious questioning. An appointment procedure is needed that would ensure the courts’ independence from executive and legislative branches of government. This is an issue not only in Poland but also in other countries. The Scottish NHRI has raised concerns about proposals to involve the Scottish Government in the regulation of legal professional bodies and the Swedish NHRI about the appointment of lay judges. The Scottish NHRI has also expressed concerns about proposals to create a special sexual offences court that would, inter alia, increase the discretionary power of the head of the judiciary to dismiss judges from cases. In Moldova, there have been issues with the elections to the judges’ and prosecutors’ self-governing bodies. The Turkish NHRI has referred in general to ongoing reforms that are needed to ensure judicial independence.

Abiding by court decisions, essential for the rule of law, has been challenged in several countries, including Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, and Ukraine. For instance, in Great Britain, the executive tried to bypass a Supreme Court ruling by introducing legislation declaring Rwanda to be a safe country. The Serbian NHRI also reported an issue with the implementation of administrative-court decisions. In Luxembourg, a decision banning begging was issued in circumstances that showed a lack of respect for judicial precedent. In Switzerland, the Senate’s commission called on the government to declare as non-binding the groundbreaking judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the climate case. The Polish and Belgian authorities failed to abide by immigration-related court rulings. In Brussels region (Belgium), an adoption of an ordinance created practical difficulties for disabled persons, despite a court ruling issued beforehand finding that imposing such additional burdens amounted to discrimination.  

In other countries, some politicians questioned the legitimacy of the courts in general (as in the Netherlands) or commented in a negative way on court rulings (as in Sweden and Switzerland).  

The above do not constitute, however, the only attempts to rein in judicial power. The right to an effective remedy can be cancelled out, either by restrictively interpreting locus standi, as signalled by the NHRI of Luxembourg, by delaying tactics, as it happened in France when decisions banning pension-reform demonstrations were issued at a time when it was practically impossible to challenge them, or by violations of the right to proceedings of a reasonable length, as pointed out by the NHRIs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.  

In this connection, the Scottish NHRI has also raised the issue of the fair trial implications of legislative proposals related to sexual offences. The changes would do away with important safeguards for the rights of the accused.

The position of the judiciary may, conversely, be enhanced by broadening the possibilities of constitutional review, as suggested by the NHRIs of Finland and the Netherlands, or by empowering national courts to make preliminary references to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as suggested by the one of Luxembourg. In any event, the infrastructure (e.g. buildings), tools and resources put at the disposal of the judges need improving, as signalled by ENNHRI members from Belgium, Cyprus, Slovenia and Luxembourg. Judges’ salaries should also be preserved, and court proceedings were instituted to this effect in Kosovo* and Slovenia. In Slovenia, the competent authorities refused to comply with a Constitutional Court judgment concerning judges’ salaries.

Undermining the authority of the judiciary is not the only threat to the principle of separation of powers. The tendency to bolster the powers of the executive represents another such threat. In several countries, the executive has been trying to bypass the Parliament. This has happened in the United Kingdom with regulations and guidance issued in the area of public order as well as in Luxembourg with the begging ban. The NHRI of Great Britain also considered that ministers had been recently given the power to amend definition by regulation, without the full parliamentary scrutiny. Furthermore, the NHRIs of Liechtenstein and Scotland have raised the issue of the continuous use of emergency powers introduced during the Covid-19 crisis.   

The legitimacy of the legislative power can be undermined by the failure to address some election-related issues. This risked happening in Germany where voting had to be repeated in some polling stations during federal and state parliamentary elections. The NHRI of Estonia has called for enhanced regulation of electronic voting. The Albanian, Armenian and Polish a NHRIs have complained about the electoral rights of prisoners, immigrants, earthquake victims and persons with disabilities. The Armenian NHRI has also complained about the misuse of school premises during the election campaign. The application of martial law raises election issues in Ukraine. Several NHRIs have also raised the issue of hate speech in politics, including during election campaigns.

The Croatian NHRI emphasized that it would be beneficial to have a wider discussion and agreement on the reform of electoral districts. Electoral reform may be needed but, in some countries, this would make it more difficult for small or regional parties to get their candidates elected, as signalled by the Slovak and German NHRIs, risking weakening of the overall party system. The failure to set the financing of political parties on a transparent basis and create appropriate supervisory mechanisms represented another such risk, according to the Estonian NHRI. And the Moldovan NHRI complained about the misuse of administrative resources during local elections.

Other threats to the parliamentary system came from voting tactics within the Parliament itself (such as voting only in line with the agreed parties’ position), as stressed by the NHRIs of Luxembourg and France – the latter referring to the recent experience of the immigration bill. The NHRI of Liechtenstein reported that the Constitutional Court dealt with the issue of MPs who change political affiliation.

Attempts to weaken special investigation authorities and exert political influence over the civil service and the police constitute another inroad into the system of separation of powers, as shown, for instance, in Ireland. The Georgian NHRI has drawn attention to shortcomings in the mandate of the special investigation authorities. The Swedish NHRI has also drawn attention to the creation of an inquiry function within the Prime Minister’s Office, which risks competing, in practice, with the independent inquiry function that has always existed. The Slovak government has become responsible for the appointment of the chairpersons of the statistical office and the healthcare surveillance authority, who may now also be removed more easily than in the past. In the same state, several institutions have become part of the central government. The Belgian report referred to problems of compliance with the decisions of independent bodies processing prisoners’ complaints. The Danish NHRI drew attention to the absence of supervision over the collection and transmission of bulk data. Finally, the Polish NHRI has expressed reservations as to the way the management and supervisory boards of the three main state media have been replaced.

The principle of the rule of law requires quality, transparency and inclusiveness of the process to prepare and adopt laws. Achieving this also lies in the focus of the NHRIs which, in their work and reports, pay particular attention to law-making processes.  

Only few ENNHRI members reported positive developments or no concerns in this respect. Among the exceptions one finds the NHRIs of Albania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Spain, the latter having stressed the benefits of e-consultation on bills, which has been introduced in its country.   

The ENNHRI members from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Great Britain, Moldova, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia and Sweden have stressed the insufficient time for public consultation. The Moldovan NHRI complained about the adequacy of explanatory reports that accompany legislative proposals. Similar concerns were expressed by the NHRI from Northern Ireland. The ENNHRI members from France, Great Britain, Latvia and Sweden have drawn attention to the lack of proper human rights or equality impact assessments. This was shared by the ENNHRI member from Romania who also pointed to the problem of transparency – it distinguished different phases of the consultation process, feeling excluded from the later, more important ones. In Croatia, the NHRI has noted the fact that, in its country, the composition of the working groups that prepare the bills to be submitted to Parliament is sometimes unknown. The NHRI of Great Britain has also raised concerns that significant amendments are often introduced late in the legislative process and recalled that there was no public consultation at all on the Illegal Migration Act 2023. The NHRI from Armenia reported on attempts to not consider comments that had been submitted by the CSOs in time. The NHRI from Azerbaijan also considered that there was room for improvement in respect of adequate CSO participation in the consultation process. Keeping the NHRI involved in the process of preparing bills can be salutary as, on occasion, the public may have superficial reactions to some of them, as shown again by the Romanian experience with the cybersecurity bill.  

The Croatian and Slovenian NHRIs have stressed the need to consult separately independent institutions on bills affecting them. Several ENNHRI members – such as those from the Czech Republic, Ireland and Romania – have called for more effective participation of people with disabilities in the preparation of legislative initiatives concerning their rights and protection. The ENNHRI member  from Sweden has drawn attention to the risks associated with neglecting, in the legislative process, views of the Council on Legislation.  

The pace of the legislative initiatives has proven, in general, difficult to follow for the Scottish and Swedish NHRIs, while ENNHRI members from France, Kosovo*, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden have complained about too frequent use of the accelerated procedures. In the case of Kosovo*, this has resulted in the enactment of legislation that raises gender equality concerns and which the NHRI has challenged before the Constitutional Court. In the Czech Republic, actions have been taken to cut consultation time short in relation to the private members’ bills, while the Estonian NHRI has drawn attention to the negative effects of linking the passing of bills to a vote of confidence. The Georgian NHRI expressed concerns about the use of accelerated procedure in one case: the draft amendments to the law regarding freedom of peaceful assembly.

Problems of public participation in the law-making process may also arise at the local level. This issue has been taken up in the reports of the Estonian, Romanian and Spanish ENNHRI members, which have stressed the positive role that CSOs may play in the adoption of local government regulations. Similarly, CSOs should also be able to raise urban planning concerns, as pointed out in the Irish and Romanian contexts.

Being able to defend the rule of law, as well as human rights and democracy, presupposes access to all relevant public information. The situation in many countries under this review is overall satisfactory. In Kosovo*, for instance, there have been noticeable improvements since the appointment of a specialised Commissioner.

However, in some countries the obstacles in access to public information persist. For instance, the NHRIs of Cyprus and the Netherlands have drawn attention to delays in the provision of information. In other countries, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Estonia and Montenegro, access to information was frequently denied, while in Armenia access to information was denied in certain cases. In Spain this has given rise to intense litigation. The Romanian ENNHRI member has stressed the problem of excessive length of such litigation. Its report and the Belgian one provided  insights into the reasons given by the authorities for denying access to information. State secrets and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) were, quite often, too readily invoked. On other occasions, the Romanian authorities have refused access because the wording of certain regulations does not expressly authorise it. In Moldova and Ukraine, the right of access to information is restricted on national security grounds.

The Armenian and Moldovan NHRIs consider that there is discrimination in access to information against some social groups, including persons with disabilities and the families of missing persons. In Serbia, those living abroad cannot access, for technical reasons, land registry data. Furthermore, the Albanian NHRI has complained about a lack of transparency in the State Advocate's Office and the Scottish NHRI about changes in working practices in the civil service resulting from the pandemic.

The NHRIs of Denmark and Norway have drawn attention to proposals that would unduly restrict access to information by trying to overprotect civil servants, also against what was defined vaguely as harassment, or by creating exceptions for internal documents. The NHRI of Azerbaijan has been trying to create awareness among state authorities of the relevant obligations and has taken issue with their refusal to communicate information. The Polish NHRI intervened in numerous court proceedings challenging unjustified restrictions on access to public information. 

In addition to the above, some NHRIs have also stressed the need to place the right to access to information on a firm legal footing. While such a regulatory framework exists in most countries, it remains insufficient in Belgium, Georgia, Latvia and Luxembourg and this is what the NHRIs of these states are working to challenge.

NHRIs are usually a part of a system of independent institutions, the proper functioning of which provides yet another effective defence for a healthy system of checks and balances, and therefore for the rule of law. Attempts to undermine the independence of other institutions may thus become an indirect threat to the NHRIs themselves. This is why this issue features prominently in many reports from ENNHRI members.  

Some NHRIs have been able to successfully advocate, through their recommendations, in favour of strengthening other independent institutions. This has been the case with the Estonian NHRI and the Data Protection Inspectorate as well as the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner of its country. It has also been the case with the Intelligence Ombudsmen in Lithuania and the Audiovisual Media Authority in Albania.

Multiple other NHRIs have reported challenges. The NHRI of Georgia has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the special investigation service and the independence and impartiality of the High Council of Justice. The NHRI from Kosovo* has had reservations regarding the draft law on the Independent Media Commission. The NHRI of Great Britain has expressed concerns about changes to the Data Protection Regulations. In Spain, Parliament has not yet examined the bills on the Independent Authority for Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination and the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers. The reform of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen of Sweden resulted in proposals for constitutional changes that would strengthen the protection of the Ombudsmen. However, other proposed changes, including on terms of office and procedures for removal, do not fully live up to the Principles on the Protection and Promotion of the Ombudsman Institution (the Venice Principles). Finally, the ENNHRI member from Romania noted that certain civil society organisations expressed concerns about changes to the internal procedures of the National Council for Combatting Discrimination.  

Some independent institutions have faced problems with insufficient resources to carry out their mandate. This is, for instance, the case with the Slovak National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the Ombudsman and equality body of Luxembourg and the Freedom of Information Commissioners in Germany, at both federal and state levels. In Kosovo*, all independent institutions were affected by the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector.

In addition to being given adequate resources, some independent institutions require further strengthening of their regulatory framework. Thus, the German Freedom of Information Commissioners should have their legal powers enhanced. Similarly, the equality body’s scope of competence needs to be widened in Luxembourg and the monitoring function of the Parliamentary Ombudsman in Sweden needs further review in relation to monitoring of private actors. Finally, in Croatia the rules on specialised Ombudsmen need to be changed so that Parliament’s failure to adopt their annual reports should not automatically result in their dismissal.    

In Belgium, three independent institutions – the Central Monitoring Council for Prisons, the Data Protection Authority and the Institute for the Equality between Women and Men – have recently come under pressure. There have been proposals making it more difficult to examine prisoners’ complaints, issue timely opinions on data protection issues and cooperate with prosecutors in discrimination cases. In Greece, members and staff of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) reported facing harassment and intimidation from governmental and judicial authorities. 

Other issues of concern are the low level of implementation of the independent authorities’ recommendations. This is the case in Slovenia. There is also an attempt to undermine the independence of the Antimonopoly Office in Slovakia.  

As regards forward-looking proposals, the NHRI of Luxembourg considered that widening the scope of competences of the equality body and granting it the power to go to courts would improve the level of implementation of its recommendations; and the NHRI of the Netherlands calls for support for the work of the independent state commission on the rule of law. 

Strong and healthy checks and balances require also cooperation between independent institutions, including NHRIs. For example, the NHRI of the Netherlands referred to the regular contacts it maintains with all new actors, including the National Coordinator against Discrimination and Racism as well as the State Commission on Discrimination. Among the remaining issues, one should mention the complexity of the institutional environment within which Belgium’s and Finland’s ENNHRI members operate and the supervision that the Chancellor of Justice continues to have via-à-vis the ENNHRI member from Sweden. 

The rule of law compliance in Europe requires healthy checks and balances in which civil society space and human rights defenders (HRDs) can thrive and are protected. While NHRIs are human rights defenders themselves, they also have a mandate and role in promoting and protecting other human rights defenders. The below findings from NHRIs regarding challenges in the area of civic space confirm the need for further actions by regional actors to support human rights defenders and civil society space in countries covered by this report.

ENNHRI members report on numerous attempts to undermine civic space and human rights defenders’ activities, taking various forms. This includes intense criticism of HRDs which has a chilling effect and often leads to self-restraint. The French NHRI has referred, in this connection, to the stigmatisation and demonisation of human rights defenders, even by high-ranking politicians. Similar concerns have been voiced by the Georgian NHRI. The Greek NHRI also noted that the situation of HRDs, especially those active in the field of migration, has deteriorated, including due to harassment  and even criminal persecution they faced for actions that were part of their job. Hate speech has also been resorted to against HRDs in Armenia and during the electoral campaign in Slovakia. The NHRI of the Netherlands has drawn attention to a trend of political parties questioning the legitimacy of independent civil society actors, while the NHRI of Luxembourg has commented on the exaggerated way state authorities reacted to criticism.  

There have also been instances of the authorities’ trying to impose administrative burdens on CSOs or reducing their financial support. The Romanian ENNHRI member, for example, drew attention to overly bureaucratic procedures and restrictions on donations. The Greek and Slovak NHRIs have also referred to administrative and bureaucratic burdens. The Polish NHRI has taken issue with the imprecise nature of the rules on tax liability of NGO board members. The Belgian report referred to strict policies in terms of budget allocation. Similar policies have affected CSOs advocating for women’s rights in Ireland. Finally, Georgia has enacted legislation on foreign influence, which is expected to severely limit NGO and media activity, submitting them to undue stringent audits. On a positive, note, the Constitutional Court of Albania has struck down some provisions of the law on the registration of non-profit organisations that imposed burdens in the process of registration of NGOs.

Strict measures against environmental defenders engaging in peaceful civil disobedience were adopted in several countries, including Armenia, France, Germany, and Sweden. This trend has also been highlighted in the recent outcomes report concerning the protection of environmental defenders and their freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association across Europe, issued by ENNHRI, the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention. The French NHRI has also complained of judicial harassment of HRDs working on migration issues. 

Numerous ENNHRI members have raised concerns over violations of freedom of peaceful assembly. Demonstrations and counterdemonstrations are too easily banned, stressed the NHRIs from Albania, France, Germany, Great Britain and Poland. In Georgia, the authorities often intervene illegally by relying on the administrative offences code. The ground for this has also been prepared in Germany by legislation allowing for restrictions on assemblies to be imposed by the states, as well as by the federal authorities. Ukraine’s and the United Kingdom’s legislation have also been amended to allow for additional restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly. Proposals to the same effect are pending in Armenia, while the authorities of Georgia use outdated administrative offences provisions to curb the freedom of peaceful assembly. Armenia’s, France’s and Germany’s NHRIs have also complained about the excessive use of force to disperse demonstrators. This is compounded by a lack of requirement for law-enforcement officers to bear clear and visible identification during policing of demonstrations and by the political stigmatisation of HRDs, according to the Polish and French NHRIs. There is also increased security rhetoric around demonstrations, with the Croatian NHRI working on a complaint regarding making demonstrations more difficult because of security concerns in a square where the Government and Parliament are located, while the Polish NHRI has expressed concerns about unwarranted identity checks during public assemblies. The NHRIs of Georgia and Lithuania have complained about the police allowing protesters to disrupt LGBTQI-friendly events. The NHRI from Albania has invested considerable efforts in ensuring free press coverage of demonstrations. Finally, the NHRIs of Germany and the Netherlands have drawn attention to content-based restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly (for example pro-Palestinian ones in the case of Germany). The limitations on freedom of peaceful assembly arising from securitisation narrative are also reported on later in this report’s chapter on the impact of securitisation on the rule of law and human rights.

Attacks on journalists appear geographically widespread, as they are mentioned in the reports from Albania, Belgium, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo*, the Netherlands and Romania. Belgium’s NHRIs point out, in this connection, the vulnerability of female journalists. The Belgian report also notes that harsher penalties against the perpetrators of attacks on journalists could help curtail the phenomenon. The law should better protect journalistic sources, according to the ENNHRI member from Romania. According to the Finnish NHRI, journalists facing legal proceedings should not be penalised financially by having to pay tax on support they have received from their employer, which can impact on freedom of expression. SLAPPs have also been reported in Armenia, Estonia, France and Poland. In a parallel development, Belgium has been trying to criminalise malicious attacks on government authority, which cover incitement not to comply with the law.      

The Belgian national report also referred to unilateral court applications to restrict the right to strike, while the Polish and the Finnish NHRIs, respectively, stress the need to protect freedom within associations and foreign human rights defenders. The NHRIs of France and Luxembourg considered that civil society should be better involved in the formulation of human rights-related public policies and national action plans.  

In light of the above, the twin issues of civil society space and human rights defenders receive increasing attention in the work of most NHRIs. The Belgian and Slovak ENNHRI members have commissioned dedicated studies in this respect, while the Polish NHRI has joined court proceedings concerning peaceful protests, abortion-related banners and deforestation, in favour of several NGOs. The Polish NHRI has also appealed for funding for HRDs catering for the needs of the most vulnerable groups. Other ENNHRI members, including from Belgium and Romania, have started acting as focal points on SLAPPs – for which additional resources are needed. The Scottish NHRI has stressed, in this connection, the need for information on how frequently legal processes are used to prevent exercise of freedom of expression, media reporting and public participation rights. And the Croatian NHRI has been calling for a National Plan for the Creation of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society. Lastly, the ENNHRI member from Switzerland considers engaging in raising awareness on the situation of human rights defenders.

Cooperation with civil society and HRDs is a key aspect of the NHRIs’ compliance with the Paris Principles. NHRIs play a key role in fostering dialogue with civil society even in countries where CSOs and HRDs do not experience problems. Good practices of civil society involvement in NHRI work include the Public Councils on Women’s and Children’s Rights of the Armenian NHRI, the numerous committees set up by the Irish NHRI, the Forum of the ENNHRI member from Kosovo* and the Cypriot NHRI’s efforts to facilitate the interface with organisations of persons with disability.

Securitisation is a process happening across states covered in this report, as state authorities increasingly present certain national or regional developments as security issues. Often this leads to states introducing martial law or emergency legislation for unduly long periods of time, or other special measures aimed at addressing real or perceived security threats. The states’ responses to threats and security risks might be lacking transparency and accountability and may have a long-term impact leading to restrictions of fundamental rights and freedoms and to violations of the rule of law principle.

Numerous ENNHRI members, including from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden reported that securitisation affected the rule of law and human rights in their respective countries as well as their own work in these fields. In case of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, this included the context of conflicts.

The securitisation narrative has resulted in the instrumentalisation of a wide variety of issues, including terrorism, organised crime, migration and the Russian war against Ukraine, as it has been pointed out, inter alia, by ENNHRI members from Estonia, Germany, Moldova, Poland and Sweden. The NHRI from Slovakia reported that all these topics are described as threats and have resulted in anti-HRDs discourse, calling for limiting their work and posing it as negatively affecting the security of the population. There were similar developments in Georgia, with the foreign-influence law. On the other hand, the Finnish NHRI noted that in Finland, it is the instrumentalisation of migration by Russia that has strengthened the securitisation narrative, as migration has been perceived as a threat that needs urgent responses.

Numerous ENNHRI members reported on challenges in their countries in the area of national security and migration. NHRIs from Finland, Slovakia and Spain reported an increase in public statements on the negative effects of irregular or instrumentalised migration. Further, the French NHRI has stressed the resultant risk of stigmatisation of the entire migrant population.   

Some countries have implemented strict measures. Finland has effectively closed parts of its borders, therefore significantly limiting the right to seek international protection. Latvia has triggered the border guards’ legislation with the aim of strengthening national border security and curbing irregular migration, but, as a result, also limiting access to the asylum procedure. Greece, Lithuania and Poland have resorted to pushbacks of migrants, the former with express statutory authorisation. In the United Kingdom, migration legislation has been enacted, which expressly allows for measures that may breach the country’s international human rights obligations.

The number of people in immigration detention has increased and the conditions of migrant accommodation have worsened, as stressed in the Belgian and Slovenian reports. The Norwegian report refers to proposals allowing for migrant detention in the national interest. One of Belgium’s ENNHRI members (Myria) has drawn attention to the fact that foreign detainees without residence rights do not enjoy equal access to measures of conditional release. The Portuguese NHRI has also signalled changes in the institutional migration management set-up and in the system of residence permits. The Danish NHRI has complained about general and indiscriminate data retention. Finally, the NHRIs of Germany and the Netherlands have drawn attention to the risk of discrimination creeping into the application, respectively, of the legislation on clan crime and removal of citizenship.     

ENNHRI members pointed to the impact of anti-terrorism laws and policies on the rule of law and fundamental rights. New legislation introduced in Germany against clan crime and in Sweden against terrorism includes broad and vague terms which might lead to disproportionate impact on fundamental rights. Changes to the criminal code in Belgium, and prospective changes to the criminal procedure in Luxembourg pursue the same securitisation logic. In Sweden, an inquiry was carried out to assess the circumstances and procedures in which it should be possible for a witness to testify anonymously. In Switzerland, the new counter-terrorism legislation also raises serious concerns over its human rights compliance.

The securitisation logic has also crept into the regulations affecting freedom of peaceful assembly. This is evident in the case of Armenia where martial law may provide an excuse for drastic restrictions on its exercise and in Georgia where information provided by the secret service about plans to destabilise the country was relied on to support an attempt to amend the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations. In Ukraine, martial law also allows for limitations on the right to assembly. Statutory changes introduced in Germany to facilitate the banning of protests, especially those concerning environmental issues, were quoted by the German NHRI as a concern. In Romania, human rights violations could occur given that the draft law on public assemblies was not discussed further and it does not integrate international and regional standards in terms of public assemblies. Similar concerns led to amendments to the Georgian law on assemblies and demonstrations being vetoed by the President.

The amendments to the policing legislation, which have strengthened and expanded police powers, were introduced in many states, including Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Sweden. These concern the power to ban demonstrations and establish ad hoc stop and search zones as well as the use of new technology (including digital recording, automated recognition systems, drones and anti-drone equipment) and explosives in various police operations. In the case of Armenia, this was in the context of the restriction of freedom of peaceful assembly. In Ireland, traditional police powers to arrest, search premises and detain have been expanded. 

Additional concerns affecting the right to privacy have been expressed in the Belgian report about the creation of a common database related to terrorism, extremism and radicalisation, the Georgian report about uncompleted investigations into allegations of illegal covert surveillance, the report from Great Britain about the increased use of facial recognition technology, the Polish report about the use of spyware Pegasus and the Cypriot NHRI report on the EU media services proposal and its provisions on monitoring software use. The Greek NHRI raised concerns over the use of technologies by intelligence services which may limit fundamental rights.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the means used in it, one of which is propaganda, resulted in restrictions on freedom of expression in many countries. One example is the suspension of TV channels and websites in Moldova.

Finally, the Scottish NHRI refers to an ongoing inquiry into whether the measures introduced in response to the pandemic were strictly lawful, necessary, proportionate and time limited.

The securitisation logic favours, among many things, measures of a non-criminal law nature to secure the public order, such as preventive surveillance and stay bans (in Sweden), orders prohibiting individuals from taking part in demonstrations (in Belgium), preventive action against road blockers (Germany), certain sports fans (in Poland) and even internment (in Belgium). In the United Kingdom, it has been proposed to transfer the power to make parole decisions for the most dangerous prisoners from the Parole Board to the Secretary of State. ENNHRI members – including those from Armenia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania – reported that the securitisation context had resulted in excessive or even abusive use of powers by police forces.  

Numerous ENNHRI members have addressed the above-mentioned challenges of securitisation’s impact on the rule of law and fundamental rights in their work.  

For instance, NHRIs increased monitoring of places of detention, borders and forced returns in Armenia, Portugal, Serbia and Spain. The Azerbaijani NHRI as NPM conducted visits to the detainees of Armenian origin in the context of conflict. Actions have also been taken in individual cases related to court proceedings in the context of migration, police abuse, secret surveillance and the practical difficulties related to the functioning of associations during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Polish NHRI. The Greek NHRI has a ‘Recording Mechanism of Incidents of Informal Forced Returns’ in place and issues reports based on data collected through interviews with victims. The NHRI from Northern Ireland regularly engages with independent monitoring mechanisms whose remit includes counter-terrorism powers. The ENNHRI members from Armenia and Scotland have intervened, on several occasions, to preserve the right to protest.

ENNHRI members have also analysed the impact of securitisation on the rule of law and human rights in their reports, opinions and recommendations. The NHRI from Great Britain has provided parliamentary briefings on various bills with securitisation implications. ENNHRI’s members from Armenia, Georgia and Romania have adopted/commissioned opinions on the assembly laws. The Lithuanian NHRI has adopted an opinion on the protection-of-the-borders law; the French NHRI on relations between the police and the population; the Latvian NHRI an opinion on freedom of expression; the ENNHRI’s member from Sweden - opinions on numerous proposed laws such as on surveillance, stay-bans, anonymous witnesses and stop-and-search zones and Belgium’s NHRIs (FIRM-IFDH and Unia) - three opinions on the criminal-law changes and the common database mentioned above.   

NHRIs’ recommendations – those concerning responses to attacks on HRDs, pointing out a lack of the proportionality of measures taken, and the restructuring of the National Immigration and Borders Service - have been issued, respectively, by the Slovak and Portuguese NHRIs. The Greek NHRI addressed state authorities in relation to the informal forced returns of migrants. The German NHRI has made proposals on the federal police legislation. The Irish one has reacted to legislative proposals to reform the internal and external oversight of the Irish police force. The Norwegian has reacted to legislative proposals concerning migration detention. The NHRI of Denmark has published a brief on data retention, raising concerns over a serious interference in the right to respect for private life and the protection of personal data. The Dutch NHRI has made public statements on illegitimate protest bans and the law on removing Dutch citizenship, while the Luxembourgish NHRI has criticised the disproportionate begging ban. 

NHRIs from Germany, Portugal and Slovakia have prepared studies and reports on the response of the police to climate protests, migration management and hate speech, respectively. The French NHRI has set up a working group on proliferation of cameras and drones for the surveillance of public spaces and the growing use of AI for image analysis. Finally, the Portuguese NHRI has organised training for prison guards on the topic of human rights of persons deprived of liberty.  

By providing human rights advice, in the form of opinion, recommendations, statement or report, to those actions taken by the state authorities, ENHHRI’s members aimed at emphasising the need for their compliance with human rights principles. 

In general, NHRIs have stressed the importance of independent inquiries as an essential safeguard against law enforcement violence and abusive behaviour and of proper data collection as a necessary means of measuring the impact of securitisation.  

The variety of responses to securitisation reflects not only differences in the challenges faced in different states but also certain divergences in the NHRIs’ institutional set-up and organisational arrangements. For example, some NHRIs place emphasis on individual cases and even engage in litigation where this is allowed by their mandates. The focus of the work of others lies in monitoring activities (such as visits to places of detention or the borders); at the same time many concentrate their efforts on general recommendations, studies and awareness raising. The variety of responses can become a source of mutual learning and the exchange of good practices may lead to enhanced NHRIs’ capacity to respond to the impact of securitisation on the rule of law and human rights.

The track record of the implementation of European Courts’ judgments is an important indicator for the proper functioning of the rule of law in a country. The timely and effective implementation of judgments is also a crucial element of healthy checks and balances in the country. Judgments in their subject matter may tackle specific rule of law issues, such as concerning independence and impartiality of judiciary, the right to a fair trial as well as structural fundamental rights issues affecting healthy rule of law national frameworks.  

This year again, ENNHRI’s report ensures a dedicated focus on the topic of the implementation of judgments issued by European Courts: the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of the Justice of the European Union (CJEU). ENNHRI members followed up on the information they had already provided in last year report and reflected on national developments concerning the implementation of European Courts’ judgments by state authorities.  

The full implementation of the European Courts’ judgments often raises complex issues. This is because states are not only required to eliminate the effects of the human rights violation in the individual case that has led to their conviction. They also must take general measures preventing similar violations from occurring in the future.  

Only few ENNHRI members have been able to report substantial (in the case Spain) or some (in the case of Finland, Greece, Sweden and Ukraine) progress towards compliance with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Overall, there are serious implementation gaps, as particularly stressed by the NHRIs from Albania, Armenia, Georgia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia.  

ENNHRI members have not reported on challenges in relation to the payments of compensation awarded by the ECtHR. However, similarly as reported last year, difficulties in complying with the ECtHR’s judgments arise when their full implementation involves the introduction of new regulations or administrative practices, large financial burdens and investments or substantial reforms. For example, this has been observed by the Estonian and the Ukrainian NHRIs. 

The failure to implement ECtHR judgments that concern the functioning of national justice systems is particularly important as regards the rule of law principle. Some ENNHRI members have drawn attention, in this connection, to lack of compliance with judgments that concern the length of proceedings in Belgium and investigations into deaths in Northern Ireland, the absence of a redress system for victims of abuse in Ireland, and the number of violations of the right to fair trial in Croatia. A country’s failure to abide by ECtHR’s judgments that finds a violation in respect of its authorities’ failure to abide by national courts’ judgments is a concern stressed in the Belgian report. ENNHRI members from Belgium have also reported problems of compliance with CJEU judgments dealing with justice issues (a judgment regarding the legal professional privilege). 

Other European Courts’ judgments awaiting full implementation concern migration issues (in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Spain), deprivation of liberty (Georgia) or detention (in Belgium, Croatia, Greece and Ukraine), freedom of religion (in Lithuania), the rights of psychiatric patients (in Denmark), housing legislation (in Croatia), freedom from torture (in Serbia) and LGBTQI issues (in Georgia and Lithuania).  

While the Georgian NHRI has pointed out problems in the functioning of its Parliament-based national implementation mechanism, the ENNHRI members from Northern Ireland and Scotland have called for the involvement of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament respectively in the process.

Finding the right strategies for ensuring implementation is of crucial importance. NHRIs report that some supreme courts’ judgments have acted as a leverage for compliance, as in Estonia and Germany. The question of European Courts’ judgments’ implementation has also been included in NHRIs’ reporting under various human rights mechanisms, as pointed out by the Estonian NHRI. 

NHRIs are recognised stakeholders for ensuring the effective implementation of the ECHR and the EU acquis (including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights), and in this context they engage in the implementation of European Courts’ judgments. While European Courts’ judgments’ implementation is the responsibility of state authorities, NHRIs have an important role to play in this process thanks to their independence, broad mandate and unique human rights expertise.  

NHRIs engage in the implementation process at the European level, for example by submitting so-called rule 9 submissions to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers to evidence, in an independent and objective way, the state of play regarding the execution of concrete judgments issued by the ECtHR. ENNHRI reiterates, however, that further efforts should be undertaken by the Council of Europe to strengthen meaningful participation of NHRIs in the context of the implementation of ECtHR judgments and thereby building on their potential to advance the implementation. 

NHRIs also dedicate their efforts to support the effective and timely implementation of European Courts’ judgments at the domestic level, by engaging with state authorities responsible for this process, including governments and parliaments. NHRIs’ recommendations on this matter should be duly taken into account and followed up by state authorities to enhance the implementation. NHRIs also raise awareness of this rule of law issue among other stakeholders such as civil society and the wider public.

NHRIs should have the capacity to follow the issue properly. There exist some promising schemes in this respect, such as the objective indicators in the form of the rule of law conceptual framework and the rule of law tracker put in place by the Slovak NHRI. But some ENNHRI members, including in Luxembourg, lack sufficient capacity to undertake action in connection with the implementation of European Courts’ judgments. This calls for the need to ensure adequate NHRIs’ budgets according to each country’s domestic arrangements.

This year’s ENNHRI report dedicates more in-depth focus on specific rule of law areas: NHRIs independence and effectiveness, checks and balances, securitisation and its impact on the rule of law and human rights, implementation of regional actors’ recommendations and European Courts’ judgments. However, ENNHRI members also reported on other structural rule of law and fundamental rights issues as relevant for their national context. The challenges discussed therein do not exhaust all the problems arising in the rule of law; however, from the point of view of NHRIs, those matters should also be addressed urgently and thoroughly by relevant stakeholders. 

First, serious concerns have been expressed by several NHRIs, including those from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova and Ukraine, about the human rights implications of armed conflicts (related, for example, to the right to life, property, freedom of movement, education, health and an adequate standard of living).

Justice system is another area of additional rule of law concerns, as evidenced by the report of the NHRIs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Germany, Kosovo*, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Several NHRI, including those from Albania, Cyprus, Kosovo* and the United Kingdom, noted delays in the administration of justice. The Slovak NHRI has drawn attention to attempts to weaken whistleblower protection and the need to curb some of the Attorney General’s powers. NHRIs from Luxembourg, Germany and Scotland advocated for improvements in the collection of data concerning the criminal justice system and in databases containing case-law and legislation. The NHRI from Northern Ireland considers that the Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill does not comply with the United Kingdom’s international obligations. Other NHRI reports deal with migration-related problems such as the Irish state’s failure to provide for the basic needs of recently arrived asylum seekers, in respect of which the NHRI of Ireland has brought court proceedings.  

Freedom of speech is also a concern. Many NHRIs, including those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, have stressed the need to defend media pluralism, including the local press. The channelling of public funding can play a huge role in this respect. So does the fight against misinformation, as highlighted by a study commissioned by the NHRI from Northern Ireland. Journalists’ employment needs to be protected and so does freedom of expression of civil servants. The Albanian NHRI is especially concerned about restrictions on the press coverage of public events and proceedings instituted against journalists. The Georgian NHRI raised concerns not only about attacks on journalists, as mentioned above, but also about the suspension of accreditation for representatives of critical media. The NHRI from Bosnia and Herzegovina reported on the lack of adequacy of the relevant rules, especially regarding media entities.

Hate speech, as underlined by ENNHRI members, represents a major threat in most countries covered by this report, including Kosovo*, the NHRI of which published a report on the language used in public discourse. The adequacy of criminal law responses continues to be widely discussed across the region. Denmark has tightened its legislation on Qur’an burning, an issue on which the Danish NHRI took a public stance on several occasions. ENNHRI members from Belgium considered that their country’s criminal legislation does not provide an adequate response to some forms of hate speech, while the Finnish report referred to the debate concerning the need to criminalise ‘targeting’. The latter report also discussed the new linguistic strategies of the populist right. On this topic, the German NHRI considered that the rise of the far right represents the single most important challenge for the rule of law and human rights in its country.   

The problem of racism and discrimination has also received considerable attention in the reports of many NHRIs. The Austrian NHRI recalled that a national action plan against racism is still missing. The ENNHRI member from Switzerland pointed out the lack of comprehensive national anti-discrimination law. Several NHRIs, including those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Spain, have referred to violence against women and a Belgian ENNHRI member (FIRM-IFDH) noted that violence against journalists has a heavy gender component in Belgium. The Lithuanian NHRI drew attention to the fact that the Istanbul Convention has not been ratified and to the absence of legislation on same-sex partnerships. Finally, the NHRIs from Ireland and Liechtenstein raised concerns about a lack of equality data.     

Finally, the impact of digitalisation and AI on the rule of law and human rights is another issue of common concern, as stressed by ENNHRI members from Albania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Romania and Spain. The Albanian NHRI is especially concerned about citizens not having access to public services online. The Belgian and Danish ENNHRI members have advocated in favour of a public registry on artificial intelligence uses by public authorities and impact assessments in this area. The ENNHRI member from Romania focused on the risks associated with deepfakes. Finally, the Danish NHRI raised concerns over the mass collection of open-source data.

Ensuring the right to information under martial law 

Considering the continuation of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the need to ensure proper protection of information rights during the martial law, the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights took a number of measures to implement the recommendations of the European Commission. 

Despite the fact that the staff responsible for personal data protection inspections was decreased, the number of inspections carried out in 2023 was increased by 16% compared to 2022 (85 inspections in 2022 and 101 inspections in 2023 – cf. examples of Plans for inspections). 

Improving the access to public information 

In terms of implementing the recommendations on strengthening the effectiveness of drawing up protocols holding offenders accountable for administrative offences in the field of access to public information, in cooperation with international partners and experts, the Secretariat of the Commissioner has intensified its awareness-raising campaign among public authorities to prevent violations of the right to access to public information (See trainings in May 2023 and July 2023, seminar in September 2023 and meeting in October 2023).  

A working group on improvement of the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information", which includes the Representative of the Commissioner for Information Rights, was established under the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy to develop relevant amendments. 

Hearings are held in the Parliament and its specialised committees. The Commissioner participates in such hearings. 

Example: In 2023, we took part in the hearings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights on the topic: "Ensuring the Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Ukrainian Citizens by Social Protection Units in the Regions". 

In preparing the recommendations to the Parliament, the Commissioner's proposals for resolving problematic issues in the field of social protection of human rights were taken into account. 

Example: In 2023, we took part in the hearings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights on the analysis of the practice of applying the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Legal Regulation of Remote, Home and Flexible Work". 

In preparing the recommendations to the Parliament, the Commissioner's proposals on the employer's obligation to establish a flexible and remote working schedule for employees with family responsibilities were taken into account. 

Return of deported or illegally transferred Ukrainian children  

In 2023, on the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian humanitarian programme Bring Kids Back UA was established to unite the efforts of all Ukrainian authorities, other states, international and non-governmental organisations to return to their homeland all Ukrainian children deported and/or illegally transferred by Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The programme envisages the reintegration of deported children, their socialisation, the development of family-based forms of upbringing, as well as the recording of crimes and bringing Russia to justice for these crimes, in particular at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

The Bring Kids Back UA Action Plan consists of seven key blocks that envisage specific actions and measures, each of which is assigned to a responsible government authority. 

In September 2023, as part of the implementation of the Bring Kids Back UA action plan, the information campaign Znaiesh - Skazhy! (transliteration) was launched. The campaign is aimed at motivating people living in Russia to oppose the forced deportation of Ukrainian children and facilitate the return of young Ukrainian citizens to Ukraine. 

It should be noted that the Commissioner has been assigned to be responsible for the implementation of the 4th point of the Peace Plan - the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an essential part of which is the return of children from deportation and forced transfer. 

As part of the implementation of the 4th point of the Peace Plan - the Peace Formula, the first meeting of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children (hereinafter referred to as the First Meeting of the Coalition) was held on December 8, 2023. The event brought together representatives of more than 70 countries and international organisations. 

The creation of the International Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children was initiated during a meeting of national security and foreign policy advisers in Malta on October 28, 2023, as part of the implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

The meeting presented the Declaration of the International Coalition for the Return of Illegally Deported and Forcibly Transferred Ukrainian Children, which is open to states and international organisations. According to the document, the parties agree to use all possible efforts to return to Ukraine children who were illegally deported by Russia, as well as to support the process of their reunification with their families and placement in family-based settings. The document also envisages the provision of all necessary humanitarian, medical and psychological assistance to children and their families affected by deportation. In addition, it supports international efforts to bring to justice those who organised the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. 

Monitoring the observance of information human rights 

A separate area of the Commissioner's work is monitoring the observance of information human rights. The staff of the Secretariat of the Commissioner stepped up the pace of the awareness-raising campaign in the field of information rights protection. Among other things, during the year, together with international experts, the Report on Monitoring the State of Information Rights under Martial Law for 2023 was presented in the field of access to public information. 

Together with international experts, a training manual for trainers Access to Public Information for Civil Servants and Local Government Officials was developed and presented, and trainings were held on the peculiarities of exercising the right to access to public information during martial law and on the peculiarities of observing the constitutional right to appeal during martial law for employees of central executive authorities, the staff of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and employees of its subdivisions and other state authorities. 

In order to strengthen the institutional capacity in the field of personal data protection and adopt the European experience, 7 employees of the Secretariat of the Commissioner have completed 2 stages of training at the Spanish Personal Data Protection Agency within the EU4DigitalUA project. 

The staff of the Secretariat of the Commissioner also took part in the intensive high-level exchange week Data Protection in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership Regions and the network meeting of the Eastern Partnership data protection authorities. 

During the reporting period, the staff of the Secretariat of the Commissioner conducted a training on topical issues of personal data protection during martial law, a discussion of prospects for regulating artificial intelligence, a training on personal data protection for employees of local state administrations, a roundtable on "Analysis of judicial practice of applying legislation in the field of personal data protection", and presented and published Recommendations on personal data protection for public authorities. 

After obtaining the conclusion of the Council of Europe experts on the new version of the Law "On Personal Data Protection", in July-August 2023, with the participation of the Representative of the Commissioner for Information Rights, sectoral discussions on the draft law "On Personal Data Protection" were held with representatives of the banking and telecommunications communities and government authorities. 

Strengthening the human rights protection through the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine and the High Council of Justice 

In particular, among the recommendations on the rule of law published in the ENNHRI Rule of Law Reporting 2023 on the State of the Rule of Law in Europe, in order to strengthen the system of human rights protection and the rule of law in Ukraine, it was identified as necessary to: 

• Form the composition of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the HQCJ) - the body responsible for the formation of the judiciary, transfer of judges, ensuring their proper qualification level; 
• Resume consideration of disciplinary proceedings against judges in connection with the formation and renewal of the High Council of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the HCJ) in January 2023. 

The landmark events of 2023 were the formation of the HCJ and the HQCJ. 

In particular, on January 11-12, 2023, the XIX Extraordinary Congress of Judges of Ukraine took place, where eight members of the HCJ were elected by secret ballot. The Congress of Judges of Ukraine filled its quota in the Council. Thus, the HCJ was restored to its decision-making composition. 

Currently, the HCJ consists of 17 members, out of a total of 21, with no members appointed by the quota of the President of Ukraine and the Congress of Advocates of Ukraine. 

Since the beginning of November 2023, the HCJ has resumed the automatic distribution of disciplinary complaints among HCJ members (Law of Ukraine No. 3304-IX "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Immediate Resumption of Consideration of Cases Concerning Disciplinary Liability of Judges" and No. 3378-IX "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and Status of Judges" and Certain Laws of Ukraine on Changing the Status and Procedure for Forming the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors of the High Council of Justice"). It is worth noting that the Ombudsman expressed its support for the above-mentioned laws during their consideration by the relevant Parliamentary Committee with certain reservations, to ensure a democratic procedure for considering disciplinary complaints. 

Currently, the HCJ distributes complaints in the following order:  

• First of all, cases in which disciplinary proceedings have been initiated but not completed; 
• Secondly, complaints against decisions to bring a judge or prosecutor to disciplinary responsibility; 
• Thirdly, complaints received from 05 August 2021 to 31 October 2023. In addition, new cases and materials received by the HCJ from November 1, 2023, are distributed. 

On November 22, 2023, after a long break, the meetings of the First, Second and Third Disciplinary Chambers of the HCJ began. 

However, the main issue at present is the need to form the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors within the HCJ. On the basis of its conclusions, the HCJ can bring judges to justice, i.e., perform one of the main functions assigned to this body by the law. 

On January 10, 2024, the HCJ started accepting documents from candidates for the positions of the Head of the Service of Disciplinary Inspectors, his deputy, and disciplinary inspectors of the HCJ's Service of Disciplinary Inspectors. The competition will be conducted in a transparent and open manner and will include eight stages. 

On June 1, 2023, the HCJ appointed 16 members of the HQCJ in an open vote, and on June 6, 2023, the Head of the HQCJ was elected. 

On September 15, 2023, the new composition of the HQCJ announced two competitions for vacant positions of judges in local and appellate courts. The competition for local court judges was announced for 560 vacant positions of judges of general, administrative and commercial courts. The vast majority of the proposed vacancies are in local general courts - 500 vacancies. Accordingly, the number of vacant positions in local administrative and commercial courts is 30 vacancies each. Subsequently, on November 23, 2023, a competition was announced for 25 vacant positions of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights was last re-accredited with A-status in October 2019. 

The SCA acknowledged that, in practice, the NHRI interprets its mandate in a broad manner and carries out a wide variety of activities to promote human rights and encourages ratification of and accession to regional and international human rights instruments. Yet, the SCA recommended the NHRI to advocate for appropriate amendments to its enabling law in order to include a more explicit mandate to undertake these functions.  

At the time, the SCA noted that the NHRI had at the time proposed amendments to its enabling law with respect to the selection and appointment of the Commissioner. However, it still encouraged the NHRI to continue to advocate for the formalization of a process that includes requirements to broadly publicize vacancies; maximize potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualification; promote broad consultation and participation in the process; and assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective, and publicly available criteria.  

Further, the SCA noted that the enabling law is silent on the number of times a Commissioner can be re-appointed and took the view that it would be preferable for the term of office to be limited to one re-appointment.  

Additionally, the SCA encouraged the NHRI to continue to strengthen its cooperation with civil society organizations and human rights defenders. 

Finally, during the review the NHRI reported a need for greater capacity to provide training to its staff. The SCA encouraged the NHRI to continue to advocate for adequate funding to effectively carry out the full extent of its mandate, and to provide necessary training for staff. 

In October 2019, after the re-accreditation with the “A” status, we received the SCA`s recommendations to improve the legislative framework for the Commissioner`s mandate. In April of this year, after a series of consultations with ENNHRI and CoE experts, a draft law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights" was presented.  

The European Commission, in its assessment of Ukraine's application for membership in the European Union, has identified seven key and priority criteria that Ukraine must fulfil. The completion of the reform of the legal framework on national minorities, as well as the adoption of mechanisms for its immediate and effective implementation, is one of the steps identified by the European Commission. 

To implement this recommendation, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, based on the interests of the Ukrainian people - citizens of Ukraine of all nationalities - in building a sovereign, independent, democratic, social, and legal state, adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 2827-IX "On National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine" dated 13.12.2022 (hereinafter referred to as the Law). The Law is covered by the provisions of Article 4 of the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand. 

The Law of Ukraine dated 08.12.2023 No. 3504-IX "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Consideration of the Expert Opinion of the Council of Europe and its Bodies on the Rights of National Minorities (Communities) in Certain Areas" was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by the President. 

Thus, in the adopted Law No. 3504-IX, the legislator stipulated that the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, within the powers granted to him/her by the Constitution of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine "On the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights", exercises parliamentary control over the observance of the right of national minorities (communities) to the use of languages of national minorities (communities). 

Additionally, it is important to highlight amendments to the Law on the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights - generally relating to the improvement of the legal basis for the work of the Commissioner - are currently being developed. 

The Commissioner has the opportunity to influence the lawmaking process by participating in the development of draft regulations on human and civil rights and freedoms developed by the authorised rule makers and submitting comments and suggestions to prevent violations of such rights. 

Failure to implement the Commissioner's recommendations by the legislative initiators occurs mainly when there is no necessary budgetary funding for the implementation of the recommendations, which is particularly limited in the context of martial law in Ukraine. 

Experts of the Ombudsman’s Office are members of interagency working groups to develop legislative drafts related to human and civil rights and freedoms (in particular, the working group on updating the objectives and indicators for data collection to monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals). 

The Government Resolution No. 923 on 29.08.2023 established an interagency working group to ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and its composition was approved on 01.11.2023 by the decision of this group. 

Following the Commissioner's initiative, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1054 of 06.10.2023 amended the Regulation on State Registration of Regulatory Acts of Ministries and Other Executive Bodies, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 731 of 28 December 1992, according to which one of the grounds for refusal to register a regulatory act is its failure to be approved by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. 

1. To provide the Ombudsman's Office with information from the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in advance on the agendas of the Government and its committees in order to properly process draft legal acts related to the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms and submitted for consideration, as well as to invite the Ombudsman or his representatives to the sessions. 
2. To provide the Ombudsman's Office with draft strategic documents of the Government related to the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms in advance for the Ombudsman's approval in accordance with the established procedure. 

Restrictions of rights under the martial law 

According to Article 39 of the Constitution of Ukraine, citizens have the right to assemble peacefully without arms and to hold meetings, rallies, processions and demonstrations, upon notifying in advance the bodies of executive power or bodies of local self-government. 

Restrictions on the exercise of this right may be established by a court in accordance with the law and only in the interests of national security and public order, with the purpose of preventing disturbances or crimes, protecting the health of the population, or protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons. 

At the same time, Article 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that under conditions of martial law or a state of emergency, specific restrictions on rights and freedoms may be established with the indication of the period of effectiveness of these restrictions. The rights and freedoms envisaged in Articles 24, 25, 2 7, 28, 29, 40, 47, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63 of this Constitution shall not be restricted. 

Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 64/2022 "On the introduction of martial law in Ukraine" dated 24.02.2022 introduced martial law in Ukraine, which continues to this day. Paragraph 3 of the Decree provides that in connection with the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, constitutional rights and freedoms of a person and citizen provided for in Articles 30-34, 38, 39, 41-44, 53 of the Constitution of Ukraine, in particular the right to hold peaceful assemblies, may be temporarily restricted for the period of martial law. 

According to Article 8(8) of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law", in Ukraine or in certain areas where martial law has been introduced, the military command together with military administrations (if established), may introduce and exercise, within temporary restrictions on constitutional rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and legitimate interests of legal entities, the following measures of the martial law regime: to prohibit peaceful assemblies, rallies, marches and demonstrations, and other mass events. 

Taking into account the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine and international treaties in force, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the restrictions imposed do not violate human and civil rights. 

Article 38 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that citizens have the right to participate in the administration of state affairs, in All-Ukrainian and local referendums, to freely elect and to be elected to bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government. 

In accordance with Article 69 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the expression of the will of the people is exercised through elections, referendum and other forms of direct democracy. 

At the same time, Article 19 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" prohibits the election of the President of Ukraine, as well as elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local self-government bodies under martial law. 

Non-implementation of the national courts’ judgments 

The main problem is non-compliance by national courts with the time limits for consideration of cases, in particular, reasonable time limits for court proceedings. Therefore, in order to resolve this issue, the Office regularly monitors court hearings and sends the Commissioner's response acts. 

In order to eliminate violations of citizens' rights by enforcement authorities, the Office is developing legislative changes to the mechanism of control over the enforcement of court decisions. 

In particular, in terms of non-enforcement or long-term enforcement of national court decisions, the Ministry of Justice, together with other state bodies, reviewed and finalized the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy for Addressing the Problem of Non-Enforcement of Court Decisions, the Debtors of which are a state body or a state enterprise, institution, organization, for the period up to 2025, which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in September 2023. The Ombudsman supports such actions of the Ministry of Justice. 

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has also registered draft laws aimed at improving the mechanism of judicial control over the enforcement of court decisions. In particular, this is the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Provisions on Judicial Control" (Reg. No. 9462). The Ombudsman supports it with certain warnings. 

In the context of full-scale armed aggression and threats related to it, information holders, trying to balance the right to information and other legally protected interests, such as national security or territorial integrity, often unreasonably classify public information as restricted. 

Such actions of information holders are manifested, in particular, in the failure to publish or update public information on official websites and web portals, as well as in refusals to respond to requests for information, which certainly affects the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms enshrined in Article 34 of the Constitution of Ukraine.    

One of the most challenging aspects of implementing the right to access public information in wartime is the application by information holders of the three-part test, which is a kind of legal construct - a means of checking whether there are grounds for restricting access to information. This legal mechanism is designed to balance the right to information with other legally protected interests, such as national security. 

According to the paragraph 2 of article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information”: Access to information shall be restricted under the law subject to the combination of the following requirements:  

1. Solely in the interests of the national security, territorial integrity or public order to unrest or crimes, protect public health, protect the reputation or rights of other people, prevent the disclosure of information received confidentially, or maintain the authority and impartiality of justice; 
2. Disclosure of information can cause significant harm to such interests; 
3. The harm from publication of the information outweighs public interest in obtaining the information. 

As a result of the Commissioner's Secretariat response, paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Public Information" was complied with. The authorities holding the information either provided it or managed to show that disclosing it would cause significant damage to the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public order in order to prevent riots. 

The national legislation of Ukraine stipulates that the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, which performs the functions of the NHRI, has the authority to protect personal data, access to information, performs the functions of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) and is the body that, within the framework of parliamentary control over the observance of constitutional human rights and freedoms within the jurisdiction of Ukraine, prevents any form of discrimination and takes measures to combat discrimination. Therefore, these key functions are concentrated in the NHRI.  

In other institutions that perform the functions of oversight institutions (e.g. the Accounting Chamber), no processes and practices were identified that negatively affect the independence and/or effectiveness of independent institutions. 

1. Continuous review and improvement of legislation, taking into account international practices, recommendations of the public and positions of the national human rights institution. 
2. Analysis of the changes made in the light of the above. 

The most pressing issues in the area of human rights and freedoms in the context of national security are largely related to the consequences of the large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine and concern the protection of the rights of servicemen and their families, in particular: the right to postpone military service during mobilisation, to timely and full payment of financial support, food and clothing, conditions of military service, the right to rest and leave, the right to healthcare and medical care, as well as payment of a lump-sum allowance and discharge from military service in accordance with the applicable law, etc. 

At the same time, the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which began in 2014 and led to the temporary occupation of integral parts of Ukraine and active hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, makes it impossible for the Commissioner`s Secretariat to have unimpeded access to the monitored objects. This factor has a negative impact on the effectiveness of the Commissioner's powers. 

Monitoring the evacuation of the population 

For example, it is important to monitor the evacuation of the population. Thus, the Government of Ukraine introduced the possibility of compulsory evacuation of children with their parents, persons in loco parentis or other legal representatives from a particular settlement in the area where hostilities are taking place. In particular, the procedure for evacuation in the event of a threat or occurrence of emergency situations, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 30 October 2013, No. 841, stipulates that in order to protect children in the area of hostilities and armed conflicts, under martial law, regional military administrations, in agreement with the military command authorities in the relevant territory and the Coordination Headquarters for the mandatory evacuation of the population under martial law, may decide to conduct a mandatory evacuation of the population in the area of hostilities and armed conflicts. The application of such procedure seems justified and balanced in the area of military operations, as it allows to quickly minimise risks to the life and health of children and their parents. Compulsory evacuation of children is carried out under the accompaniment of one of the parents, a person in loco parentis or another legal representative. Refusal of parents, persons in loco parentis or other legal representatives to compulsorily evacuate children from a particular settlement in the area where hostilities are taking place is not allowed. 

The risks associated with the security situation in the territories of Ukraine, as well as the importance of the security of the Commissioner`s Secretariat staff, seriously complicated monitoring in the frontline territories of Ukraine, which has been conducted by the Regional Representatives of the Commissioner.  

Ensuring the socio-economic rights of servicemen and women 

In 2023, at the initiative of the Commissioner, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine amended legislative acts (No. 3079-IX; No. 3161-IX and No. 3379-IX), which helped to resolve a number of problematic issues related to the social and economic rights of servicemen, law enforcement officers and their families in terms of ensuring the right to: 

• discharge from military service of servicemen and women; 
• rest and leave during martial law; 
• receipt of monthly payments by servicemen who sustained injuries (contusion, trauma or mutilation) related to the defence of the Motherland, as well as by conscripted servicemen in regular military service; 
• healthcare and medical care (improved conditions for medical examinations of servicemen). 

Attention should also be focused on the following problematic issue. Based on the results of processing the appeals received by the Commissioner, it was established that there is a problem with the resumption of pension payments to internally displaced persons, in particular, those who are in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. 

The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 637 of 05.11.2014 "On Social Benefits to Internally Displaced Persons" provided for the physical identification of clients by the JSC Oshchadbank (Ukrainian state-owned commercial bank) every six months from the date of opening an account or from the date of previous identification. If the pension recipient fails to pass the physical identification, JSC Oschadbank must suspend current account transactions. 

The current situation significantly restricts the rights of citizens residing in the temporarily occupied territories to receive pension payments. 

In addition, in 2023, the Commissioner received 24 appeals from pensioners who are internally displaced persons about the impossibility of being issued with payment cards that are also pension certificates. 

With the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the production of payment cards that are also pension certificates (electronic pension certificates) for internally displaced persons who received an IDP certificate before 24.02.2022 was suspended for technical reasons. 

In order to resolve the problem with physical identification of internally displaced persons in Oschadbank JSC, the Commissioner addressed the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine with a request to introduce appropriate amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 637 "On Social Benefits to Internally Displaced Persons" in terms of cancellation of physical identification by internally displaced persons in the offices of Oschadbank JSC or introduction of the relevant procedure online.  

On 27.12.2023, the Government introduced amendments extending the period of physical identification until 31.03.2024. In addition, the methods of identification have been expanded, in particular, by personal application to the offices of the Joint Stock Company "Oschadbank" or territorial bodies of the Pension Fund of Ukraine or remotely, through the electronic cabinet of the Pension Fund of Ukraine or video identification. 

In addition, in order to resolve the problem with pensioners among the internally displaced persons receiving payment cards that are also pension certificates, the Commissioner sent letters to the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Pension Fund of Ukraine. 

On 07.04.2023, the Government adopted Resolution No. 325 "Some Issues of Processing Pension Certificates for Internally Displaced Persons", which establishes that for the period of martial law, the Pension Fund of Ukraine will issue pension certificates to internally displaced pensioners in paper form. 

Additionally, it should be noted that for the first time in 9 years since the beginning of the war, the Commissioner prepared a Special Report on the observance of the rights of persons affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine for the period February 24 - October 31, 2022, in which 53 recommendations were made to the authorities. 

During 2023, the Commissioner analysed the implementation of the recommendations provided in the Special Report, which found that 36 recommendations had been successfully implemented; 16 recommendations were in the process of implementation. 

At the same time, the only unimplemented recommendation of the Special Report remains the recommendation to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop a draft law on the legal status of persons affected by the armed aggression against Ukraine and their social guarantees, defining the concept of "person affected by the armed aggression against Ukraine" and categorizing persons affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as a mechanism for compensation for the damage caused, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and satisfaction. 

In addition, in accordance with Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights", the Commissioner submits an annual report to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the state of observance and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine. 

For example, in 2023, the Annual Report on the state of Observance and Protection of Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms in Ukraine in 2022 was prepared, which contained 19 recommendations to the state authorities to address global human rights issues that arose because of the armed aggression against Ukraine. 

On January 30, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the ECtHR) issued a pilot judgment in the case of Sukachev v. Ukraine (application no. 14057/17) regarding the permanent structural problem of bad conditions of detention in Ukraine. The ECtHR unanimously found a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Paragraph 151 of this ECtHR pilot judgment emphasizes that although the implementation of measures to create proper conditions of detention in penitentiary institutions may require significant financial resources, the lack of resources cannot, in principle, justify conditions of detention that constitute a violation of Article 3 of the Convention. The respondent State should organize its penitentiary system in such a way as to ensure compliance with this provision, despite any difficulties.  

The Ombudsman's Office continues to study the issue of improving the mechanism of early release from sentence serving, as well as commutation of the un-served part of the sentence to a lighter one for persons sentenced to life imprisonment. 

Since the beginning of 2023, the Ombudsman began to receive appeals from citizens regarding the unconstitutionality of certain provisions of Articles 81, 82 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and certain provisions of Article 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The applicants argued that the laws adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not ensure the actual implementation and compliance with the ECtHR judgments and contradicted Articles 3, 23, 24, 28, 61 of the Constitution of Ukraine. 

According to the expert opinions provided by leading higher education institutions, which were submitted at the request of the Ombudsman's Office, some provisions of the above-mentioned articles of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine are not consistent with the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the ECtHR on the release from life imprisonment. Therefore, the legal regime for such release needs to be improved. 

Therefore, in February 2023, the Ombudsman sent letters to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine with a proposal to develop a relevant draft law amending the Criminal Code and the Penal Code of Ukraine, which could improve the mechanism of early release from serving a sentence, as well as commutation of the unspent part of the sentence to a lighter sentence for persons sentenced to life imprisonment, with further submission to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. 

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement at an extraordinary meeting held on March 06, 2023, recommended that the Ombudsman develop relevant proposals for amendments to the legislation. 

To this end, the Ombudsman has engaged the human rights community, representatives of higher legal education institutions of Ukraine, representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General's Office to develop quality and effective changes to the current legislation. 

Pursuant to the ECtHR judgment in the case of Petukhov v. Ukraine (no. 2), the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Laws of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts Concerning the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights" No. 2689-IX dated October 18, 2022 and "On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Concerning the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights" No. 2690-IX dated October 18, 2022, which entered into force on November 6, 2022. Among other things, the Laws introduced a mechanism for early release from serving a sentence, as well as substitution of the unspent part of the sentence with a lighter one for persons sentenced to life imprisonment. 

In the case of Smilyanskaya v. Ukraine (application No. 46196/11 of 21.11.2019), it was noted that the conditions of detention in the Kharkiv pre-trial detention center were inadequate, namely the lack of personal space due to violation of the area standards (about 1 m2 per person) in the cells where the applicant was held. 

On these grounds, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the inadequate living conditions violated Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 

During visits to places of detention of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, it was found that a problematic issue in the activities of the institutions is the violation of the standards of the area of cells and living premises for prisoners and convicts. 

According to the national legislation, the established norm of the area of cell (living) premises should be not less than 2.5 m2 for persons taken into custody and not less than 4 m2 for convicts. 

However, in the cells of the Kharkiv Pretrial Detention Center (hereinafter referred to as the " KPDC"), representatives of the NPM group recorded an area per convict of 2.9 m2 instead of the 4 m2 established by the regulations. 

In addition, due to the overcrowding of the KPDC cells, representatives of the NPM group found one detainee without a designated bed, which forced him to sleep on the floor. 

The same violations were found by the NPM groups in state institutions: Kyiv Pre-trial Detention Center, Ivano-Frankivsk Penitentiary Institution No. 12, Lviv Penitentiary Institution No. 19. 

Cases of discrimination, segregation and stigmatization of detainees remain a systemic problem in the activities of facilities of the Penitentiary Institutions. 

The European Court of Human Rights in the case of S.P. and others v. Russia (application no. 36463/11 of 02.08.2023)  underlines the need to combat the negative impact of the informal prison hierarchy and ruled that the presence of particularly vulnerable categories (outcasts) is a violation of Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 

On these key issues, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights submitted response acts (submissions) to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, copies of which were sent to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to take measures aimed at eliminating the identified violations and preventing human rights violations. 

The Ombudsman believes that the enforcement of ECtHR judgments is one of the main conditions for further European integration processes. Therefore, access to justice in terms of proper enforcement of court decisions is one of the important areas in which the Ombudsman's Office exercises parliamentary control. 

Taking into account the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and in order to eliminate violations of the rights of persons held in penal institutions, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine was provided with recommendations on: 

• Bringing the conditions of serving sentences and staying in custody in line with the requirements of international and national legal acts. 
• Ensuring strict observance of the right of convicts to humane treatment, respect for their human dignity and the inadmissibility of the use of physical force against convicts by penitentiary staff. 
• Taking measures to stop the practice of segregation, stigmatisation and discrimination of prisoners and convicts belonging to a particularly vulnerable category by the staff of penitentiary institutions and pre-trial detention centres.

The main reason for the non-enforcement of European court judgments is still the lack of adequate funding within the relevant budget programme, as most ECtHR judgments relate to the issue of reimbursement of applicants, which causes a problem in practical implementation, given the fact that in most cases the amounts of money are quite significant. 

• Therefore, one of the most important things is the recommendation to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to strengthen the issue of the need to increase the amount of funding for budget programmes to ensure the enforcement of court decisions, which should be carried out at the expense of the state budget. 

This was emphasised by the Commissioner during his speech at the hearings of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy (05 December 2023), dedicated to the search for mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the enforcement of court decisions. 

In the context of the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, new challenges have arisen, in particular with regard to the state's ensuring the social and economic rights of citizens, including: 

• an increase in poverty and, as a result, an increase in the number of socially vulnerable people in need of state social support (according to the World Bank, more than 7 million people in Ukraine are below the poverty line; according to the Institute of Demography and Social Studies named after Ptukha, their number is 20 million people or 67% (assuming that 30-31 million people live in the controlled territory of Ukraine), against 60% in 2022); 
• limited financial resources required for this purpose in the context of the priority allocation of funds for the defence capability of the country; 
• uneven access of citizens to social services and lack of resources for these purposes in the context of internal displacement of citizens, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of such services; an increase in the number of people with disabilities (according to preliminary data, the number of people with disabilities has increased by 300,000 over the year and a half of war, bringing the total to 3 million) and the need for their additional protection; 
• an increase in the number of people in need of rehabilitation and psychological assistance; an increase in the number of unemployed women and a reduction in the number of vacant jobs. 

The following challenges in the field of protection of human and citizen's rights should also be noted: 

1. Ensuring the right to housing for internally displaced persons 

Creating decent and comfortable living conditions in temporary accommodation is the area that requires the most support and funding from both the state and international financial institutions. 

The number of temporary accommodation facilities has increased by 15 times: 147 before the full-scale invasion and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the number of established and verified temporary accommodation sites has reached 4,000. 

During 2023, 1,585 monitoring visits were made to collective sites of Ukrainian citizens, during which the Commissioner's Office identified numerous shortcomings and violations of living conditions of internally displaced persons, which constitute a violation of the right to a decent standard of living, namely: 

• bathrooms and showers are not adapted for use by persons with limited mobility; 
• insufficient furniture, in particular, for storing personal belongings; 
• dampness in the rooms, signs of fungal infestation on the walls, cracked plaster, old wooden windows and doors; 
• lack of fire alarms and shelters that can be used by residents during an air raid. 

In order to ensure decent and comfortable living conditions for internally displaced persons in collective sites, the Commissioner's Office, together with the Cluster for Management and Coordination of Collective Sites, developed the Minimum Standards for the Administration and Management of Collective Sites for Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine, which formed the basis for the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 930 of 1 September 2023 "Some Issues of Functioning of Collective Sites for Internally Displaced Persons". 

In addition, based on the results of the monitoring visits, the Commissioner's Office prepared reports with a detailed description of the living conditions of IDPs and provided recommendations to regional military administrations to eliminate the identified problems. 

2. Ensuring the rights of Ukrainian citizens abroad 

In 2023, the Commissioner's Office staff monitored the observance of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens residing in the Republic of Moldova, during which violations of the rights of Ukrainian citizens were identified.  

Thus, in the course of monitoring the places of residence of Ukrainians in 2023, representatives of the Commissioner's Office found that the Government of the Republic of Moldova has defined the rights and status of persons with temporary protection, guaranteeing them legal stay until March 01, 2024, as well as the right to employment, education and medical services. However, certain preferential conditions of stay for Ukrainians were cancelled in order to avoid duplication of provisions on temporary protection. 

Thus, starting from May 15, 2023, Ukrainian citizens who stayed in the Republic of Moldova without legal status would have to stay in its territory on the general grounds established by Article 1 of the Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on visa-free travel of citizens, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1731 dated 27.12.2001. 

Citizens of Ukraine who had been staying in the Republic of Moldova since February 24, 2022, were advised to legalise their stay until August 13, 2023, as otherwise their stay would become illegal due to the excess of the period of stay within the framework of a visa-free visit, which would be another negative indicator for their already extremely vulnerable situation. 

In 2023, the Commissioner received an appeal from the Caritas Charitable Foundation regarding the difficulties faced by Ukrainians living in Romania due to changes in the government's assistance programme. 

The changes meant that Ukrainians in Romania had to comply with new conditions to receive temporary protection and related financial assistance: children had to study in Romanian schools and kindergartens, and adults had to register with employment centres to find work. 

This posed problems for vulnerable groups, including children and adults with disabilities who are unable to find work, as well as older people. 

Regarding the challenge of Ukrainian citizens temporarily staying in the Republic of Moldova:

To resolve the situation, the Commissioner sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with a request to take appropriate measures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that one of the problems affecting the possibility of preparing the documents required to apply for temporary protection status is the reluctance of Moldovan residents to officially confirm the fact of renting out housing for Ukrainian temporary protection recipients. 

In this regard, a meeting was held between the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova and the Head of Mission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Moldova, and proposals were developed to introduce a number of amendments to the Conditions for Granting Temporary Protection to Persons Displaced from Ukraine, ensuring access to temporary protection for all categories of eligible persons. 

Regarding the situation with the change of the governmental assistance programme in Romania: 

The Commissioner sent letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the People's Advocate of the Republic of Romania to prevent the restriction of the rights of Ukrainian citizens in Romania. 

Thus, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Romania appealed to the Romanian side to take measures to remedy the situation, which prompted the Romanian side to decide to make payments to Ukrainian displaced persons from the reserve fund of the Government of Romania. 

Based on the Decision of the Government of Romania "On the allocation of payments from the Budgetary Reserve Fund to replenish the budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in order to pay from the budget of the County Emergency Inspectorates and the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Inspectorate a monthly lump sum to families and single persons covered by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 04. 03.2022 within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC", from 15.09.2023, payments to repay arrears of payments to temporarily displaced persons began in the counties of Romania and partially in Bucharest. 

3. Ensuring children's rights in times of war  

As of February 09, 2024, more than 1,743 children have suffered in Ukraine as a result of the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation. According to the official information of juvenile prosecutors, 523 children were killed and more than 1,218 children were injured. The injuries received were of varying severity. These figures are not final. Work is ongoing to establish them in the areas of hostilities, in the temporarily occupied and liberated territories. 

According to the UN, 13.3 million people have been forced to flee in search of safety because of Russia's war against Ukraine. According to Eurostat, as of November 30, 2023, 4.27 million Ukrainians are in EU countries for temporary protection or refugee status. Most of them are in: Germany (1.23 million people, 28.9% of the total), Poland (955,110 people, 22.3%), and the Czech Republic (369,330, 8.6%). Children accounted for almost a third of temporary protection recipients in the EU (33.3%). 

According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2024, out of 1,302 children who were treated in healthcare facilities for wounds, trauma, road accidents and other accidents that occurred as a result of hostilities and/or during evacuation, 1,236 children sustained mine and gunshot injuries. 

Ukraine has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, acceded to the three Optional Protocols to the Convention and endorsed the Paris Commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed groups. It also ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention). In addition, Ukraine has signed the Safe Schools Declaration, which aims to protect children and ensure their right to education in conflict and war, and approved a corresponding action plan. 

Over the past few years, progress has been made as legislation has strengthened social protection for children and support for families with children and children without parental care, as well as the introduction of the concept of the best interests of the child. However, there is still a need to develop procedures and criteria to provide guidance on determining the best interests of the child, including children in need of care and protection, and to ensure that the best interests of the child are given due consideration as a paramount priority. 

Attention is paid to strengthening the capacity of social service provision in communities to prevent family separation, support alternative family placement and reintegration of children from family institutions, including investing more resources in the minimum package of social services. In addition, an important element of the state's work over the past year has been to ensure the rights of children who are victims of war crimes and those who were under occupation. 

Since 2021, the state has guaranteed the right to all health services, with equal funding and equal access for children. At the same time, challenges remain in terms of the lack of available resources, limited data collection and improved child rights monitoring policies, especially in distant settlements and those close to the conflict zones.  

Ukraine also continues to implement standards for the protection of children in civil and criminal proceedings, but further capacity building to support the handling of cases involving children in a non-traumatic manner is needed, which requires additional staff training and funding. 

Upon the instruction of the President of Ukraine, the Child Rights Protection Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) was opened. The main tasks of the Center are to work with children who have been victims of war crimes or witnessed them, as well as those who have been returned after deportation and/or forcible displacement, to provide them with social, legal and other services aimed at rehabilitation and socialisation, and to provide them with psychological support. The Center has created conditions for conducting a child interview based on the Barnahus model. 

The Center has a multidisciplinary team, which includes employees of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of the Coordination Centre for the Development of Family Upbringing and Child Care, psychologists and other involved state bodies and NGOs. The multidisciplinary team takes measures to assist in the renewal and issue of documents, medical examination, provision of temporary housing, social and psychological rehabilitation of the child and his or her family members and ensuring the child's right to education and family upbringing. To ensure the provision of necessary social services to children, a mechanism has been developed to accompany children who have returned from deportation or from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. 

4. Ensuring the rights of people in temporarily occupied territories  

It is also worth noting that citizens of Ukraine cannot fully exercise their right to freedom of movement, as a significant part of the territory of Ukraine is occupied, and citizens, fearing for their lives, cannot move freely within the borders of their country and freely choose their place of residence, including restrictions on men from leaving the territory of Ukraine. 

The main human rights problems faced by people from the temporarily occupied territories are: 

• illegal alienation of property; 
• occupation of residential buildings by armed groups; 
• inability to receive proper medical care; 
• limited access to education; 
• threats of deportation. 

In addition, forced "passportization" continues in the temporarily occupied territories. Obtaining a passport of the aggressor country is caused not only by pressure from the occupation authorities, but also by the need to have a "passport" to receive social benefits, medical services, and basic necessities. 

The Russian military is systematically destroying symbols of Ukrainian statehood and heritage in the occupied territories of Ukraine, including historical monuments, museums, churches, and Ukrainian-language signs. The Russian occupation authorities also destroy Ukrainian books and order educators to impose the Kremlin's version of history, deny the existence of the Ukrainian nation, and foster Russian patriotism among Ukrainian schoolchildren. 

According to Ukrainian officials, 1.2 million Ukrainians were forcibly transferred to Russia during the year. The Russian authorities also separate Ukrainian children from their parents during the so-called "filtration" and kidnap children from Ukrainian orphanages, hospitals, and other institutions, forcibly transferring them to other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or deporting them to the Russian Federation. In May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that facilitates the acquisition of Russian citizenship by Ukrainian children, which in turn makes it possible to place them with families of Russian citizens. The Russian government also offers to pay individuals for adopting Ukrainian children who have become Russian citizens. 

According to Russian media, about 480,000 Ukrainian children have been transferred from the occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia. The children are being taken to Vladimir, Omsk, Rostov, Chelyabinsk, Saratov, Moscow, Leningrad regions, Krasnodar Territory, and Sakhalin Island. 

Among the deportees are children with disabilities and other diseases. The Russian Federation does not provide information about such children, as provided for by international law, and does not facilitate their return, but only complicates this process. 

Russia's policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is aimed at violating international humanitarian law in relation to Ukrainian children: 

• Destruction and eradication of children's national cultural identity; 
• Placement of children in boarding schools or in Russian families by transferring them for adoption, guardianship, custody or foster families; 
• Separation of parents and children at filtration points; 
• Lack of a mechanism for registration, identification, and access to information about children and their whereabouts; 
• Violation of children's right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment and other inhuman treatment or punishment. 

Another structural problem is human trafficking. Persons who find themselves in the occupied territories of Ukraine are the most vulnerable category to human trafficking, as they can be used in the armed conflict, subjected to labour and other types of exploitation. 

The servitude of prisoners, threats, psychological and physical violence, deprivation of food and water are prerequisites for their involvement in the situations of human trafficking. 

In the de-occupied territories of Ukraine, the number of people who consider themselves victims of human trafficking is increasing. Getting a person into a situation of human trafficking entails a violation of the basic rights of a citizen, such as the right to life, respect for dignity, liberty and security of person, freedom of movement, and others. 

On June 2, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the State Targeted Social Program for Combating Trafficking in Persons for the period up to 2025, which aims to improve the mechanism for preventing human trafficking, increase the effectiveness of identifying persons committing crimes related to human trafficking, and ensure the protection of the rights of victims of human trafficking and provide them with assistance. 

In order to effectively assist and protect victims of human trafficking in Ukraine was established the National Mechanism for Interaction of Entities Engaged in Anti-Trafficking Measures. Persons who have been granted the status of a victim of human trafficking have the right to personal security, respect, as well as to receive free information about their rights, medical and psychological assistance, and one-time financial assistance in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. 

The results of the monitoring of the right to access to justice carried out by the Commissioner’s Secretariat show that there are problems with ensuring the right to a trial within a reasonable time, due to the significant workload in the courts, lack of judicial staff in the courts of first instance and appeal. 

In view of this, it is necessary for the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine to complete the competitive procedures for filling vacant positions of judges. After all, replenishment of the judicial corps will improve access to justice and speed up the consideration of court cases. 

In addition, in order to restore the functioning of the High Council of Justice to consider disciplinary complaints against judges, it is reasonable to complete the formation of the service of disciplinary inspectors. 

It is reasonable for state authorities and local self-government bodies to intensify legal education activities among the public in order to raise the level of legal awareness of citizens about their fundamental rights and social guarantees, which is especially relevant in the context of martial law. 

Regarding interaction with the public to obtain relevant information from civil society institutions: 

• Fruitful interaction with civil society organisations, receiving feedback and comments on the activities of such authorities, proposals for improving their activities and legislation. 
• Use of developments and proposals of human rights NGOs based on real-life examples in the preparation of legal acts, proposals and comments to them. 
• Involvement of representatives of human rights organisations in monitoring the implementation of constitutional human rights and freedoms. 

The People’s Advocate of Albania (PA) institution has continuously followed the measures taken in Albania following the recommendations regarding rule of law. An advancement has been observed in the approval of certain strategies or developments such as the approval of a wage reform in May 2023; in ensuring equal access to services for citizens with disabilities in digital use, or with limited access to IT devices. Within the partnership for open government, the Council of Ministers has approved the strategic document, "National Plan 2023 - 2025"; Council of Ministers approved the National Strategy for European Development and Integration 2022-2030, that addresses the right to good governance as well as the approval by the Council of Ministers of the National Strategy for Food Safety, 2023-2027. Furthermore, the Council of Ministers approved the Intersectoral Strategy for Decentralization and Local Governance 2023-2030, and its action plan 2023-2025, and the National Integration Plan 2024-2026. The Albanian NHRI also points out as the milestone the approval by the Council of Ministers of the Intersectoral Strategy for the Prevention of Violent Extremism and the Fight against Terrorism.

Functioning of the justice system

Maintaining a functional justice system remains a recommendation that must be consistently upheld, as numerous issues have been observed in this area. As of December 2022, after 7 years since the initiation of justice reform, the Constitutional Court has been served with a complete number of judges. The Court, and its judges, carry out constitutional control, which promotes the consolidation of the rule of law in three directions: the separation and check and balance; the principle of legal certainty; the protection and respect of basic human rights.

There is a high number of cases in process (backlog) in the courts in the country. The complete number of judges at the Supreme Court, facilitates the work on reviewing the court's accumulated cases but it is not sufficient regarding the backlog of this court. Through the judicial system the number of cases pending trial remains significantly high, particularly in civil cases, highlighting the urgent need to increase the number of judges in both the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal. It is also necessary to increase the number of judges at the Supreme Court due to the backlog and the high number of cases awaiting trial presented to this court. It is also necessary to increase the number of support staff in these courts, in order to reduce the backlog of cases in these courts.

Property issues

For the advancement of the initial property registration process and other transitory processes with full transparency, including the addressing of corruption, the PA asserts that this is a matter of good administration and the effectiveness of public bodies responsible for these tasks under the law.

The PA maintains that the process of legalization of illegal constructions, especially with the transfer of ownership of the construction plot to the owners of constructions is a legal transitional process in respect of the property right. This process interferes and affects other important transitional legal processes, such as the division of agricultural land, or even the process of return (physical compensation) and compensation of property to former old owners. However, there are evidence of unjustified delays in the handling of individual requests within these processes. Also, there are lack of transparency issues.

These legal processes, all concerning property rights but handled separately and in parallel, have demonstrated a lack of harmonization and often create conflicts, a fact that has affected their progress and led to their incomplete resolution. The regulatory legislation governing these legal processes (such as the division of agricultural land, the physical return/compensation of property to former owners, and the legalization process) has failed to maintain a consistent approach to the right to property across to different processes. Such inconsistency has resulted in a lack of legal stability for this fundamental right.

Within the responsibilities of public bodies mandated by law to oversee territorial development and the legality of constructions—a domain closely linked to property rights—the PA has observed instances of one-sided attitudes among the Territory Protection Inspectorates in local government units, where legal powers are not consistently enforced.

The recommendations for the rule of law issued by regional actors have served as a primary guideline in the work of the PA due to the significance they carry in Albania's journey towards EU membership, as well as amidst global crises. The PA assesses that crises occurring anywhere have a regional or even global impact on the deterioration of the human rights situation. Therefore, the NHRIs must act as "Guardians" in preventing violations, protecting and promoting these rights. 

Recommendations addressed to public bodies

The main focus of the PA’s efforts in this regard lies in the numerous recommendations addressed to public bodies. Through its representatives' public statements in the media and various activities, the PA aims to convey clear messages regarding the identification of rule-of-law recommendations issued by regional actors, along with the necessary steps for their effective implementation.

Annual national conference

The annual national conference with theme “75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 25th Anniversary of the Constitution of Albania: Evolution of Human Rights in Albania” was held in December 2023 aimed to facilitate discussions among various government actors, independent institutions and civil society representatives, and other stakeholders.

Aligning legislation with European “acquis”

The PA has made efforts to further align national legislation, particularly Law No. 8454, dated 02.04.1999 "On the People’s Advocate", as amended with the "acquis" of the European Union in the field of human rights.

Concrete recommendations for the revision of the organic law in accordance with international standards will be presented to the Parliament of Albania. In this regard, the extension of the mandate of the PA remains essential, while some necessary improvements are related to the selection procedures of the PA and Commissioners, to ensure further impartiality, integrity, transparency and fairness. The PA has given its contribution within the process of drafting the National Program for Accession to the European Union 2024-2030, the National Plan for European Integration 2024-2026, as well as in the drafting of the Albanian Government's Contribution to the European Commission's Report on Albania for 2023.

Role in European integration process

The PA has continued to actively participate in meetings conducted by the National Council of European Integration, the highest national advisory structure for European integration functioning within the Parliament, with the aim of promoting and guaranteeing comprehensive cooperation between political forces, public institutions and civil society, as well as increasing transparency in decision-making on integration issues. The PA continues to contribute to this process through direct participation in Interinstitutional Working Groups established in line with the acquis chapters, notably mentioning the engagement and contribution provided within Chapter 23, which covers several areas falling under the general umbrella of Judiciary and Fundamental Rights.  It's a fundamental chapter for pre-accession efforts and holds particular importance during membership negotiations, where strict conditions and specific stages are set along with monitoring by the European Union. Concrete participation and contributions have been offered for Chapter 19 - Social and Employment Policies, as well. (Refer to the Annual Report of PA, p. 170).

During 2023, the PA has participated in and contributed to joint EU-Albania meetings, where we can highlight the contribution made during the 14th meeting of the EU-Albania Subcommittee "Justice, Freedom, and Security" held on June 14-15, 2023, via the Webex platform, mainly addressing issues related to: the right to life, prevention of torture and ill-treatment, and the prison system; protection of minorities; children's rights; rights of LGBTI community members; inclusion of the Roma/Egyptian community. The PA has also contributed to the drafting process of the National Program for European Union Accession 2024 - 2030, the National Plan for European Integration 2024-2026, the Rule of Law Roadmap, as well as in preparing the Albanian Government's Contribution to the European Commission's Report on Albania for the year 2023.

In line with its constitutional and legal authority, the PA has paid increased attention to the implementation of justice reform and the establishment of justice system bodies. This process is undoubtedly related to the reformation and strengthening of the judicial authority, aiming to rebuild public trust in the justice system.   

Digitization of public services

In relation to the digitization of public services, the PA, with the support of ENNHRI, initiated the implementation of a project aimed at assessing the impact of the digitization of public services. The first draft of this report has been completed, it has been subject to the consultation process with interest groups and partner organizations and will be published in the coming months. This special report, along with the relevant recommendations, will be conveyed to state bodies, as well as the Parliament of Albania.

Protection of national minorities

Regarding the protection of national minorities, the PA has placed specific emphasis on enhancing living standards for individuals from the Egyptian and Roma national minorities. These communities encounter more frequent and widespread challenges compared to other national minorities in the country. The problems and challenges experienced by national minorities may vary but are basically related to: (i) the necessity for fundamental and comprehensive improvement of living conditions; (ii) improving the level of education and skills; (iii) other rights such as ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious identity.

Actually, there are not issued all the necessary by-laws foreseen by the Law no. 96/2017 "On the protection of national minorities in the Republic of Albania".

In relation to gender equality, various forms of violence against women and girls persisted throughout the reporting period. 

In the recommendations issued by the PA in 2023, special emphasis is placed on the necessity for additional legislative amendments to address the problem of sexism in the media. The PA with the support of UN WOMEN, has established a mechanism called "Observatory on Femicide", presented on March 8, 2024. The Observatory on Femicide is a monitoring mechanism concerning the phenomenon of killings of women/girls, aimed at preventing it and strengthening the mechanism for protection and supporting female victims of violence.

Through the Observatory on Femicide, national-level data will be collected and subjected to in-depth analysis, serving to identify gaps in the protective mechanism for victims of violence, as well as providing recommendations for improving the situation of violence against women and girls in Albania, through the preparation and publication of annual reports. 

Environment and climate

Regarding the environment and climate, the PA observed that the principle of sustainable development has not been adequately implemented throughout 2023. This is attributed to the perception in Albania that environmental protection is considered secondary and not as crucial as social and economic development. This approach is also due to the fact that Albania is not considered a polluting country, but rather faces challenges in waste management and overconstruction. Responsible institutions often show a lack of cooperation and coordination in fulfilling their legal responsibilities and taking immediate measures to address environmental protection concerns. In regard to the cases handled in 2023, the following issues persisted: (i) air and water pollution, (ii) noise pollution, (iii) environmental pollution from waste, (iv) environmental pollution near rivers as well as the discharge of raw waste into them.

The PA finds that the central and local institutions responsible for the environment consistently fail to meet their legal obligations, which stem from the right to a clean and healthy environment. As previously mentioned, the PA highlights that one of the ongoing challenges in the environmental sector is waste management. This includes the lack of infrastructure for integrated urban waste management, the lack of "landfills" for hazardous and inert waste. Furthermore, in terms of the noise pollution level, it has been assessed that responsible institutions have not succeeded in protecting and ensuring a peaceful life free from noise disturbances. Although new legislative changes, such as Law no.50/2023 "On the Assessment and Management of Noise in the Environment" was approved in June 2023, the PA has received complaints throughout the reporting year related to noise disturbances.

The recommendations of the PA, as one of the main tools provided by law to exercise its constitutional mandate, take on a special importance when they address issues of the rule of law. It is expected that, the responsible state authorities should not only provide a formal reply to such recommendations but also indicate concrete measures to fully implement them.

The level of implementation of these recommendations by public bodies is one of the ongoing concerns of PA. 

During 2023 the PA has addressed a number of 266 recommendations as below:  

• Accepted recommendations and fully implemented: 46 recommendations or 17%

• Accepted recommendations partially implemented: 120 recommendations or 45%

• Recommendations accepted but not implemented: 30 recommendations or 11%

• Rejected: 27 recommendations or 10%

• Non-response: 32 recommendations or 12%

• Recommendations in the process of implementation: 11 recommendations or 4%

First set of recommendations

1. Increasing funding for the NHRIs and the PA.

2. Strengthening the legal framework and accountability mechanisms (...with the aim to support the work of the NHRIs and the PA). 

3. Fostering cooperation and partnerships (NHRIs, PA, civil society organizations and other actors in the field of human rights). Policymakers can promote and facilitate these collaborations by creating opportunities for dialogue, fostering joint initiatives, and supporting networks that brings together various actors working in this field. 

1. Increased funding

The budget allocated to the PA has been increasing in recent years, including in 2023, despite the ongoing institutional need for even greater financial support. The budget dedicated for salaries is 84.75% of the whole budget, therefore there are limited possibilities for other activities like events and publications.

2. Strengthening of legal framework and accountability mechanisms

Throughout 2023, the PA has prioritized the strengthening of the legal framework and accountability mechanisms as an institutional goal. The PA has prepared necessary changes to be included in the amended law "On the People’s Advocate," which will be submitted to the Parliament of Albania as a legislative proposal to amend the organic law of the PA.

3. Inter-institutional joint mechanism for the systematic monitoring of recommendations

The Parliament of Albania has established an inter-institutional joint mechanism for the systematic monitoring of recommendations made by independent institutions. This mechanism aims to monitor implementation of recommendations issued by independent institutions. 

So far, there has not been a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness or efficiency of this mechanism and its actual impact on increasing the level of implementation of the PA’s recommendations.  In this regard, the PA has assessed that further improvements are necessary to make the mechanism more functional, ensuring the effective implementation of existing legislation and its improvement in areas related to human rights. Consequently, PA has supported the initiative to establish a working group for the revision of the Decision of the Parliament of Albania no. 49/2017 "On Mechanization for monitoring their follow-up and advisory systems independent constitutional and those created by law". The Progress Report addresses the improvement of the implementation of recommendations.

The implementation of recommendations of independent institutions from public administration institutions is an important indicator of rule of law.

Second set of recommendations

1. The need to undertake legislative initiatives to have a broader mandate that includes the ability to address all human rights violations resulting from the acts and omissions of private entities. This initiative should be accompanied by an increase in human and financial capacities to effectively exercise this broad mandate.

2. The potential for the PA to have a well-defined mandate to encourage the ratification or membership in regional and international human rights instruments. In practice, the PA has embraced this opportunity extensively through concrete initiatives for the ratification of international acts. 

3. The need for sufficient financial resources to fully exercise the mandate, including the increase of number of experts. 

1. Strengthening of the legal framework and broadening of the mandate

There is a need for legislative changes in the organic law of PA, to strengthen its legal mandate. The legislative changes should include broadening the mandate, including the ability to address all violations of human rights resulting from acts and omissions of private entities, and include a legal obligation to public authorities which are issued recommendations, to provide a reasoned reply within an appropriate time frame to PA institution.

2. The proposed legislative changes to the organic law of the PA 

These changes have also aimed to clarify the PA mandate to promote Albania's ratification or accession to regional and international human rights instruments.

3. Need for financial resources 

Despite the progressive increase in budgets allocated to the PA institution, addressing the necessary financial resources remains a challenging aspect. In 2024, there has been a positive advancement in human resources, with representatives from the regional offices of the PA institution now integrated into the institutional structure, thereby fulfilling one of the SCA's recommendations.

Third set of recommendations

1. Strengthening the legal framework for the protection of the rights of civil society actors and human rights defenders, including legislation that recognizes and protects the work of human rights defenders and civil society organizations, as well as providing assurance that laws and regulations related to civil society are in line with international human rights standards.

2. Creating an enabling environment for civil society actors and human rights defenders to operate freely and safely, including protecting their right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. This includes ensuring their access to financial and other resources and addressing any threats or attacks they may face.

3. Ensuring the protection of freedom of expression and organization involves creating an environment where journalists, activists, and civil society organizations can operate without the threat of reprisals, harassment, or violence. This encompasses the right to engage in peaceful assembly and protest, with a focus on ensuring that laws concerning defamation and national security are not misused to suppress opposing viewpoints.

4. Providing support and assistance to civil society actors and human rights defenders, including providing access to information, legal assistance and other resources, to help them carry out their work safely and effectively, as well as establishing effective complaints mechanisms to ensure that their rights are respected and protected.

The PA has examined several cases when media personnel, while monitoring gatherings or attending various events, have been hindered in the exercise of their duties by State Police employees, such as through their escorting, confiscation of filming and photographic equipment or their removal. In relation to the identified violations, PA has issued the recommendation to the State Police structures. These measures include investigating and preventing future cases of police escorting journalists, safeguarding the right of media personnel to report events at gatherings or similar activities, sanctioning police officers who commit violations against journalists and media personnel, and providing continuous training to police officers in order to allow journalists to carry out their profession and mission.  

Following such recommendations, the General Directorate of State Police approved a standard procedure "On planning police services during gatherings". Such standards procedures referred to the standards of the Council of Europe on journalist protection and safety, as well as recommendations of the PA. PA held that violence against journalists, being physical or psychological, endangers the rights to personal integrity, life and freedom of thought and expression. Attacks against journalists and other media actors constitute a serious violation of human rights, impacting not only individuals but also the right to access information. Such violations limit civic space and democracy.

PA has consistently emphasized the rights of journalists and has fostered a strong collaboration with the media within the "alliance against hate speech" initiative. Institutions must prioritize respecting the journalistic mission and cease the culture of intimidating or attacking journalists. Additionally, it's vital for the media community to recognize the significance of its mission and safeguard it against any form of abuse or exploitation.

Albanian authorities must ensure protective measures to create safe working environments for media workers and journalists. This responsibility extends beyond police authorities to other law enforcement agencies, including local government institutions, to uphold safety and security for the whole media community.

Fourth set of recommendations

1. Ensuring digital inclusion for all, including providing alternative procedures for areas or citizens who do not have access to online services, is vital to prevent anyone from being left behind.

2. The development of a clear and comprehensive legal framework regarding the relationship between citizens and the public administration, requiring different methods of accessing public services, to ensure that administrative procedures are not solely reliant on electronic means.
   
3. Awareness and investment in education: investment in education and awareness-raising initiatives to ensure that citizens and stakeholders are aware of the potential benefits and risks of AI technology. Incorporating initiatives to increase public understanding of technology and its potential impact on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Providing alternative procedures for remote areas or citizens without online access is still a pressing issue. Some public administration bodies exclusively offer services online, leaving certain segments of the population without meaningful access. Despite the commendable aim corruption, exclusively providing public services online poses significant challenges. The reality is that some areas or citizens lack online access or the knowledge to navigate online systems, leading to serious issues in service provision.

During 2023 PA, with the support of ENNHRI, initiated the implementation of a project aimed at assessing the impact of the digitization of public services. The aim of this project is related to the fact that the process of digitalizing public services as part of the national e-governance strategy, with the goal of improving the delivery of public services, increasing efficiency, reducing bureaucracy, and enhancing transparency, undoubtedly has significant implications for human rights.

While digitalization can improve access to public services and reduce corruption, it can also create new forms of exclusion and discrimination, especially for vulnerable groups lacking access to technology or digital skills. That said, PA plays an important role in ensuring that the digitalization of public services in Albania is developed in accordance with human rights standards, including conducting research, providing advice and recommendations, monitoring and reporting, and engaging with stakeholders to protect human rights standards in this context.

In this regard, it is important for the Albanian state to ensure that the digitalization of public services is developed in line with human rights standards, including privacy, non-discrimination, transparency, and accountability.

Through this project and its main activities, the PA aimed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the impact of digitalizing public services in Albania, culminating in the drafting of a special report that will be shared with the Parliament, central government institutions, and all other interested parties.

Fifth set of recommendations

1. Strengthening the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary
2. Strengthening the fight against corruption
3. Protection of freedom of expression and organization.

PA has given a primary focus to the implementation of justice reform and to the establishment of new organs of the justice system. The progress pertains to the reform and reinforcement of the judiciary, which plays a vital role in rebuilding citizens' trust in the justice system. The PA acknowledges the establishment of new judicial bodies and emphasizes that ensuring a high-quality and effective judicial system is a fundamental obligation to Albanian citizens. This effort aims to maintain a checked and balanced and reinforce the rule of law system.

Before the approval of the new judicial map (Decision of the High Judicial Council No. 211, dated 10/06/2022 "On the approval of the evaluative report and the proposal of the inter-institutional working group on the reorganization of judicial districts and territorial jurisdictions of courts"), there were 22 courts of first instance, 6 appellate courts, and 1 supreme court (a total of 29 courts). After the approval of the new judicial map in 2023 by the High Judicial Council, there are 13 courts of first instance of general jurisdiction, 2 administrative courts of first instance, 1 appellate court, and 1 supreme court (a total of 17 courts). 

The General Appeal Court has approved a structure of 78 judges. As of December 2023, they were only 25 effective judges in this court. The backlog in the General Appeal Court by the end of 2023 is 37.662 cases. This backlog includes not only the cases accumulated from the five appellate courts currently closed but also from the new cases concluded at the first instance and appealed by the parties to the appellate court. 

During 2023, PA identified significant delays with regard to court cases related to:  

• marriage dissolutions and the regulation of their consequences, such as determining custody and obligations for children alimony;
• issues concerning employment relations, recognition of seniority in employment, and pension entitlement matters etc.
• issues related to the provision of security measures, etc.

PA has consistently expressed concern about citizens' access to justice following the implementation of the new judicial map. In this context, the PA has issued a series of recommendations urging competent institutions to take action, implement necessary measures, and adhere to reasonable trial timelines as per international norms and domestic laws (see here, here, here and here).

The PA was last re-accredited with A-status in December 2020. 

The SCA recognised that the PA interprets its human rights mandate broadly. At the same time, it encouraged the NHRI to advocate for a broader mandate that includes the ability to address all human rights violations resulting from the acts and omissions of private entities. 

At that time, the PA reported that its level of funding was insufficient to meet its human resources needs, including retaining staff in its regional office. The SCA encouraged the NHRI to persist in advocating for sufficient funding, including the provision of full-time staff in its regional offices. 

Finally, the SCA noted that the enabling law of the PA does not explicitly mandate the PA to encourage ratification or accession to international human rights instruments. The SCA recognized the NHRI's broad interpretation of its mandate and encouraged the PA to address the necessary amendments to its enabling law in this respect.

The PA was last re-accredited with A-status in December 2020.  

Pursuant to the recommendations of the SCA, PA has made continuous efforts to comply with such recommendations to ensure full compliance with Paris Principles. 

In this context, PA, in the framework of the twinning project "Support of the Albanian Ombudsman institution and promotion of human rights in Albania", has drawn up draft amendments necessary to its organic law. Part of the proposed amendments are related to the inclusion of complaints handlings for private sector in PA’s mandate. Amendments are proposed to specifically include the ability to propose to the Parliament adoption of international acts.

In recent years, the budget of the PA institution has increased, which is seen as a positive development. However, there is still a need for greater financial support to fully meet its broad exercise.

SCA’s recommendation to PA for the regional offices staff as full-time employees, has been implemented.

There have not been any changes in the national regulatory framework applicable to the institution of the PA in 2023.

Access to legislative processes

PA in Albania is an institution which has faced risks for the effectiveness of institutional performance and reputation. The primary cause of this situation is the longstanding culture of limited transparency and accountability, which has been ingrained within both public administration and Albanian society. Access to legislative processes is an issue which has mostly turned into an exercise of discretion and initiative by the PA to be involved in these processes, rather than a necessary collaborative experience of the state authorities responsible with it. 

Formal access to legislative processes is a well-known component, but the required institutional cooperation with the PA in this context also works in a fragmentary and non-continuous manner. The same can be said in the framework of drafting and approving policies. The level of implementation of the PA recommendations during 2023 generally still remains problematic. 

Human and financial resources

As mentioned above, Human Resources and administrative management represent an important aspect of the operation, performance, and progress of a national human rights institution. In order to guarantee that public institutions act in accordance with national and international standards and acts in the field of human rights, it is necessary to continuously support these institutions with human and financial resources. In this regard, the Progress Report of the European Commission for Albania for 2023, among other things, again emphasized the need for further strengthening of the human and administrative capacities of the PA institution.

The continuous strengthening of these capacities has been and remains one of the challenges of the NHRI, also appreciating the support that has been given so far in this direction. As of 2024 the total number of full-time employees is increased from 59 to 66. In addition, the NHRI continues to have approved 3 employees on 6h/day basis as well as three full time experts on project basis. However, referring to TAIEX Peer Review Mission on Independent and Regulatory Bodies in Albania on 25-28 October 2022 stating that “the constitutional and legal framework in Albania guarantees the PA´s necessary autonomy in the elaboration and execution of his/her budget. Since 2021, there has also been a tendency to increase the funds allocated. However, it is still necessary to assign more funds to the institution in order to be able to fully fulfil its tasks and better develop its broad mandate. Likewise, there is still a need for more staff to ensure fulltime presence in the regional offices, as detailed in the next section.”

Referring to human and financial resources, the Council of Ministers, as of 31.05.2023 approved a significant increase in the salaries of the administration (including civil servants and support staff). More specifically, for the PA institution, this increase goes up to 40% of the salary for civil servants. Meanwhile, the salary of the PA and the Commissioners of the PA has remained unchanged.  

Most staff of the PA are part of the civil service. According to law no. 152/2013 "On civil servants", the entire recruitment process begins and must conclude only within the civil service system and grades in the Republic of Albania.

The structure and organization of the institution are determined by the PA institution, which allows for the necessary functional operations. However, the process of recruitment of civil servants gives a very limited space to recruit candidates outside civil servant system. This has led to difficulties for the appointment of certain specialists. (for example, in NPM).

Legal immunity of the PA

The immunity of the PA and the exercise of its mandate are defined in the organic Law of the PA. However, this legal definition is insufficient, if we refer to the international standards of the field, which speak of functional immunity of the leadership and staff of the PA institution (Venice Principles - "Principles for the protection and promotion of the ombudsman institution", Venice Commission, 3 May 2019). 

Election and the Mandate of the Ombudsman

The election of PA is regulated by a legal basis, with provisions provided for both the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and Law no. 8454 dated 4.02.1999 "On the People’s Advocate", as amended.

The broad consensus for the selection of the PA is in principle related to the need to have a political agreement between the representative political forces in the Parliament of Albania. The PA is elected by 3/5 of all the members of the Parliament and this necessary voting quorum requires a broad consensus among the political forces represented in the Parliament. Although exceeding the mandate, no underestimation regarding the work of the institution of the PA and/or decrease in the level of implementation of its recommendations has been noticed. The PA remains determined in the position that the fundamental legitimacy to make decisions in the position of the PA is very important to maintain and increase citizens' trust in the institution.

The level of cooperation with other actors/agencies in the field of human rights remains an important priority for the PA. During 2023, the PA did not encounter situations perceived as threats. 

Justice reform

The PA has a mandate to conduct the preselection of the candidates respectively of High Judicial Council and High Prosecutorial Council. Based on Law No. 115/2016 "On the governing bodies of the justice system", as amended, following the publication by the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, of the vacant positions and the call for expression of interest for members of the High Judicial Council and members of the High Prosecutorial Council from among lawyers and civil society. The PA immediately started the necessary administrative procedures for the preselection of the candidates. The process was concluded in December 2023. 

Non-response of public institutions to the requests of the PA

Throughout 2023, the PA faced an unsatisfactory level of cooperation by public authorities in responding to the investigative activities of PA.

In this context, the failure to promptly and timely provide information and documentation, as well as the provision of partial answers or responses beyond the established and legal deadlines, leads to delays in the investigative process. This situation results in the impair of the citizens’ rights to effectively remedies against maladministration.

• Further strengthening of the human capacities of the institution of the PA, as well as the strengthening of the administrative capacities within the framework of the necessary, sufficient financial funds for the exercise of the constitutional mandate of this institution. 
• Submission of the new draft law to the Parliament of the organic law of PA (the project "Support to the office to the PA and promotion of human rights in Albania"), which will provide a full compliance of Paris Principles and Venice Principles.
• State bodies must have the obligation to continuously inform PA, regarding the follow-up and implementation of the annual report on the rule of law.  
• Guaranteeing the implementation of the recommendations of the PA. The legal obligation for public institutions to respond to the PA's recommendations with reasoned explanations should be reinforced.

Functioning and effectiveness of the judicial power

The PA has maintained an active and proactive approach regarding the issue of the separation of powers. Specifically, PA has raised issues related to the functioning and effectiveness of the judicial power in the country.  During 2023, an urgent need was identified to take measures for the vacancies in the judiciary in civil, administrative, and criminal courts at all levels. Issuing judgments within a reasonable time, a vital element of the right to an effective remedy and fair trial, was another aspect highlighted in the recommendations sent by the PA to the relevant competent courts and the High Judicial Council. 

Interventions and amendments in the legislation for the prevention and reduction of the unreasonable duration of the judicial process, which is a violation of Article 6/1 of the European Convention of Human Rights, are not proven to have produced effects, and this is because the civil, administrative or criminal courts, operate with a much-reduced capacity of the judiciary.

According to the official data of the High Judicial Council (Annual Report 2023), the total number of actual judges in the judicial system is 329 judges. Meanwhile, according to the organizational structure, there should be 408 judges. Of these, 247 judges are effectively in office. This shows that during the year 2023 the judicial system has operated with almost 60% of capacity. However, this number should be taken with caution, as it includes judges who might be suspended due to disciplinary actions and are under review by the High Judicial Council (HJC), or those who have been dismissed by the Independent Qualification Commission and have appealed this decision to the Special Appeal Chamber.

Immigrants’ constitutional right to vote

Another issue, which has also influenced the development of a fair electoral process is the violation of the constitutional right to vote of immigrants in the elections held for local self-government bodies in May 2023. This is due to the legal gap in the Electoral Code, as this fact was ascertained in decision no. 38 dated 9.12.2022, of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania.

Constitutional Court assesses that the issues related to voting rights for citizens abroad or foreigners in Albania are a consequence of the legal gap.  The Electoral Code authorizes the Central Election Commission to issue by-laws concerning the rules for registering voters from abroad, the voting procedures for these voters, the administration and counting of votes cast from abroad, and their inclusion in the overall election results for the Assembly. This includes the appointment of the competent body, the principles on which these acts are based, and the deadlines within which they must be issued.

This is a factual situation that occurred during the 2021 parliamentary elections in Albania and was repeated in the local self-government elections held in May 2023. In decision no. 38 dated 9.12.2022, the Constitutional Court mandated the filling of the legal gap within one year. However, this was not achieved by the end of 2023, highlighting the omission of the state bodies responsible for this duty, which stems from the mandatory enforcement of the Constitutional Court's decisions, as guaranteed by the Constitution in Articles 132 and 145.

Voting rights of persons with disabilities

Based on Article 16 of Law no. 93/2014 " On the social inclusion and accessibility of persons with disabilities ", the PA is a monitoring institution for the implementation of this law in accordance with the UN Convention, "On the rights of persons with disabilities”.

In the framework of the 2023 Local Elections, PA has identified potential problems and took the necessary measures, with the aim of creating appropriate conditions for disabled persons to freely exercise their right to vote. There were monitored 421 public spaces, where 940 Voting Centres were located. It was found that 59% of these institutions, mainly educational in nature, did not have adequate access for people with mobility disabilities. In the voting centres situated on the second floor, accessibility for people with disabilities was lacking, as there were no elevators or internal ramps, except for in two or three schools. 

Additionally, PA addressed the Regulatory Commission within the Central Election Commission (CEC), recommending the improvement, before the elections for local government bodies, of the Guidelines for determining the rules for the establishment, appointment and notification of the location of the voting centres and the preparation of the map of the local self-government units for the elections.

Although there was no official response from the CEC for the position taken on this recommendation, from the verification on the official website of this institution it was found that, with the decision No. 11 dated 20.03.2023 of the Regulatory Commission at the CEC, several amendments were approved, which addressed the above-mentioned recommendation.

Also, in the context of local elections in 2023, PA has addressed a recommendation to all Mayors to take measures to create suitable conditions in the voting centres for persons with disabilities, in order to guarantee the free exercise of their constitutional right to vote.

High level of political conflict

Throughout year 2023, there has been a very high level of political conflict in Albania, a fact that has affected several important aspects of the country's life and, especially, the normality of the functioning of the representative body of the legislative power in the Albanian Parliament. The situation of high political conflict has been a direct cause for the dysfunction of parliamentary life in the country.

The PA during the exercise of its mandate, has emphasized the importance of conducting public consultation processes on draft legislations. The opinion of the PA institution on draft laws with impact of human rights is outmost important.

There has been an improvement in the public consultation process regarding the participation of interest groups in such processes. The Ministry of Justice has improved the level of consultation with the PA by seeking their opinion on draft laws, strategies, and draft decisions before submitting them for approval to the Council of Ministers. It has also reflected the suggestions given by the PA. There has also been cooperation with other institutions, such as the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. In 2023, the Ministry of Interior presented in public consultations, the draft decision "On the approval of the national strategy for migration 2024-2030 and its action plan, 2024-2026", which aims to promote regular migration through increased cooperation with international institutions. PA is involved in this process by giving his opinions and suggestions for this important strategic document.

The right to information is a fundamental right of individuals, which, based on the current legislation in force in Albania, is directly monitored and enforced by the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data. Based on specific provisions given in Law No. no. 119/2014  "On the right to information," PA and Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data has signed a memorandum of cooperation between the two institutions in order to fully comply their competences on respecting and protecting the right to information. In this context, the PA, playing an active role, in all its recommendations during 2023 where violations of the right to information were identified in the practices of state authorities, has highlighted this fact and addressed it. On the other hand, issues that have been primarily related to complaints about the right to information have been timely transmitted for further review to the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data.

Recommendations to public bodies

The authorities must take measures to complete the administrative procedures within the deadlines provided by the law in carrying out of the legalization’s process of illegal constructions, registration process of real estate as well as the compensation process in cases of public expropriations. These processes should have full transparency for the public.

The institution’s human rights monitoring and reporting has not found any evidence of laws, processes and practices that negatively impact the independence and/or effectiveness of independent institutions other than NHRIs.

There have been positive developments in the adoption and entry into force of national legislation, as in the case of the changes made to Law No. 119/2014 "On the Right to Information", or the adoption of a new Code, of Broadcasting for Audiovisual Media, by the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA). A special chapter has been added, which has related to caution provisions against sexism and the portrayal of gender stereotypes in audiovisual media content, including also recommendatory measures given by the PA.

Role of CSOs in the protection of human rights

PA closely cooperates with non-profit organizations, periodically receiving their opinions on the state of human rights and freedoms. 

The PA, in order to have a more comprehensive overview of the real situation in the analysis of progress and identification of pressing issues, relies on reports from civil society organizations, international organizations monitoring the status of human's rights in Albania, progress reports for Albania, reports from the U.S. Department of State on the human rights situation in Albania, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report, as well as reports from the Commissioner for Human Rights. The collaboration of the PA with CSOs in the process of selecting commissioners; - Collaboration of the PA in organizing the 2023 annual conference, with the UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Albania, the PA organized the 2023 Annual Conference with theme "75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 25th Anniversary of the Constitution of Albania: Evolution of Human Rights in Albania," where one panel consisted solely of representatives from CSOs.

Referring to TAIEX Peer Review Mission on Independent and Regulatory Bodies in Albania on 25-28 October 2022 stating that “the meetings held with the International Donors and NGOs resulted in a good perception of the PA Institution. It can thus be said that civil society relies on the PA and sees him/her as a proactive institution”.

PA's collaboration with civil society extends beyond handling and referring cases to organizing active awareness-raising activities such as workshops, national conferences, and PA-specific reports. For example, the Alternative Report on the Implementation of the CEDAW Convention in Albania 2016-2020, prepared by the PA institution, aimed to present findings before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 

Protests by opposition political party

P.A has closely monitored a protest taking place on 11 February 2023, held by the opposition political party. Observers from the PA institution were present on the ground throughout the protest, closely monitoring the behaviour of both the protesters and the representatives of the law enforcement institutions. Considering that one of the fundamental human rights in democracy is the peaceful protest, PA has found no extensive exercise of force by the police officers.

Legislation covering the freedom of peaceful assembly

PA assesses that the legislation covering the freedom of peaceful assembly should be clear and in full compliance with international standards for human rights. A prior authorisation for each gathering is not necessary nor should it be required under domestic legislation but the notification enables state authorities to facilitate the gathering of protesters, as well as ensure public order and protect the rights of others.

The PA as an interested entity, in the position held in the case judged by the Constitutional Court regarding the incompatibility with the Constitution of the provision made in the first paragraph of Article 262 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Albania, where it is stated that "without prior permission by the competent authority according to the specific provisions", it was stated that this legal provision contradicts Article 47 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 11 and 18 of the ECHR. Said that, since this legal provision limits the exercise of the right to assembly by obtaining a permit, while the permit is not provided for either in the Constitution or in Law no. 8773/2001 on assemblies.

The fact that law no. 8773/2001 “On Assemblies" uses the term "notification" and not "request" addressed to police bodies is important, as it guarantees the exercise of the right of assembly by the citizens. So, the decision to exercise the right of assembly is taken by the notifying entity itself and the approval/permission of the police body is not required. As mentioned, the phrase contained in Article 262, first paragraph, of the Criminal Procedure Code is incompatible with Article 47 of the Constitution, as well as with Articles 11 and 18 of the ECHR, as it limits the exercise of the right to assembly by obtaining permit, while the permit is not provided for either in the Constitution or in the law no. 8773/2001 "On Assemblies ". The punishment of organizers and/or participants in a peaceful assembly with a fine or imprisonment of up to one year is therefore disproportionate and contrary to article 17, point 1, of the Constitution and law no. 8773/2001.  

The Constitutional Court assesses that the referring court's claim that the phrase "without first obtaining permission from the competent body according to special provisions", in the first paragraph of Article 262 of the Criminal Code, is incompatible with Article 47 of the Constitution, is well-founded and has decided to accept the request, determining the obligation of the Assembly to fulfil the legal norm from the date of announcement of the decision of the CC until its entry into force.

Attacks on journalists and media institutions

PA considers journalists a mechanism of public interest to be informed, so any attack on journalists is seen as an attack on this interest. The PA has expressed concern the violent action against journalist E.Q and called on the law enforcement authorities to take energetic and effective measures.

Furthermore, PA has concerned on the attack on the night of March 27, 2023, on the building of the national television Top Channel, in which a security worker of such media outlet lost his life. PA has requested the law enforcement authorities to immediately, and with priority, shed light on this case and bring the perpetrators to justice. An attack on any individual or a legal entity is a reprehensible and unacceptable act, but an armed attack on a media institution is an unacceptable crime with serious consequences as it directly affects a means of mass communication, i.e. the societal information infrastructure. PA has encouraged individual journalists not to be afraid, but to continue working safely for the support and solidarity of the whole society. 

CSO impact and challenges

The challenge for an NHRI is to have a strategic level approach and at the same time have the space and capabilities to conduct and handle issues/cases that require urgent action and investigation. Partnership with civil society is the key point of NHRI's activity, working collegially with NGOs on specific issues. This cooperation through a public platform (with NGOs or other national institutions for human rights) in addition to being useful, serves to increase visibility in handling of specific human rights issues at the national level, and as a convenient way to strengthen links between organizations having focus on similar human rights issues.

Some legal provisions in the law "On the registration of non-profit organizations" that hindered the freedom of organization and transferred the powers of the court to the chancellor regarding their registration have been found unconstitutional and have been declared null and void after the request submitted by some non-profit organizations.

The Constitutional Court has pronounced its decision on the matter initiated by some non-profit organizations  which claimed that the content of some provisions of this law violated the constitutional right to assembly guaranteed by Article 46 of the Constitution and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights ; that they are contrary to the provisions of Article 17 of the Constitution and international standards, which require that the limitation of this right, including sanctions, be provided by law, have a legitimate purpose and be proportional to the purpose that is intended to be achieved .

The Constitutional Court has partially accepted the request, declaring null and void the provision that determines the obligation for initial registration within a 30-day period. This provision imposes a disproportionate burden, especially on organizations that intend to be newly created, thus constituting an obstacle in terms of freedom of organization", assessed the Constitutional Court.

• Guaranteeing the right to a trial within a reasonable time, as a constitutional standard, enshrined in the acts that define basic human rights and freedoms, both at the international level and in domestic law, should be a priority for the authorities.
• Prioritizing the follow-up, fulfillment and implementation of obligations by responsible state authorities within the framework of ratified international conventions and agreements.

For the freedom of assembly and organization

• Implementation of Decision No. 24, dated May 4, 2021, of the Constitutional Court "On the annulment of the expression 'without prior authorization from the competent authority according to specific provisions' in the first paragraph of Article 262 of the Penal Code." The obligation of the Parliament to amend the legal norm from the date of the Constitutional Court's decision until its entry into force. This decision is not implemented.
• Taking measures to review Law No. 8773, dated April 23, 2001, "On Assemblies," as amended, in accordance with European standards.

For the deprivation of liberty

• Full implementation the existing legislative acts by the State Police structures to respect the legally guaranteed rights of detained/arrested/escorted individuals.

Using SKY-ECC (a subscription-based end-to-end encrypted messaging application). PA has taken the initiative to register the case published in media in December 2023, which refers to an order issued by the Minister of Interior for the approval of the self-declaration form by all employees of the State Police, the Agency for Police Supervision and the Guard of the Republic of Albania, if they used the SKY ECC or ENCROCHAT applications. Meanwhile, the order with no. 196, dated 04.12.2023 "On the approval of the self-declaration form "On the use of SKY ECC and ENCROCHAT applications" was published in the media, as well as the self-declaration form.

According to the media, the form was to be completed by all employees mentioned above within 30 days from its entry into force and if any employee would be found to have used these applications will immediately be dismissed.

PA has requested from the Minister of the Interior detailed information on the legal basis and purpose for a such order. The case is in the process of review and investigation by the PA.

With its initiative PA as the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture is dealing ex-officio with the news published in the electronic media, according to which the General Director of the State Police has requested cooperation with the Director of Prisons for obtaining biological DNA samples for each convict who benefits from the amnesty. PA considers collecting of DNA samples a violation of prisoners’ rights. The investigation of this case is in process. 

• The law no. 8773, dated 23.4.2001 "On Assemblies" should be reviewed in order to provide the right of the instant protest and its technicalities.
• Continuous training for border police officers to familiarize them with international acts and legislation in the field of migration, in order to protect and promote the rights of migrants who enter the territory of Republic of Albania.
• Establishment of a dedicated National Reception Center for unaccompanied foreign children. 

Deprivation of liberty

• Full implementation of the normative acts in force by the State Police structures to respect the rights guaranteed by law of escorted/detained/ arrested persons

Some ECtHR decisions have fined the State Advocate’s Office due to the problems that Albanian citizens have encountered during the execution process of final court decisions issued by the domestic judicial system. In the decisions of the ECtHR, emphasis has been placed on the state's obligation to execute judicial decisions, as non-enforcement undermines the essence of the right itself and denies the principle of a due process of law. 

It is clearly emphasized in the jurisprudence of the ECtHR (and Constitutional Court) that the execution of judicial decisions should be seen as an integral part of the judicial process as the judicial decision would otherwise have no value for as long as the right is not enforced.

PA has found a lack of transparency on the part of the State Advocate's Office in its activity, in relation to the role it must play for the execution of ECtHR decisions against Albania.

Even on the website of the State Advocate's Office of the Republic of Albania, it has been found that the information on ECHR decisions is completely missing. PA has taken the position that, law no. 10018, dated 13.11.2008, "On the State Advocate's Office", as amended, should be improved  to counter the deficiencies observed in the provision of the obligations that the State Advocate’s Office must have in informing the public without prior request and within the transparency of its activity, regarding the legal powers for the execution of ECHR decisions against Albania.

More specifically, the improvement should consist of adding or amending provisions of law no. 10018, dated 13.11.2008, "On the State Advocate's Office as amended, regarding: a) Provision of the legal obligation of the Advocate's Office to publish its reports that presents to the Permanent Committee for Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, on the execution of ECHR decisions and the measures taken in this direction b) The provision of other legal obligations that increase transparency and the obligation to make public the necessary information related to the process of execution of ECHR decisions against Albania. The Council of Ministers, in accordance with Article 81, point 1, of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, decided at the meeting on July 5, 2023, the proposal of the draft law "On some additions and changes to the law no. 10018 dated 13.11.2008, "On State Advocate", as amended".

Effectiveness of execution of ECtHR judgements

Despite the relevant legal changes, which have undergone law no. 10018, dated 13.11.2008, "On the State Advocate's Office ", the effectiveness of the execution of ECtHR decisions, given against Albania, has not increased.

The legal procedures outlined in Law no. 86/2018 "On the State Advocate" have not increased the effectiveness of executing ECtHR decisions against Albania. The state of execution of decisions before and after the amendments to Law no. 10018/2008 does not appear to have changed and continues to be problematic.

The main reasons are as follows: - The right to public information regarding the progress and course of the execution process of ECtHR decisions against Albania is not clearly defined. The access of each individual to information related to this process remains unclear, as well as the possibility of being informed about the execution status of ECtHR decisions against the Albanian State. In the content of Law no. 10018, in Chapter V/I, "Execution of European Court of Human Rights Judgments," part of the consultation process between the Consultative Council on ECtHR Matters and the State Advocate includes consultation related to the State Advocate's communications for informing the public and the media regarding the execution of the decision (Letter “d”, point 2, article 19/8, of law no.10018, dated 13.11.2008, On the State Advocate”, as amended).

There are no other legal provisions found in this chapter regarding the realization of the right to public information during the process of execution of ECtHR decisions against Albania at the national level. Therefore, the State Advocate’s Office decides what should be made public in the public communications it decides to broadcast on issues related to the execution of ECtHR decisions against Albania.

The possible public requests for information related to this execution process is regulated according to Law no. 119/2014 "On the Right to Information". Based on this current regulatory framework, the impression is created that the legislator has left the legal burden to the public body itself, in this case, the State Advocate, to establish a good administrative practice to achieve maximum transparency of institutional activities for the execution of ECHR decisions against Albania at the national level.

The legislation in force does not provide sufficient guarantees for a transparent and accountable process for the execution of ECHR decisions against Albania, and on the other hand, the periodic reports of the State Advocate’s Office presented to the Parliament of Albania identify in their content a lack of transparency as it belongs to the progress of the execution of ECHR decisions against Albania, year after year and in their overall framework.

Lack of transparency of State Advocate's Office

Although Article 19/9 of Law no. 10018, provides that the State Advocate’s Office submits a report at least once a year to the Permanent Commission on Legal Issues, Public Administration, and Human Rights of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, on the execution of ECtHR decisions and the measures taken in this regard, the access that the public may and should have to this type of public information is not expressly regulated in this law. Therefore, there is a need to include this obligation in the relevant regulatory legislation.

Insufficient level of engagement of Albanian state

Interventions and changes in legislation to prevent and reduce unreasonable delays in the judicial process, defined as violations under Article 6/1 of the ECHR, are not proven to have had effects, mainly due to the fact that civil, administrative, or criminal courts operate with significantly reduced judicial capacity. 

Regarding the responsible structures for executing decisions, there is no evidence of disciplinary action being initiated in cases of failure to implement decisions issued by the ECtHR against Albania in recent years.

Even though only one case related to non-execution of ECtHR decisions has been submitted for consideration to the PA Institution, the situation regarding the execution of the decisions of the ECHR against the Albanian State carries numerous issues concerning in the effective implementation. In the information provided by the State Advocate, it is confirmed that there are 67 decisions under ongoing monitoring by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for which the State Advocate has submitted information, action plans or action reports.

• Strengthening the legal framework, establishing clear procedures with deadlines and sanctions and providing assurance that the state authorities have the institutional capacity to effectively implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, since the current legislation does not provide the measures/actions for the mandatory execution of the decisions, or imposing sanctions against entities obstructing the execution process.
• Ensuring that the processes for implementing the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights are transparent and accountable to the public, including issuing regular reports on their progress and engaging with civil society organizations to monitor and evaluate their efforts.

Monitoring

The PA recommends that the responsibility of initiating, coordinating and monitoring of the execution process of ECtHR’s decisions against Albania should be assigned to a structure or another state institution. A reliable actor at the national level for the execution of ECtHR decisions could be an independent institution, with its institutional activity focused on the framework of the protection and respect of human rights. 

Awareness raising

• The organization of awareness sessions with key officials of institutions responsible for the execution of court decisions, in order to facilitate the adoption of a culture of zero tolerance towards the deliberate non-execution of court decisions.

Training

• The organization of training sessions for selected officials, depending on the specific problems for each country, including but not limited to judges, prosecutors, bailiffs, social workers and representatives of various ministries, on the requirements of the ECHR in the field of execution of judicial decisions, as well as the importance and consequences of non-execution.

Media freedom

PA emphasizes that violent or even obstructing actions against journalists, physical or psychological, endanger the rights to personal integrity, life and freedom of thought and expression. The cases that occurred were recorded by PA during the year 2023. 

PA is handling the case of E.Q, a journalist of Ora News, who claims that the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime and the Special Court of First Instance against Corruption and Crime Organized have violated his rights as a professional journalist. He has been subjected to unlawful personal, residential, vehicle and workplace controls, seizing work equipment and electronic data (phones, computers, USB, etc.) PA in May 2024 issued a special report on this matter.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, established under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in the letter dated January 17, 2024 has imposed a suspensive measure, sent to the Albanian state under Article 94 of the Committee's procedural rules, to prohibit any inspection, distribution or judicial processing of the material seized from the complainant while the matter is under review by the Committee.

The PA has previously reviewed several cases where State Police officers hindered media workers to perform their duties during the monitoring of gatherings or presence at various events. In few cases they were escorted in police stations and in one case their photographic equipment well as data were sequestered or deleted among other actions. 

Regarding the latter, the PA has specifically recommended that the State Police structure take several concrete measures for the investigation and prevention of cases involving the accompanying of journalists in the future; guaranteeing the right to exercise the profession and report events by media workers present at gatherings or other activities of this nature; initiate administrative procedures for police officers who commit violations against journalists and media workers; ongoing training of police officers in order to allow journalists to carry out their profession and mission. (See here, here and here).

PA has continuously given special importance to the rights of journalists and has built a close cooperation with the media. The challenge lies in the institutions respecting the informative mission of journalists and, of course, putting an end to the culture of intimidation or attacks on journalists. On the other hand, it is necessary for the media community to understand the importance of its mission and protect it from abuse.

The commitment of the Albanian authorities must also guarantee protective measures so that media workers and journalists work in safe environments. These authorities include not only police authorities, but also other authorities and agencies that exercise law enforcement activities such as local government institutions. Attacks against journalists and other media actors constitute serious human rights violations because they target not only individuals, but also deprive others of their right to receive information, thus limiting public debate, which is at the heart of pluralistic democracy.

Justice system

The PA institution counts the establishment of new judicial bodies and considers that the establishment of a qualitative and functional judicial power is an obligation to Albanian citizens to create a balance of powers and to strengthen the rule of law. Subsequently, the PA has followed all developments related to the drafting and approval of the new judicial map as well as its implementation throughout the year 2023.

PA has presented amicus curiae at the request of the Constitutional Court for the case presented by the petitioner 'National Bar Association, with the object: "Repeal as incompatible with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, Decision no. 495, dated 21.07.2022 of Council of Ministers "On the reorganization of the judicial districts and the powers of courts". In its opinion sent to the Constitutional Court, PA pointed out that the approved judicial map violates access to justice in the interpretation of Article 42 of the Constitution, and therefore, it should be revised, being evaluated from the perspective of guaranteeing citizens' access to justice, as in courts of first instance (of general jurisdiction and administrative ones) and in appeal courts.

PA assessed that the implementation of the new map does not improve access to justice at all; on the contrary, it undermines this principle, resulting in increased costs for citizens and a decrease in the quality of services provided.

The Constitutional Court on 27.12.2023, decided with a majority vote the dismissal of the request, regarding the claim of violation of the individual's right of access to the court. The Court found that there is a limitation, but this intervention does not violate the principle of proportionality. In balancing the public interest in relation to the individual's right of access, the Court did not find such consequences that would make the exercise of this right impossible.

During 2023, with regard to implementation of the new judicial map, the PA concluded that:

• the number of judges has been significantly lower in comparison to the number that should be effectively present in some courts of the country (of first instance and of appeal);
• significant delays in adjudicating cases
• delays in the reasoning of judicial decisions, whether civil or criminal, leading to delays in notifying the parties and exercising the right of appeal or recourse to the Supreme Court. These delays have had a significant impact on the category of pre-trial detainees (infringing several rights enjoyed by convicted citizens and, on the other hand, contributing to overcrowding of these institutions).

On February 1, 2023, the Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction began its operation, while the activity of the other 5 appeal courts was discontinued on January 31, 2023. This court has 78 approved judges, but at the end of December 2023, it had only 25 judges, as well as a backlog of cases accumulated from the closed courts awaiting adjudication.

PA believes that the access to justice has been worsened in the last year and the active measures by the competent authorities have not been successful.

Treatment of persons with mandatory medical measures accommodated in penitentiary institutions

Over the years, the PA has given special importance to the supervision of the respect for the rights and freedoms of persons suffering from illnesses and mental health disorders with medical measures, who have been detained in the Institution of Execution of Criminal Decisions as well as in a Special Institution of Health Care in Prisons (Prison Hospital), Tirana, or in specialized care sectors within institutions for the execution of criminal sentences, as well as in hospitals/psychiatric wards with beds.

Law no. 44/2012 "On Mental Health" has clearly defined that the health treatment for persons with mental health disorders, regardless of the criminal offense they have committed and for whom the competent court has imposed the measure of "compulsory treatment" or "compulsory hospitalization", must be carried out in a Special Medical Institution, part of the integrated health system, and not in the institutions of the penitentiary system. 

The PA has recommended during 2023 the adoption of necessary measures by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, to promptly address the situation of persons with mental health problems, who are treated in Special Institution of Health Care in Prisons in Tirana in violation of the law, in psychiatric wards that are administered by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, until the establishment of special medical institutions as defined by law no. 44/2012 "On Mental Health", as amended.

Pre-trial detention

Albania has a very high number of detainees. About 60% of the population in prisons are pre-detained, while compared to other countries of the Council of Europe, this percentage varies on average up to 25%. There are a number of reasons for this high number of detainees. Courts, although it is a serious measure, widely use the measure of detention. Likewise, the long time of trial against pre-detained individuals affects their stay in these conditions, thus influencing the increase of the total number of pre-detained individuals. They should take meaningful actions to reduce the number of pre-detentions. The presumption of innocence is a fundamental right.

The problem of overcrowding in prisons has also been brought to attention in the findings of the CPT Report made public on 12.01.2024, after the visits made to several institutions of deprivation of liberty in Albania, from May 4 to May 15, 2023.

According to the CPT, Albanian authorities should prioritize measures aimed at fundamentally addressing the problem of prison overcrowding to definitively put an end to this phenomenon. In particular, significant efforts should be made to limit the use of pre-trial detention measures (pre-trial detention as a security measure with imprisonment) and to reduce the time spent by prisoners in pre-trial detention facilities, aiming to halt the continued increase in the pre-trial detainee population and reverse the trend. The CPT recommends that the Albanian authorities double their efforts to combat overcrowding in prisons, taking into account the relevant recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Rights of vulnerable communities

One of the priorities of PA has been and remains the monitoring of the living conditions of vulnerable groups, specifically the Roma and Egyptian communities located in all local self-government units, as well as the measures taken to meet their basic needs and improve their livelihoods. 

PA has recommended to the Municipalities on a district basis, the drafting and approval of strategic documents at the local level (local development plans), in order to define objectives and predict the taking of concrete measures, in accordance with the existing legal basis in force, in the spirit of the fight against "anti-gypsyism" and for the realization of the real integration process of the Roma and Egyptian communities, who live in the administrative territory administered by these Municipalities.

• Necessary amendments should be made in the PA organic law in order to be in full compliance with international standards, Paris’ Principles and Venice’s, Principles. 
• National policies should have an effective approach to guarantee full respect of human rights and strengthening the PA’s role in following up their implementation.
• Public administration bodies’ obligation to implement the PA’s recommendations should be enforced.

Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) recommendations

The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IHROBiH) was the subject of the TAIEX mission in late 2022. The goal was to examine the institutional framework of independent supervisory or regulatory institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within which these institutions perform their competences. The mission ultimately issued recommendations to IHROBiH with regard to good administration, human rights and equality bodies (12 recommendations) and regarding access to information (7 recommendations). At their session, the ombudspersons passed a Conclusion on the appointment of a working group for the creation of an Action Plan for dealing with the report of the TAIEX Mission. A lot of time has passed since the drafting of the Mission Report, and in the meantime certain recommendations have been acted upon, especially in the part that concerns the publicity of IHROBiH’s work and responsibility and in the part that concerns the qualitative assessment and conclusions of IHROBiH through the preparation of the 2023 Annual Report. Also, greater attention is paid to the importance and publicity of the issued recommendations and the recommendations are available on the IHROBiH website.

Human rights protection and promotion mandate

IHROBiH, in accordance with the provisions of the Law, within its promotional activities advocates for the ratification of international human rights standards, including protocols to conventions, and regularly submit observations on the application of conventions to competent UN bodies. The last submission was submitted to the Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (CESCR) and the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Finalisation of the Universal Periodic Report for the 4th reporting cycle is underway.

Measures taken by the competent authorities in order to implement the IHROBiH recommendations regarding the rule of law (issued as part of the ENNHRI Report on the State of the Rule of Law in Europe for 2023):

• Adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (The Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina no 61/23) and assigning the mandate of the PM to IHROBiH.
• Decision of the Finance and Budget Commission of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the allocation of the final amount of IHROBiH budget (basic budget and Annex for NPM).
• Adoption of a strategic framework for cooperation with civil society organisations (annual planning of thematic and systemic consultations).

It is worth noting that IHROBiH, within the framework of system monitoring, defined a strategy that will deal with the low level of implementation of the issued recommendations. The preparation and publication of this Analysis is in the final stage and will be available on the IHROBiH website.

In 2019 IHROBiH made recommendations with the aim of solving specific systemic problems of the rule of law, specifically on the topic of the situation in detention facilities in certain police administrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The general recommendations addressed to the Government of the Republika Srpska, the Government of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government of Sarajevo Canton, the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton, the Government of Central Bosnia Canton, the Government of Tuzla Canton and the Government of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton were:

• To allocate the necessary budget funds in order to implement the recommendations of IHROBiH sent to the competent ministries of the interior regarding the necessary adaptations of detention facilities (in accordance with and modelled on the standards provided for in the European Prison Rules), which also includes the installation of video surveillance for the purpose of control and prevention of undesirable behaviour or self-injury of persons deprived of their liberty, paying special attention to the arrangement of cameras (cameras should be positioned in corridors leading to detention rooms/cells and should not cover the so-called wet node);
• To allocate the budget funds needed for the employment of additional staff - authorised officials in police administrations/stations, in accordance with the established systematization of workplaces;
• To organise continuous, specialized and licensed training, which will meet the highest domestic and international standards in this field, as part of the professional development of authorized officials who deal with persons deprived of their liberty.

In 2023, IHROBiH prepared a follow-up report in which they stated that the recommendations sent to the competent authorities and institutions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska were fully or partially complied with, while for some the execution is planned through annual plans and programmes. Those that could not be followed, the reasons for that have been explained

The NHRI of Bosnia and Herzegovina was last reaccredited with A-status in May 2024. During this reaccreditation, the SCA acknowledged the amendments made to the enabling law of the NHRI, in line with several previous recommendation of the SCA. 

The following recommendations were issued for the upcoming 5-year period.

Human rights mandate

The SCA notes that the mandate of the IHROBH does not encompass the acts or omissions of private entities beyond its anti-discrimination mandate. The IHROBH reported that, in practice, it does address human rights violations by private entities through the positive obligation of the State to prevent human rights violations, including by private actors. It also reported that when it receives complaints in respect of private entities, it references the complaints to the relevant bodies. 

The SCA encourages the IHROBH to further develop its work in addressing private entities and recommends that the IHROBH advocate for a mandate that explicitly includes the ability to address all human rights violations resulting from the acts and omissions of private entities. The SCA refers to Paris Principles A.1, A.2, and A.3 and to its General Observation 1.2 ‘Human rights mandate’. 

Cooperation with civil society organisations

Article 36a of the Law mandates the IHROBH to hold regular and topical consultations with civil society organizations. The IHROBH reports that it regularly cooperates with civil society organizations. However, the SCA notes that the extent of this cooperation could be further improved to include more proactive outreach to a broad range of civil society organisations, including on issues relating to health and environmental rights. The SCA is of the view that regular and constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders is essential for NHRIs to effectively fulfil their mandate. NHRIs should develop, formalize, and maintain working relationships a wide range of civil society organizations. 

The SCA encourages the IHROBH to continue and strengthen its cooperation with a wide range of civil society organizations and human rights defenders. The SCA refers to Paris Principles C(f) and (g) and to its General Observation 1.5 on ‘Cooperation with other human rights bodies’.

Recommendations by NHRIs

The IHROBH reports that it has made various recommendations through its advice, annual, and thematic reports. However, the SCA notes there has been inadequate response to its recommendations by relevant State authorities. In fulfilling its mandate, an NHRI should undertake rigorous and systematic follow-up activities to promote and advocate for the implementation of its recommendations and findings, and the protection of those whose rights have been found to be violated. Public authorities are encouraged to respond to recommendations from NHRIs in a timely manner, and to provide detailed information on practical and systematic follow up action, as appropriate, to the NHRI recommendations.

SCA recommends that the IHROBH continue to conduct follow-up activities to monitor the extent to which their recommendations have been implemented, including through its Special Report on the Implementation of IHROBH Recommendations. The SCA refers to Paris Principles A.3(a), C(c), and D(d), and to its General Observation 1.6 on ‘Recommendations by NHRIs’. 

Adequate funding 

The SCA acknowledges that the IHROBH is now mandated to be involved in the budgetary process and that its staff and budget have increased since its last review in 2017. However, the IHROBH reports that the current level of funding is insufficient to meet its operational and human resources needs, including recruitment and retention of staff under comparable conditions and benefits as other civil servants performing similar tasks in independent institutions. In addition, the IHROBH reports that its premises are not accessible to persons with disabilities. The SCA reiterates that, to function effectively, an NHRI must be provided with an appropriate level of funding to guarantee its ability to freely determine its priorities and activities. Provision of adequate funding by the State should, at a minimum, include the following: a) The allocation of funds for premises, which are accessible to the wide community, including for persons, including for persons with disabilities. In certain circumstances, in order to promote independence and accessibility, this may require that offices are not co-located with government agencies; b) Salaries and benefits awarded to staff comparable to those of civil servants performing similar tasks in other independent institutions of the State; and c) The allocation of a sufficient amount of resources for mandated activities. Where the NHRI has been designated with additional responsibilities by the State, additional financial resources should be provided to enable it to assume the responsibilities of discharging these functions.

The SCA recommends that the IHROBH continue to advocate for an appropriate level of funding to effectively carry out the breadth of its mandate including its anti-discrimination mandate and newly established NPM mandate. In addition, the SCA recommends the IHROBH advocate for sufficient funding to ensure an accessible office space, and to enable the recruitment and retention of staff with salaries and benefits comparable to civil servants discharging similar functions. The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.2 and to its General Observation 1.10 on ‘Adequate funding of NHRIs’. 

Term of office 

Pursuant to Art.10 paragraph 1 of the Law the Ombudsmen are appointed for a six-year renewable term. The Law is silent on the number of times a member can be re-appointed, which leaves open the possibility of unlimited tenure. To promote institutional independence, the SCA is of the view that it would be preferable for the term of office to be limited to one re-appointment. 

The SCA recommends that the IHROBH continues to advocate for amendments to its enabling legislation to provide for such limits on the term of office. The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.3 and to its General Observation 2.2 on ‘Full-time members of an NHRI’.

Adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the basis of Article IV. 4. a), and in connection with Article II. 1 of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the 10th session of the House of Representatives, held on 22 August 2023, and at the 8th session of the House of Peoples, held on 30 August 2023, adopted the Law on Amendments of the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (LALHROBiH) (BiH OG, no 61/230), which entered into force on 14 September 2023. Thus, some of the recommendations of the GANHRI Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) from the previous reaccreditation cycle were adopted, when the 'A' status of the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IHROBiH) was confirmed.

In 2023, IHROBiH started a new cyclical process of reaccreditation, within which the issue of implementing the recommendations from the previous cycle will be considered (financial independence, establishment of the mandate of an independent preventive mechanism, formalisation of working relations with other human rights organisations and domestic institutions, primarily civil society organisations companies, and appointments and dismissals).

The Institution on 1st May 2024 attended the final online interview at the SCA GANHRI Subcommittee. On 9 May 2024 the Institution received an information letter that SCA recommends that the IHROBH be re-accredited with “A” status as well as the recommendations abovementioned.

Financial independence

Certain legal provisions stipulate the obligation to ensure the functional independence and financial independence of IHROBiH. The financial independence of IHROBiH has not yet been ensured, although IHROBiH is advocating (with national and international stakeholder) for the full implementation of this recommendation.

Article 5, paragraph 1 and 2 of the Law: "According to the Act on the Financing the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which regulate the procedures for the preparation of medium-term planning, the preparation and drafting of framework budget documents and the draft annual budget, the Institution prepares a budget request that is submitted in the form of a draft to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina by 1 August of the current year for the following year. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to prepare an opinion on the submitted request of the Institution by August 20 of the current year, which submits its budget request with the opinion of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Commission for Finance and Budget of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Joint to the Commission for Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Article 5, paragraph 5 of the Law: "The approved budget must ensure the functional independence of the Institution and its functioning without additional conditions."

Mandate of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM)

The mandate and powers of the NPM are clearly established in the Law.

Article 4a: “(7) Within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this Law, IHROBiH adopts a rulebook on the performance of preventive mechanism tasks, which regulates the selection criteria and conditions, as well as the way of work of independent experts and civil society organisations in the field of human rights.

(8) The rulebook from paragraph 7 of this article is published in The Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as on the IHROBiH website.”

Formalisation of working relations with other human rights organisations and domestic institutions, primarily civil society organisations

Article 36a. The law stipulates that IHROBiH, with the aim of protecting and promoting human rights and freedoms, holds regular and thematic consultations with civil society organisations, international organisations, and independent experts as well as bodies of the academic community. IHROBiH had an established practice of cooperation with civil society and adopted by-laws, including the Platform for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations, but the SCA's position was that this practice must also be prescribed by law (which is the case now).

The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the 10th session of the House of Representatives, held on 22 August 2023, and at the 8th session of the House of Peoples, held on 30 August 2023, adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which entered into force on September 14, 2023.

By adopting the Law, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: PABiH), acting in accordance with Article 17 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, created a legal framework for the establishment of a national preventive mechanism (NPM). The adoption of the legal framework requires measures to be taken in order to establish the NPM, the prerequisite for which is the creation of financial planning in such a way that a budget item for this purpose is planned in the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the budget of IHROBiH. In the last quarter of 2023, extraordinary efforts were made by the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives of the PABiH, IHROBiH and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina (MFT) to secure funds for this purpose, and in accordance with the newly adopted procedure for the adoption of IHROBiH's budget. The adoption of the budget is a prerequisite for taking further actions on the establishment of the NPM. The Finance and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina informed the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina that at the 17th session held on December 21, 2023, it considered and unanimously approved the Draft Budget of the Institution for 2024 in the total amount of 3,556,000 KM, with 396,000 KM of that amount related to the program activity: Development of a functional Preventive mechanism to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading procedures and punishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The state authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not provide a favourable environment for the independent and independent operation of IHROBiH, specifically in the context of financial independence (which jeopardises and limits the independent operation of IHROBiH) and the absence of effective cooperation mechanisms in order to implement (non-observed) recommendations. Finding effective mechanisms for solving the issue of implementation of the IHROBiH recommendations is ongoing.

IHROBiH budget

The IHROBiH mandate, in addition to dealing with complaints and individual procedures initiated ex officio, also includes monitoring and preventive action. The UN Paris Principles indicate the importance of an institution having as broad a mandate as possible in its actions: independence and pluralism and established cooperation with authorities, civil society, international organisations and other stakeholders. IHROBiH should be provided with funding, personnel, infrastructure and institutional capacities to perform functions within its jurisdiction and fulfil all responsibilities.

According to Article 39 of the Law and Article 15 of the Amendments to the Law (2006) and the Act on Financing the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, IHROBiH prepares a draft budget allocation request to the MFT by 1 August every year. The IHROBiH budget is included in the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose draft law is approved by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CoMBiH). It is then forwarded to the PABiH for approval. As per the 2023 Amendments to the Law, the MFT is obligated to prepare an opinion on the budget allocation request of IHROBiH, which then submits the opinion and draft budget allocation request to the Finance and Budget Commission of the House of Representatives of the PABiH and the Joint Commission for Human Rights of the PABiH. The committees express their opinion on the submitted budget allocation request, and the MFT is obligated to include the IHROBiH budget in the Draft Act on the Budget of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the recommendations of the aforementioned commissions. If the recommendations from the statements of the commissions are not identical, the opinion of the Finance and Budget Commission of the House of Representatives of the PABiH is relevant. The CoMBiH and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot reduce the budget of IHROBiH after the statements of the commissions. The budget can only be reduced at this point if the regulations governing the rights and obligations concerning certain expenditure items for all institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina are amended. Article 39, paragraph 3 of the Law states that the determination of the amount of financing for IHROBiH shall be primarily based on the need to ensure complete, independent and efficient performance of duties, their nature, volume and other conditions defined by separate laws.

The 2024 budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet been adopted, and thus neither the IHROBiH budget. The ombudspersons had intensive consultations with the Finance Commission of the House of Representatives of the PABiH and the Joint Commission for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, according to the Amendments to the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, determine the IHROBiH budget. The result of those consultations is that the 2024 IHROBiH draft budget contains a budget item for PM in the amount according to the IHROBiH projection. When it comes to the funds needed by the anti-discrimination mandate, these funds were not approved, although IHROBiH has regularly expressed this need in its budget allocation requests and pointed to the legal obligation prescribed by the Prohibition of Discrimination Act of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In order to ensure appropriate independent financing, the ombudspersons attended the 16th session of the Finance and Budget Commission of the House of Representatives of the PABiH, where, inter alia, the IHROBiH Draft Budget was discussed, and the 17th session of the Finance and Budget Commission of the House of Representatives of the PABiH, where the 2024 IHROBiH Draft Budget was discussed. The listed activities, in addition to the already highlighted goal, also aim to remove all obstacles and create financial autonomy of the Institution.

Human rights protection mandate

Government institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina should provide full support to IHROBiH, especially in the domain of accepting and acting on the recommendations by competent authorities (the first mandate of IHROBiH- protection of human rights) and other protection mechanisms and strengthening cooperation. After the discussion on the 2022 Annual Report, the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the IHROBiH Initiative to prepare a report on the Analysis of the Implementation of Recommendations, which aims to determine the strategic action of the implementation of the recommendations. This report is in the final stage of implementation, and the very process of its creation significantly slowed down the implementation of a large number of recommendations. The results of the analysis of the implementation of recommendations sent to the competent authorities in the period 2022 - 30 June 2023 indicate that the implementation of IHROBiH recommendations is much higher, but that the competent authorities do not provide information on this within the established deadlines. The analysis will be submitted to the legislative bodies and presented to the public in the first quarter of 2024. The activities on the preparation of the Analysis also had a positive effect among the bodies that in the previous period ignored IHROBiH recommendations. Furthermore, in the responses in most cases, the competent authorities informed IHROBiH about the reasons for not acting on the recommendations, which shed new light on certain cases (lack of funding for implementation, the existence of preconditions on the part of another authority, court proceedings, etc.), and all that has an impact on the issue of implementation of the individual recommendation by the responsible authority. However, the fact is that the authorities did not timely inform IHROBiH about the numerous reasons why the recommendations had not been implemented, as well as about the subsequent issuance of the recommendation, as they were obliged to do. All of the above indisputably indicates the necessity of continuous monitoring of the level of implementation of the recommendations issued by IHROBiH. The actions of IHROBiH and the bodies to which the recommendations are issued represent the most efficient and painless way of preventing and correcting any injustices before irreversible damage occurs. This also guarantees that there will be no expensive and lengthy court proceedings for the protection and realisation of individual rights, which can represent a far greater burden for all parties to the proceedings, in contrast to the proceedings before IHROBiH, which are free, less formal and adapted to the specific circumstances of each individual case.

IHROBiH undertakes the analysis of laws and by-laws (in order to identify the implications for human rights and makes recommendations for their amendment), submits initiatives for amendments to laws (six initiatives in 2023), undertakes advocacy initiatives aimed at the adoption of new and amendments to existing laws (with the aim of improving the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms), holds consultative meetings with representatives of public authorities (on how to improve laws and their compliance with human rights standards), opens ex officio cases to consider improving laws of public authorities and forms ad hoc working groups to work on proposals and improvements to the law.

Human rights promotion mandate

With the entry into force of the Law, IHROBiH received a protective and promotional mandate. In accordance with Article 1 paragraph 1 of the Law, IHROBiH has a mandate to promote good governance, the rule of law and the protection of rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international agreements listed in the appendix to the Constitution.

With the adoption of the Amendments to the Law, cooperation was determined and Article 36a. prescribed that, with the aim of protecting and promoting human rights and freedoms, IHROBiH will hold regular and thematic consultations with civil society organisations, international organisations, and independent experts as well as bodies of the academic community. IHROBiH ombudspersons and staff, aware of their mandate from Article 1 of the Law related to the promotional mandate, organise a series of events, especially consultations with civil society, participate in gatherings organised by other entities (with their active participation, they contribute to raising awareness of human rights standards), actively hold lectures at faculties, participate in student competitions in the jury, etc. In 2022, IHROBiH adopted the IHROBiH Criteria for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations (which is publicly available) as well as documents related to cooperation with civil society.

An important mechanism for raising awareness is certainly the use of the media. Through their media appearances and responses to media requests, ombudspersons contribute to raising awareness of human rights standards. All information about these ombudspersons’ activities is available in the Annual Report in the chapter entitled "Cooperation with the Media". Also, observing the achieved cooperation of IHROBiH with the non-governmental sector and civil society - it takes place continuously to promote of human rights and raise awareness of human rights norms (especially in the areas of protection against discrimination, children's rights, fight against corruption, trafficking, violence against women and freedom of access to information). In 2023, three consultative meetings with civil society organisations were held: in Sarajevo (on 13 April 2023, a total of 24 organisations participated), Mostar (on 5 May 2023, a total of 14 organisations participated) and Banja Luka (on 18 May 2023, a total of 14 organisations participated) to which all associations active in those communities were invited. The topic of the meetings was the role and position of the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina and civil society organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, possible and sustainable concepts of providing mutual support, as well as positive aspects of cooperation in terms of protection and advocacy approach. IHROBiH is determined, in accordance with the available funds, to continue with this practice. Cooperation with the academic community is becoming more and more intense, where ombudspersons, as experts from practice, give lectures for students, participate in juries in human rights competitions, etc. Taking part in all gatherings organised by civil society is a way of exchanging information about the state of human rights, but also an awareness of the need for ombudspersons to intervene in order to prevent or prevent human rights violations.

In practice, IHROBiH concluded several agreements on cooperation with universities in order to hold guest lectures in the field of human rights. IHROBiH also issues press releases that are available on the website.

IHROBiH also engaged in promotional activities in various thematic areas such as: violence against women, torture, national minorities, climate change, the position of human rights defenders, the Freedom of Information Act, the rights of migrants and many others.

• Establishment of cooperation with the legislative authority in order to systematically improve the number of complied with recommendations.
• Establishment of cooperation with competent administrative inspectorates at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Ensuring the financial independence of the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Establishment of a continuous system of education of civil servants in the field of human rights.

There is no evidence of erosion of the separation of powers, reduction of the accountability of state authorities nor impact on the fairness of the electoral process.

In one case (case number: Ž-BL-08-31/24), IHROBiH found that the Centre for the Environment from Banja Luka stated that it did not have enough time to prepare for the public debate on the draft Act on Geological Surveys, given that the deadline for submitting comments was extremely short for such a complex law.

The Data Protection & Digital Information Bill makes some amendments to the structure and governance of the Information Commission’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection authority. While these changes are fairly uncontroversial, the Bill also makes a number of changes to the UK’s General Data Protection Regulations. These changes include increasing the circumstances in which automated decision-making is permitted, give data controllers increased ability to refuse subject access requests, removing the need for data processors to carry out a balancing test to consider the impact on data subjects and remove the requirement to undertake a Data Protection Impact Assessment for high-risk data processing. Taken cumulatively and especially in the context of an increasingly data-driven world, these changes amount to significant weakening of individual data rights and will likely reduce the effectiveness of the UK data protection regime. The Bill also gives power to the Secretary of State to make a statement of strategic priorities which the ICO must have regard to.  

In its work, IHROBiH has come across the practice of certain authorities that act contrary to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts on FOI requests and that in such cases IHROBiH issues recommendations in order to bring the actions of these authorities back into the legal framework.

When it comes to statistical data related to access to information, there is a noticeable decrease in the number of complaints received. During 2023, 275 complaints were received (308 complaints in 2022), which is a decrease of 10.71%. In the area of access to information, 70 recommendations were issued. The most common grounds for complaints by the complainants, as in the previous period, related to complaints indicating the authorities’ failure to take decisions on the requests received, i.e. deciding on the requests after the expiry of the legal term in 92 complaints, refusal of access to information in 27 complaints, inadequate determination of exceptions and implementation of the public interest test and violation of the right to a two-instance procedure. What is noticeable in the reporting period is the reduced number of complaints indicating a violation of the law at the state level, where mostly complaints were filed under the old Freedom of Information Act in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In relation to the new law, a smaller number of cases (case numbers: Ž-BL-05-453/2.; Ž-SA-05-1195/23) were received, which are exclusively considered according to the provisions of the Law on Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, considering that according to the new Freedom of Information Act, ombudspersons do not have a mandate to act on them.

Civil society organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: CSOs) 

CSOs continue to proactively advocate locally and fight for women's rights, against corruption, the rights of LGBTIQ persons, migrants, environmental protection and other important issues. Those CSOs that provide assistance, support and services to vulnerable groups should receive appropriate public funds (here, we primarily mean women's associations in providing support to the most threatened and vulnerable categories of society, including victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence). At the state level, there is no legal the framework that regulates volunteering, while it is regulated in the entities and Brčko District.

Freedom of association

Freedom of association is generally respected. However, human rights defenders dealing with sensitive issues (e.g. fight against corruption, women's rights, LGBTIQ rights, migrants, environmental protection) are still exposed to threats, harassment, verbal abuse and physical attacks.

Freedom of assembly

The inconsistency of laws at the state level (it is necessary to use the 2020 Brčko District Act as a model because it is largely in line with European standards) are noticeable when dealing with freedom of assembly.

Minorities 

There is an inadequate protection and increased risk of poverty among minority groups, especially the Roma population. Activities implementing the Action Plan for the Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2021-2025 (which includes the collection of data on situations of discrimination and anti-Gypsyism, organisation of education for the promotion of Roma rights, preparation of special reports) continued to be carried out. Current problems faced by minorities include the lack of personal documents, domestic violence, early and underage marriages, human trafficking, labour exploitation of children, low level of education (there are no classes in the Romani language or teaching of the Romani language in schools). There is still a widespread employment discrimination and high unemployment rate. Although a road map to end statelessness has been drawn up, no further steps have been taken to remove administrative obstacles (recognition of documents for children born abroad, residency requirement due to birth registration and access to healthcare and education).

In the course of 2023, the Institution of IHROBiH held 3 consultation meetings in Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Mostar with CSOs where they discussed current problems and modalities of further action in order to solve them. 

• Ensure non-discriminatory, inclusive and quality education for all.
• Develop a comprehensive strategic framework on human rights and minority protection, including transitional justice. 
• Adopt a comprehensive framework for the promotion and enforcement of human rights, including nationwide strategies on human rights, non-discrimination and protection of minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Ensure compliance with the recommendations from the fourth review cycle of the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities from November 2017. Increase the activity of the Council of National Minorities in terms of developing practical, legislative and other initiatives.
• Ensure full respect, protection and promotion of freedom of assembly, association and expression.
• Harmonise and improve legislation against domestic violence and gender-based violence in order to meet international standards.

Law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina are planning to introduce cameras that police officers will wear on their uniforms, which raises certain concerns in terms of right to privacy. The number of public services that require security checks has increased, especially those applied in the non-public sector.

There are no developments and no new activities regarding the implementation of ECtHR judgments. The judgment in the Hadžimejlić and others v. BiH case has not been implemented, but amendments to the Family Proceedings Act of the Federation of BiH, the Law on Non-Litigation Procedure of the Federation of BiH are underway with the aim of implementing the judgment.

In its proactive efforts, IHROBiH strives to point to the importance and advocate for the respect and implementation of ECtHR recommendations. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina still lacks a comprehensive political framework for the promotion and implementation of human rights, including country-wide strategies on human rights, non-discrimination and the protection of minorities throughout the country. Consequently, the protection of human rights is still uneven throughout the country, and IHROBiH very often advocates the regulation of this area. IHROBiH registers an increased number of complaints regarding the rights of members of minorities.

• Ensure clear specification of responsible parties and measures necessary for implementation.

• Insistence that the authorities provide clear deadlines and plans for implementation.

• Distinction between the issue of enforcement of the judgments themselves and other issues connected with them.

The issue of gender equality 

The new Gender Equality Action Plan was adopted in October 2023. A certain number of cases of gender-based violence have led to the murder of women (femicide). These incidents revealed existing systemic deficiencies in the institutional response to gender-based violence. In particular, improvements are needed in the adoption and implementation of protective measures, continuous and comprehensive support for victims, legal assistance and safe accommodation. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, laws and public policies in the field of gender-based violence are not harmonised with international standards. Family proceedings acts, gender equality acts, acts on domestic violence and criminal codes at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina are partially harmonised with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Women with disabilities, in the legislation, are not recognised as a vulnerable category in the context of gender-based violence. Policies aimed at combating sex-based violence exist at the entity level, but do not provide for special measures aimed at members of the LGBTIQ population or Roma women. The difference in wages between women and men is still significant and amounts to around 25%. Maternity, paternity and parental leave still differ between entities and cantons.

Freedom of the media

IHROBiH highlights the non-compliance of entity legislation with the Act on Public Broadcasting System. In the area of print and online media, it is still necessary to adopt appropriate legal regulations governing these areas.

Freedom of expression 

It is necessary to harmonise the legislative framework with European and international standards or adopt a new one.

Fight against corruption

Insufficient progress was achieved. It is necessary to adopt the Draft Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with European standards. Legislation at the level of the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not harmonised. Absence of effective action by courts and prosecutor's offices in activities to prevent corruption.

Judiciary and the rule of law

There is a persistent problem of the length of court proceedings, difficulty in enforcing final and binding judgments, complaints against the actions and work of judges.

Some structural human rights issues impacting the national rule of law environment persist.

Rights of LGBTIQ persons

The Action Plan for the Improvement of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of LGBTIQ Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2021-2024 was adopted. No law on same-sex partnerships has been adopted. Progress is visible in the protection and support of the human rights of LGBTIQ persons, which resulted in the continuous holding of the pride parade in Sarajevo and the festival of queer culture and art.

Children's rights

The last Action Plan for Children was adopted for the period 2015-2018. In accordance with the Social Protection Act of the Republika Srpska, in 2023 the Government of the Republika Srpska adopted the Social Protection Strategy of the Republika Srpska for the period 2023-2029. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Act on Special Register of Persons Convicted by Final and Binding Judgements for Criminal Offences against Sexual Freedom and Morals against Minors has found support in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiH and is to be approved by the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the FBiH. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is still a problem of registering children whose parents are foreign citizens in the civil registers. 

In order to ensure the best interests of the child and to avoid institutionalisation, measures are needed to prevent family separation and provide foster care and alternative solutions, as well as support for children who leave care institutions at the age of 18. In the Republika Srpska, a new family proceedings act has entered into force, which defines the special protection of the child in such a way that in all matters concerning the child, everyone is obliged to be guided and act in accordance with the best interests of the child. The problem of child exploitation and child begging, which is not prohibited. Violence against children is still underreported. Some children are without mandatory health insurance. Data on violence against children and child poverty are not collected. The minimum working age in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 15 (in practice, it does not apply to children who work without formal employment). Roma children are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour. Children still make up a significant percentage of victims of human trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina and are subjected to sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced begging and child marriage. In 2023, IHROBiH prepared a Special Report on the Care of Children without Parental Care with a Special Focus on Institutions with Recommendations to the Competent Authorities. Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to strengthen child-friendly justice, including children belonging to minorities, migrant children and children with disabilities. Entity laws on juvenile justice are not fully implemented or mutually harmonised. The absence of special departments for juveniles during pre-trial detention in police stations remains a serious violation of international standards. The use of alternative measures needs to be strengthened to ensure that detention is only used as a measure of last resort. Only limited reintegration measures are available to minors after release from detention. Ombudspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been advocating the establishment of alimony funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, but the problem still exists.

Children with disabilities

They remain one of the most marginalised and stigmatised and excluded groups, facing discrimination, inadequate services (especially in the field of health and education). Many are still in institutions, which is a serious violation of their rights and international conventions. The law still allows persons with disabilities to be deprived of legal capacity in court proceedings. Greater involvement of the authorities is needed in the matter of the data collection system and solving problems such as access to education, health care and social assistance.

• Provide adequate humanitarian aid and protection and an efficient approach to obtaining asylum for asylum seekers and migrants.
• In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopt the Act on the Protection of the Right to Trial within a Reasonable Time.
• Under urgent procedure, develop and adopt the Strategy of deinstitutionalization and solving the issue of caring for children with developmental disabilities in the community.
• Adopt a new Action Plan for Children's Rights (last 2015-2018).
• Adopt a new Action Plan on women, peace and security, an effective monitoring mechanism and accountability system, as well as provide sufficient budget funds for the implementation of action plans. Finalize the drafting and adoption of laws on protection against domestic violence.
• Ensure the protection of the journalistic profession and systemic protection measures against threats and violence against journalists.
• Adopt laws on media ownership transparency.
• Adopt the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Institutions at the State Level (in accordance with European standards); harmonise the legislation of the entities and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina with international standards and best European practices; ensure adequate protection of persons reporting corruption; and adopt a new strategy and action plan for the fight against corruption at the state level.

The previous Rule of Law Report of the Public Defender’s Office (hereinafter PDO) mentioned that the Parliament of Georgia drafted the amendment to the Organic Law on Common Courts in order to fulfil the EU candidacy requirement regarding the judiciary. The legislative changes were adopted in June 2023, and, in November, the European Commission published a report assessing the progress made by Georgia. It regarded the progress as limited. The report reads as follows: “In June 2023, Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Common Courts and drafted additional amendments in September 2023 implementing some of the Venice Commission’s recommendations. However, the most important recommendations of the European Commission and of the Venice Commission as stated in its consecutive opinions (of March 2023 and October 2023), notably regarding reforming High Council of Justice (HCJ) and recommendations regarding the Supreme Court were not addressed. Namely, further broader reforms to ensure the full independence, accountability and impartiality of all judicial and prosecutorial institutions, especially the HCJ need to be undertaken in line with European standards and the recommendations of the Venice Commission. In particular, improvements and additional safeguards concerning the functioning and powers of the HCJ are needed and an effective right of appeal for the selection of Supreme Court judges should be ensured by clarifying the binding nature of the Supreme Court decision for the HCJ. A broad justice reform remains outstanding. In particular, reforms to ensure the full independence, accountability and impartiality of all judicial and prosecutorial institutions, especially the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General and the High Council of Justice (HCJ), need to be addressed. These Reforms need to be undertaken in line with European standards and the recommendations of the Venice Commission (Venice Commission)” (The European Commission, Georgia 2023 Report accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement policy, page 20). 

As noted in the previous Rule of Law Report, the PDO’s representatives engaged with the judicial reform working group established within the Parliament to address the EU candidacy requirement regarding the judicial system. Unfortunately, most of the PDO’s recommendations were not followed when drafting the amendment to the Organic Law on Common Courts. In December 2022, the PDO asked the OSCE/ODIHR to prepare a legal opinion on PDO’s proposals that had not been taken on board. In response, the OSCE/ODIHR published its “Note on Several Issues relating to Judicial Reform” in June 2023. According to the Note, “the questions raised by the then Public Defender of Georgia primarily aim at promoting greater legitimacy and credibility of the work and decisions of the High Council of the Judiciary (HCJ) in a context of allegations of lack of transparency and/or risk of corporatism, self-interest or cronyism within the said body. They also aim at enhancing the status, credibility, legitimacy, integrity, accountability and independence of judges, including of high-level judicial office-holders” (OSCE ODIHR, Note on Several Issues relating to Judicial Reform, June 2023, page 2). Moreover, the PDO engaged with various stakeholders to discuss challenges in the judicial system. The (former) Deputy Public Defender attended, for example, the 12th session of the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee in Brussels in June 2023 and spoke about, inter alia, the PDO’s involvement with the judicial reform working group. In September 2023, the Public Defender and the Deputies of the Public Defender held meetings with the officials from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Justice and representatives of various international organizations and discussed matters relating to the judiciary with them. Moreover, the Public Defender and First Deputy Public Defender took part in the Regional Conference on Improving the Rule of Law and Access to Justice for All in December 2023. At the event, they talked about topical issues pertaining to the judiciary. It is also noteworthy that, on February 20, 2024, the Deputies of the Public Defender took part in a working meeting held in Brussels, in the European Parliament, which dealt with the issues of the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the EU enlargement countries. The deputies provided Members of European Parliament with information about the PDO’s work in the area of the rule of law. 

As already mentioned, the amendment to the Organic Law on Common Courts that was adopted in June 2023 did not reflect most of the PDO’s recommendations. Only one recommendation was partially taken into account in the amendment. In particular, the PDO suggested reintroducing prosecution against a judge and his/her dismissal by decision of the Disciplinary Panel of Judges of Common Court as grounds for recusing a judge from hearing a case under article 45 of the Organic Law. The aforementioned amendment only provides for criminal prosecution as a ground for recusing a judge (paragraph 1 of article 45 of the amended Organic Law on Common Courts).  

Furthermore, the PDO’s recommendation to the Parliament to appoint non-judge members of the High Council of Justice has been partially implemented. Although all non-judge members were appointed, it seems doubtful that the newly selected members adequately, fully acknowledge fundamental problems within the judiciary (please view the video of the hearing of the Legal Issues Committee Part 1 from 2:34:53, in particular, 2:34:53-2:37:24, 2:37:26-2:40:03, 2:40:03-2:41:49, 2:41:49 – 2:44:57, 2:44:59-2:46:19, 2:46:20-2:48:24, 2:48:30, :50:43-2:53:50; the video of the hearing of the Legal Issues Committee Part 2 from 8:06, in particular, 8:06-20:50; the video of the hearing of the Legal Issues Committee Part 1 from 2:30:54, in particular, 2:30:54-2:32:34, 2:33:24-2:35:03, 2:35:04 – 2:37:37) and the appointments were carried out in a polarized environment.

The Office of the Public Defender of Georgia was last re-accredited with A-status in October 2018. 

Regarding its mandate, the SCA noted that the Anti-discrimination Law did not oblige private entities to provide information to the Public Defender and that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial discrimination expressed concerns that this may impact the PDO’s ability to effectively examine cases of discrimination. The SCA also encouraged the PDO to continue to advocate for amendments to the law to make the provision of information by private entities and individuals mandatory.  

Further, the SCA acknowledged that the PDO conducts follow-up activities to monitor the extent to which their recommendations have been implemented and encouraged the PDO to continue to do so. Further, the SCA encouraged the PDO to continue to ensure pluralism and diversity through its staff and cooperation with civil society.  

Moreover, acknowledging that the PDO had reported that there were efforts underway to amend the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament to provide detailed procedures for the selection of the Public Defender, the SCA encouraged the PDO to continue to advocate for amendments for the formalisation and application of a selection process that is fully compliant with SCA standards. 

Finally, the SCA encouraged the PDO to continue to advocate for the funding necessary to ensure it can effectively carry out its mandate, including their mandated capacities as the NPM under the OPCAT, and as monitoring mechanism under the CRPD. 

The Office of the Public Defender of Georgia has its re-accreditation scheduled for October 2024. 

The Office of the Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia (hereinafter referred to as “PDO”) was re-accredited with “A” status in 2018. The SCA made 5 recommendations for PDO to further enhance its effectiveness and independence. Below is a short summary of the work and efforts made by PDO to ensure compliance with the SCA recommendations. 

Anti-Discrimination Mandate

The SCA acknowledged that PDO has a broad mandate to promote and protect human rights, and that it exercises this mandate in practice, however, it was noted that the Anti-discrimination Law obliged public agencies to provide information to the Public Defender while private entities and individuals provided information to the Public Defender only on voluntary basis, and that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern that this may impact the ability of PDO to effectively examine cases of discrimination (CERD/C/GEO/CO/6-8). Therefore, the SCA encouraged PDO to continue to advocate for appropriate amendments to the Anti-discrimination Law to make mandatory the provision of information by private entities and individuals. 

Organic Law on Public Defender was amended in 2019.  According To amendments, in cases of discrimination Public Defender is entitled to request and immediately on no later than 10 days receive documents from natural persons, legal persons, other organizational entities, entities of persons without the status of legal person and entrepreneurs. Even though amendments were not made directly in Anti-Discrimination law, incorporating this provision in the Organic Law on Public Defender ensures that private entities and individuals are also obliged to provide requested information. 

Recommendations by NHRIs 

The SCA acknowledged that PDO prepares and publishes annual reports and conducts follow-up activities to monitor the extent to which the recommendations are implemented. The SCA encouraged PDO to continue to do so. Recently, a web system for monitoring the state of implementation of the recommendations/proposals issued by the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia has been developed and it works in test mode until December 2024. The primary purpose of the web system is to make the process of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations and proposals issued by the Public Defender of Georgia more flexible. The web system also aims to strengthen the accountability of public institutions to comply with the Public Defender's recommendations and proposals. In addition, one of the purposes of the web system is to provide complex statistical data on the Public Defender's recommendations and proposals. It is also worth noting the creation of an exhaustive institutional memory on the recommendations and proposals. An additional purpose of the web system is to raise the level of knowledge among the employees of the Parliament of Georgia about the state of implementation of the tasks enshrined in the resolution adopted by the Parliament based on the Public Defender's annual report. 

Pluralism and Diversity 

Considering that PDO is a single member NHRI, the SCA considered that pluralism and diversity should be used by such means, as ensuring a diverse staff complement and cooperation with diverse societal groups. Therefore, SCA encouraged PDO to continue to ensure pluralism and diversity through its staff complement and cooperation with civil society. 

Staffing and cooperation with civil society will be discussed in detail respectively in chapters 4.2 and 8.1, however, to sum up, it should be noted that staff of PDO consists of members from different social groups and recruitment process excludes any possibility of discrimination based on any ground. In addition, ethnic and religious minorities are represented in the work of the tolerance center, which has been operating under Public Defender since 2005. Apart from that, cooperation with Civil Society is ensured with formal and informal means. Civil Society is represented in all advisory councils established under PDO and is also involved in our work through ad hoc meetings that are held to discuss various issues related to PDO. Most recent example of this is the meetings that were organized by the Public Defender to discuss the future priorities of PDO and hear views and proposals from civil society, as well as meetings in the process of developing the strategy of PDO to ensure that the views and expectations of civil society is adequately incorporated in the future work of the Office. 

Selection and Appointment 

The SCA noted that the process of the selection and appointment of the Public Defender that was enshrined in the law in 2018 was not sufficiently broad and transparent and PDO needed to continue to advocate for amendments to ensure compliance with Paris Principle B.1. 

Since 2018, Organic Law on the Public Defender and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament has been amended several times.  

On June 3, 2018, the Parliament officially launched the deliberations on the new draft version of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. Public Defender of Georgia was actively working with the committees and with respective MPs to include comprehensive procedure for the selection and appointment. As a result, the procedure of the election of the Public Defender was removed from the Organic Law on Public Defender and incorporated in the Rules and Procedures of the Parliament. New Rules of Procedure of the Parliament was approved on 14 December 2018. The law incorporated amendments made during constitutional reform in 2017 stipulated that the Public Defender is elected by three fifths of the total number of members of parliament which ensures that the candidate is not elected by just one political group. In addition, in 2017 the term of office of the Public Defender was lengthened to 6 years and reelection of the same person for two consecutive terms is no longer possible. 

PDO has been advocating the necessity of relevant amendments in the regional and international fora as well. In particular, PDO has been actively involved in the work of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) in drafting the Recommendation on the development and strengthening of effective, pluralist, and independent national human rights institutions. At the meeting held in Strasbourg in September 2019 PDO was represented by the First Deputy Public Defender who emphasized the issue of the lack of selection criteria for Public Defender in Georgian legislation. Namely, she underlined that the election of the Public Defender is a purely political process, ensuring participation of political parties only, therefore in order to safeguard the principle of pluralism in the selection process, the process itself should be formalized and include the following set of requirements: 

• Publicizing vacancies broadly; 
• Maximizing the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualifications; 
• Promoting broad consultation and/or participation in the application, screening, selection, and appointment process; 
• Setting pre-determined, objective and publicly available criteria.

It should be underlined that the abovementioned meeting was attended by the representatives of the Georgian government. The aforesaid opinion was also shared directly via official communication with the CoE’s Director General and Secretary to the Committee of Ministers. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted a Recommendation on the development and strengthening of effective, pluralist, and independent national human rights institutions back in March 2021. Issues on the selection and the appointment criteria for the NHRIs have been included in the text of the Recommendation, namely, the appendix to the recommendation states that selection and appointment of the leadership of a national human rights institution should be merit-based, transparent and participatory to guarantee the independence and pluralist representation of these institutions as one of the criteria for strengthening the NHRIs. The importance of the implementation of this Committee of Ministers Recommendation on NHRIs has been raised by the Public Defender and First Deputy on numerous occasions during the meetings with CoE high level representatives, especially with regards to the standards on the selection and appointment of the Public Defender.  

PDO has been advocating this issue with state officials as well. In 2020 the Parliament of Georgia started to work on the Open Parliament Action Plan 2020-2021. On 14 April 2020 the Public Defender proposed to integrate “Increasing the Transparency of the Selection of the Public Defender” in the action plan as an independent activity. Respective information and legal justification were sent in writing. During oral discussions organized around the draft Action Plan, the Chair of the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council supported this idea. The Parliament adopted the Open Parliament Action Plan 2021-2022 in 2021. However, the PDO’s proposal to increase the transparency of Ombudsman’s election process was not reflected in the document as the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council considered that it went beyond the Council’s functions to address.  

In 2022 temporary procedure for the election of the Public Defender of Georgia was included in the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. This amendment was made to address the recommendation of the European Commission, which, after deliberations regarding the Georgia’s application for the membership of the European Union, recommended that Georgia be granted candidate status after addressing key priorities, including to ensure that an independent person is given preference in the process of nominating a new Public Defender and that this process is conducted in a transparent manner to ensure the effective institutional independence of PDO. The temporary procedure included rule for the nomination of the candidates, their evaluation by 9-person working group consisting of representatives of civil society and academia (candidates were evaluated based on these criteria: honesty, impartiality, independence, high reputation, relevant professional knowledge, and practical experience in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms), and extensive interviews by the Committee of Human Rights and Civil Integration of the Parliament which were broadcast live. This procedure was applied in 2022 and will be discussed in detail in chapter 3.2. 

In 2022 the Public Defender was not elected, because none of the nominated 19 candidates received votes from the three fifths of the total number of members of the Parliament. Considering that this procedure was temporary and could have been used only in 2022, the Parliament reverted to the existing rules for the election of the Public Defender. 

In the beginning of 2023 extensive consultations were held among parliamentary groups regarding the candidate for the election. Considering that the public defender has to obtain endorsement from three fifths of the total number of Parliament members, the ruling party and the opposition have to reach consensus and substantive participation of the political minority has to be ensured. The need for the consensus was even more evident considering the pressure from the European Union to conduct the elections in a manner that would ensure the fulfillment of the recommendations of the European Commission and show that the goal for the State to have an independent and impartial Public Defender and political compromise can be reached. As a result of the consultations, on 28 February 2023 one of the political groups in the parliament (named “Citizens”) nominated the candidate for the elections - Mr. Levan Ioseliani, who was one of the leaders of the said group. Mr. Ioseliani was elected as a public defender on 7 March 2023 and will occupy this position until March 2029. 

The Public Defender continues to advocate for the changes in the selection and appointment procedures. In October 2023 amendments in the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament were initiated pertaining to the election procedures of the various officials. The initiated amendments were technical in nature and did not include any substantial changes. The Public Defender addressed Parliament with the proposal to make substantial changes to the rules. The proposal refers to a number of international standards emphasizing the need to create more open, inclusive, and transparent rules for selection and appointment. The proposal refers to the SCA recommendation in detail, as well as the Paris Principles, Belgrade Principles, Venice principles, and 2019 Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to Council of Europe member States on the development of the Ombudsman institution. The proposal also emphasizes that the practice of using similar procedures already exist in Georgian legislation pertaining to the selection and appointment of the board of trustees of the Public Broadcaster and State Inspector, which can be used as an example to amend the selection and appointment procedures for the Public Defender. Unfortunately, parliament did not consider the proposal and made only technical amendments to the rules. The Public Defender continues to further advocate necessary amendments. 

Adequate Funding 

The SCA encouraged PDO to continue to advocate for the funding necessary to ensure that it can effectively carry out its broad mandate. 

The Public Defender has an independent budget and there is a separate budgetary article in the state budget of Georgia. Annually, usually in spring season, the Office starts preparing draft budget and submits it to the Ministry of Finances of Georgia.  

The practice of numerous years shows that, when elaborating the budget, there have been no restrictions or control in this regard of any kind on the Public Defender’s Office by financial institutions and the Public Defender independently drafts the Office’s budget for the next year based on needs. 

The Parliament adopted a new Law on Personal Data Protection in June 2023. This new law will have negative implications for performance of the PDO’s functions.  

The new regulation, like the previous one, allows the PDO to process personal data not belonging to sensitive information to carry out its mandate. However, the processing of personal data belonging to sensitive information (special categories of data) requires the PDO to receive the data subject’s written consent from him/her. The issue mentioned above could potentially impede the systematic monitoring activities of the PDO and hinder its ability to conduct proactive inquiries. For instance, when monitoring the situation of asylum seekers at the border, the PDO may be unable to obtain consent from asylum seekers who have already left the country. Therefore, the PDO will likely be unable to or find it more difficult to process their personal data needed to examine the border authorities’ compliance with relevant human rights obligations.  

A similar problem arises when it comes to minors under 16 whose personal data can be processed only with their legal representative’s consent unless exceptions established by law apply. In cases of underage marriage, for instance, parents themselves are often violent towards their children and the requirement to receive parents’ consent will hinder the PDO from obtaining information and protecting children’s rights.   

Analogously, upcoming regulations will pose challenges to carrying out NPM functions.  

The PDO’s previous Rule of Law Report noted the need to strengthen its regulatory framework by granting it access to the case files of ongoing investigations into alleged ill-treatment and/or deprivation of life (individuals who died under the state control). The previous ENNHRI’s Rule of Law Reports provided relevant information concerning this issue, but there have been no significant updates since then.

In terms of timely and reasoned response and follow-up to the PDO’s recommendations, the Parliament adopts resolutions based on recommendations issued in the PDO’s yearly parliamentary reports on situation of human rights and freedoms in Georgia. The resolutions constitute a form of response to the PDO’s recommendations as they assign tasks to different state agencies to fulfil the recommendations. The Parliament’s 2022 resolution contained 292 tasks for different bodies. Only about 19% of the tasks were fully completed, 24% - partially completed and 36% - unfulfilled (the fulfilment of the 2023 resolution of the Parliament will be presented in the report of the Public Defender’s Office in coming months).  

Unfortunately, the Parliament’s oversight over the level of fulfilment of the tasks is weak. This can be inferred from the fact that the same tasks are repeated in the Parliament’s resolutions, i.e., remain unfulfilled by the authorities year after year. Although the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament is obliged, under its statute, to adopt a conclusion on the fulfilment of the tasks, the Committee has not adopted such a conclusion since 2020. It has also not held a parliamentary committee hearing on the reports of different agencies on the fulfilment of the assigned tasks in 2023 despite being obliged to do so under its statute.  

The Public Defender’s Office recommends to: 

• Amend the Organic Law on Public Defender of Georgia to grant the PDO access to the casefiles of ongoing investigations into alleged ill-treatment and/or deprivation of life (individuals who died under the state control, for example, in penitentiaries, psychiatric centres, etc.) before the end of investigations. 
• Ensure effective follow-up to the PDO’s parliamentary recommendations and strengthen parliamentary oversight over the level of fulfilment of the tasks enshrined in Resolutions of the Parliament of Georgia.

The PDO would like to note the shortcomings in the mandate of the Special Investigation Service (SIS) which is an independent state investigation authority of utmost importance to ensure accountability of law enforcement and public officers. The amended SIS Law and the amended Personal Data Protection Service Law adopted on 30 December 2021 abolished the State Inspector’s Service, a body established in 2018 with the mandate to monitor the lawfulness of personal data processing and covert investigative activities as well as to carry out the investigation of alleged crimes by law-enforcement agencies. Instead, two separate institutions were created: the Personal Data Protection Service (hereinafter, the “PDPS”) and the Special Investigation Service (hereinafter, the “SIS”). This reorganisation resulted in the early termination of the State Inspector’s mandate. The new legislation was swiftly adopted by Parliament through an expedited procedure. No consultations, discussions, or public forums were initiated; similarly, no human rights impact assessment was provided. 

It is concerning that the SIS jurisdiction was expanded to encompass crimes (e.g. encroachment upon freedom of speech and violation of the right to private life committed by any individual, etc.) which are relatively less important for the core function of the SIS. The extension of the SIS mandate risks diminishing the focus on serious crimes committed by law enforcement and may decrease the effectiveness of investigations. Furthermore, the SIS mandate does not cover crimes committed by the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Head of the State Security Service (SSS). Moreover, if certain crimes, such as intentional killing and rape, are committed by prosecutors, they fall outside the SIS jurisdiction as the law stands now. To advocate for the improvement of the SIS mandate, the PDO recommended to amend the regulatory framework applicable to the SIS in its parliamentary report and the rule 9 communications submitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2023 and 2024. In this connection, the PDO welcomes a recently initiated draft law extending the SIS mandate to certain crimes committed by prosecutors. The PDO hopes that the bill will be adopted by the Parliament and that other shortcomings in the SIS jurisdiction will be resolved as well. 

As for the State Security Service (SSS), the PDO’s previous Rule of Law Report mentioned alleged illegal covert surveillance and interception by the SSS of a vast amount of personal information of civil society actors, diplomats and other individuals. The investigation launched into this case has not been completed, no one has been prosecuted and the number of officially recognized victims has remained the same, according to the latest information available to the PDO. Similarly, investigations into covert surveillance of an MP and other political figures have yielded no results yet. Such shortcomings in the investigations raise concerns regarding lack of accountability of the SSS. To help address this issue, the PDO has monitored the investigations and published its findings in its 2021 and 2022 parliamentary and special reports.

In September 2023, a draft law amending the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations was initiated in the Parliament. The text of the draft law envisaged new grounds of restriction of the freedom of assembly by prohibiting putting up a temporary construction if: 1) it poses a threat to the participants in the assembly or demonstration or other persons, 2) it hampers normal functioning of an enterprise, institution or organization, 3) the assembly or demonstration is not substantially impeded without such a construction, 4) such a construction is not related to holding an assembly or demonstration, 5) it hampers the police from maintaining public order and security.  The PDO issued a statement on the draft law, criticizing it as an unproportionate restriction of freedom of assembly and expression and noting that no weighty interest was put forward to justify the draft law.  

Despite the criticism, the draft law was adopted in first, second and third readings pursuant to an accelerated procedure in the Parliament before being vetoed by the President of Georgia in October 2023. The application of the expedited legislative review was negatively assessed by the ODIHR in its Urgent Opinion prepared in response to the PDO’s request to review the proposed amendments. The ODIHR’s opinion reads that “the accelerated legislative procedure should not be used to amend the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, and should it be nevertheless used, special oversight should be in place, including a review clause” (ODIHR, Urgent Opinion on Proposed Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations and to the Administrative Offences Code, November 2023, paragraph 69). The ODIHR also criticized paragraph 3 of article 117 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia that provides for an expedited legislative process. According to the ODIHR, this provision does not stipulate “precisely and narrowly defined circumstances when the use of such a procedure may be invoked” (ibid, paragraph 66). 

The current legislative framework on the right to access public information is flawed. In particular, the General Administrative Code is outdated and does not meet modern standards and needs (the Report of the Public Defender of Georgia on the Situation of Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia 2020, pages 197-199). For example, the General Administrative Code fails to set standards for disclosure of classified information and contains a flawed definition of a public agency (Ibid, pages 197-198).

Despite serious shortcomings in the legislative framework, the government has yet to implement a comprehensive legal reform (e.g., by adopting a separate law on the right to access information). The obstacles to accessing information are also mentioned in the European Commission’s 2023 Report on Georgia. According to the Report, “access to public information is ensured by the legal framework. Its enforcement is mixed across various government institutions. The long-awaited review of the overall framework needs to be carried out to enhance the administrative capacity for effective enforcement. Publication of information – including publishing monitoring and activity reports – is uneven and needs to be significantly improved. The legal framework to effectively guarantee citizens’ rights to access to public information should be reviewed“ (The European Commission, Georgia 2023 Report accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement policy, page 19). The Report also reads that “Considerable delays and a recurring refusal to access public information pose a serious challenge for media and CSOs, affecting the timeliness, accuracy and quality of their work and reporting” (ibid, page 37).   

In its annual parliamentary reports, the PDO repeatedly recommended the Government of Georgia to finalize and initiate the draft law regulating the freedom of information and the accompanying legislative changes and to apply to the Parliament for ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents of 18 June 2009.

The PDO studied the activities conducted by SIS in 2023. The PDO examined 55 criminal cases (46 terminated and 9 ongoing) investigated by the SIS. The examination reveals that investigations usually satisfy the effectiveness standards. Nevertheless, the following shortcomings in investigations should be singled out: considerable delays in interviewing public officials who are alleged perpetrators or witnesses, failure to check the reasons for non-existence of recordings of video surveillance at police facilities, failure to timely document inspections of obtained video recordings and mistakes in classifying ill-treatment. In particular, the PDO’s study of both terminated cases and ongoing criminal cases investigated by the SIS in 2023 focused on incorrect classification of ill-treatment. In one of the cases, for example, the victim who had been arrested claimed that police officers beat him and burnt a cigarette onto his body. The investigation was incorrectly launched under subparagraph “b” of paragraph 3 of article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (exceeding official powers by using violence or a weapon) instead of a specific provision criminalizing ill-treatment (such specific provisions are contained in articles 1441-1443).  

To support the effectiveness of the SIS, the PDO has repeatedly recommended amendments to legislative framework applicable to the SIS in its parliamentary report and the rule 9 communications (please view pages 11-12 above). Moreover, to support the adequate functioning of the SIS in practice, the PDO addresses the SIS with proposals about shortcomings and steps to be taken within investigations and refers alleged cases of ill-treatment to this body (55 cases referred in 2023). Furthermore, the PDO has also been engaged in preparation of internal documents of the SIS, e.g., the instruction on the use of handcuffs and a recommendation on reacting to crime notifications.  In addition, to help improve the aforementioned flawed practice of ill-treatment classification, the PDO published a special report identifying problems in legislation and practice and proposing recommendations to address them. 

As mentioned before, the independence and impartiality of the High Council of Justice (HCJ) as well as the independence of individual judges is questionable. It is noteworthy that the Venice Commission referred to the possibility of vetting the HCJ for the first time in its October 2023 opinion (European Commission for Democracy through Law, Follow-up Opinion, CDL-AD(2023)033, par. 11). Similarly, the European Commission report states that a system of extraordinary integrity checks for candidates and persons currently appointed to all leading positions in the judiciary should be established (The European Commission, Georgia 2023 Report, pages 20-21). Moreover, institutional problems within the judiciary are indicated by statements of former judges about attempts to interfere in their work (the PDO’s 2022 parliamentary report, pages 82-83) and a rejection of a life-term appointment of judge that was allegedly motivated by her decision and opinions being unacceptable to the HCJ. Finally, the PDO notes the Office of the Independent Inspector responsible for examining disciplinary misconducts of judges. Considering its importance, the PDO finds that the quorum for appointment of the Independent Inspector should be increased to 2/3 of the HCJ members. Moreover, the Independent Inspector must become obliged to publish financial declarations to minimize corruption risks.  

The PDO’s previous Rule of Law Report mentioned the initiation of the draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the Parliament in 2023. The draft law was criticized by the PDO, hundreds of CSOs and international stakeholders. The bill was withdrawn after large protests on 7-9 March 2023. Unfortunately, the law enforcement engaged in mass (administrative) arrests of protesters and used unjustified, disproportionate force against peaceful demonstrators.  

After the aforementioned protests, the officials have continued to discredit civil society. In July 2023, the (now former) chairman of the ruling party made a statement targeting the transparency of NGO funding. Moreover, the Parliament Speaker stated that “multimillionaire NGOs serve the interests of “their donors, not of the Georgian people”. The PDO finds that such discreditation damages civil society space and human rights defenders (HRDs). Unfortunately, the parliamentary majority reintroduced the aforementioned draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence” in April 2024.  This has been met with large scale protests by the society and criticism by the international stakeholders (for examples, please view: “March for Europe – Protest against the “Foreign Agents” law; Stano: Agents Law Not in Line with European Values, EU Expectations). The draft law once again risks stigmatizing of CSOs and media organizations and hindering their activities. 

The government has continued the practice of administrative arrests and trials of civil society actors and protesters under the pretext of petty hooliganism and non-compliance with a lawful order of a law-enforcement officer, i.e., offences under the outdated and flawed Administrative Offences Code of Georgia. Civil society representatives were arrested, e.g., during a protest on 2-3 June, 2023. The police claimed that texts of their banners criticizing the government were offensive and violated public order. The PDO submitted amicus curiae opinions on these arrests to the courts. The PDO found that the protesters should not have been held liable, as freedom of expression protects political messages not posing a real and immediate threat of violence. However, the national court fined protesters and recognized them as offenders.

Unfortunately, LGBT+ rights defenders are still unable to fully enjoy their freedom of expression and assembly. In particular, the Pride Festival was disrupted by hate groups on 8 July 2023. As it can be inferred from the MIA’s statement, the MIA was aware of the risk of violence but it still failed to ensure the safety of the festival.  

The PDO actively supports HRDs by reacting to violations against them, voicing their needs and engaging with various actors. In particular, the PDO discussed the situation of HRDs in Georgia at meetings with, for example, UN Special Rapporteur, the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights, U.S. Department of State representatives and other international organizations. The PDO also facilitated a roundtable between the authorities and CSOs where the need to establish effective ways of cooperation and decision-making was discussed. While meeting the Ministry of Internal Affairs representatives, the Public Defender addressed developments at protests of civil activists and the MIA’s reactions thereto. The PDO also met CSOs separately to discuss pertinent human rights issues. To uphold HRDs’ rights, the PDO prepared various documents, e.g., the aforementioned amicus curiae and the input for the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs. Moreover, the PDO participated in the First Anti-SLAPP Conference in Georgia. Finally, the PDO issued public statements in support of HRDs.

The PDO recommends to national authorities to: 

• Amend the SIS mandate/legislative framework in accordance with the PDO’s recommendations; 
• Carry out a proper reform of the judicial system in accordance with the recommendations of the PDO and relevant international actors (such as the EU, the Venice Commission, the OSCE/ODIHR); 
• Adopt a new Code of Administrative Offences in compliance with international and constitutional human rights standards.

The main security threat to human rights in Georgia is the Russian occupation of the Georgian territories. In November 2023, the SSS reported about a murder of a Georgian citizen and illegal detention of another Georgian citizen by the occupying forces on the occupied territory. In December 2023, alleged murder of a Georgian citizen by the occupying forces was again reported. Moreover, the de facto regimes in Tskhinvali and Abkhazia have continued illegal detentions of Georgian citizens (see, for example, the following articles:  Two Georgian Citizens Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces; Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces).  

The de facto regimes also impose prohibitions or regulations on crossing the so-called crossing points. For example, Enguri Bridge and the so-called crossing point of Saberio-Pakhulani were closed in April 2023. The PDO issued a statement noting that the Enguri bridge and the so called crossing point of Saberio-Pakhulani are a vital means for Georgians living in Abkhazia to access education, better-quality medical services, cheaper products, pensions and to visit family members and relatives. As for the right to education, teaching in Georgian at schools is completely prohibited in Gali and restricted in Akhalgori. This constitutes ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the occupied territories as parents have had to move to the Georgian controlled territories to enable their children to study in Georgian. The PDO emphasizes that Russia, as a state exercising control over the occupied territories, is responsible for these human rights violations and for bringing perpetrators to justice. 

In the context of securitization and limits to freedom of assembly, the PDO would like to again refer to the amendment to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations that was adopted by the Parliament but vetoed by the President and that envisaged new grounds of restriction of the freedom of assembly. The explanatory note of the amendment mentioned information obtained by the SSS about an alleged plan to destabilize the country and ensuing security risks as problems the amendment claimed to address. However, the PDO’s assessment found that the interests (e.g., protection of public order) allegedly served by the amendment were ensured through legislative acts already in force and, therefore, the amendment lacked justification. Moreover, the ODIHR’s Urgent Opinion reads that the proposed amendments “seek to address an alleged security risk that is temporary in nature – October-December 2023 as indicated in the Explanatory Note – by introducing restrictions that will continue to apply even after the potential security risks will cease, thereby questioning the proportionality of the contemplated measures. […] It is also unclear why the existing legal framework which already contains some provisions regarding the “artificial” blocking of the roadway by assemblies and police powers to deal with suspected explosive devices are deemed insufficient” (ODIHR, Urgent Opinion on Proposed Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations and to the Administrative Offences Code, November 2023, page 3). 

As for the issue of secret mass surveillance, please view the section on separation of powers for information on investigations into alleged surveillance by the State Security Service.

The PDO regularly monitors the situation of the conflict-affected population. In 2023, the PDO representatives visited several villages near the occupation line (for example, the villages Khurcha and Tskou, Zardiantkari, Ergneti and Chorchana, Gugutiantkari, Odzisi and Gremiskhevi, Kirbali and Nikozi) and received information about the locals’ needs. The PDO advocates for addressing the needs of the conflict affected population. For example, the PDO submitted its annual input to the OHCHR pursuant to the Human Rights Council Resolution on “Cooperation with Georgia” in 2023. The PDO’s submission contains information on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Georgia’s occupied regions. Later, the Public Defender made a speech based on the submission during the presentation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Cooperation with Georgia held in Geneva in 2023. Moreover, the Public Defender has raised the issue of occupation at meetings with various stakeholders, such as the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia. It should also be noted that the Public Defender held a working meeting on the rights situation of conflict-affected population in October 2023. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, State Security Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parliament, international and non-governmental organizations. The participants discussed the rights situation of the conflict-affected population, the main challenges and possible solutions, the main tasks of the peace policy and the role of the Georgian Government, international community, non-governmental organizations and the media in this process. 

In regard to the aforementioned amendment to the Law of Georgia on Assemblies and Demonstrations, the PDO issued a statement, criticizing the draft law as an intense restriction of freedom of assembly and expression and noting that no weighty interest was invoked to justify it. Moreover, the PDO applied to and asked the OSCE/ODIHR to prepare a legal opinion on the amendment in October 2023. Following the PDO’s request, the OSCE/ODIHR published its Urgent Opinion in November 2023. 

As for the issue of alleged secret surveillance by the State Security Service, the PDO has monitored investigations into surveillance cases and published its assessments in its 2021 and 2022 parliamentary and special reports.

The PDO recommends to national authorities to: 

• Refrain from initiating or adopting draft laws, that contravene national and international human rights standards (including the standards of freedom of assembly), under the argument of protecting legitimate interests, such as public order, security or prevention of destabilization. 
• Investigate cases of alleged secret surveillance and eavesdropping by the State Security Service effectively, in compliance with relevant international standards.

As it can be seen from the statistics, there is a space for improving the level of implementation of the ECtHR judgments delivered against Georgia. According to the statistics, there were 31 leading and 49 repetitive cases pending as of 7 December 2023 and the number of both types of pending cases increased in 2023 compared to the number in 2022. The lack of effectiveness of execution of the ECtHR judgments can also be observed from the usual repetition of problems already raised in previous cases before the ECtHR and noted in the process of implementation of these cases. This issue is clearly illustrated, for example, by the government’s continuous failure to ensure the complete realization of freedom of assembly and expression of the LGBT+ community. Although the government should have adopted effective (preventive and reactive) measures to this end in the process of execution of the cases of Identoba group, the government again fell short of this obligation on 8 July 2023 when hate groups disrupted the Pride Festival.   

Moreover, the government has yet to fulfil some of the PDO’s repeated recommendations regarding, for instance, the implementation of the Tsintsabadze group of cases. To provide an example, the last 3 rule 9 communications of the PDO called on the government to amend the Order N633 of the Minister of Justice of Georgia to make amendments to the order so that a prisoner’s consent to medical examinations is not a precondition for notifying the Special Investigation Service about possible violence/injuries suffered by prisoners. Thus, more efforts are needed from the government to address systemic obstacles to implementing the ECtHR judgments.  

A mechanism for the monitoring of the execution of judgments of the ECtHR was first established in 2016 through an amendment by the Parliament to its Rules of Procedure. According to this amendment, the Government of Georgia is required prior to 1 April each year to present a report (the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) prepares this report) on the state of execution of judgments of the ECtHR.  The Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Georgia will, following the submission of the MoJ report, convene a meeting to which representatives of the MoJ are invited. At its meeting with representatives of the MoJ, the members of the Human Rights Committee will engage in discussion with them, ask them questions and seek clarifications and explanations regarding why specific measures have or have not to be taken with regard to the cases concerned. Representatives of the Office of the Public Defender and civil society are invited to hearings of the Human Rights Committee and sends alternate reports to the Human Rights Committee. However, there were no hearings in 2020 and 2021 and the joint hearing of 2020 and 2021 MoJ reports was held on 9 December 2022. Up to this date there was no hearing held at the Human Rights Committee regarding examination of 2022 Moj report.   After the hearing, the Human Rights Committee will discuss the MoJ report in its session and prepare an opinion which is approved by majority of those present at its meeting. The number of Members of the Parliament attending the hearing is very low, which suggests a lack of interest in the work of the Human Rights Committee on the part of MPs.  

As for supervising the execution process on the national level, the PDO considers that the parliamentary oversight could be improved in following directions: Parliamentary committees should timely conduct reviews through hearings and debates, assessing progress and identifying challenges. Legislators should propose laws or amendments to enforce compliance with ECtHR rulings and address human rights issues. Members of parliament need to question government representatives, demanding prompt updates on ECtHR judgment implementation. There is also a need of more effective collaboration with civil society and the PDO which will enable MPs to monitor compliance and advocate for reforms alongside human rights activists. The nature of the opinion prepared by the Human Rights Committee tends to be predominantly evaluating in a positive manner what has been reported to it. Although it reproduces points made in alternate reports, these do not generally feature in actual recommendations made in the opinion of the Human Rights Committee. The value of submissions to the Human Rights Committee could be enhanced by its giving feedback to PDO and other authors of alternative reports as to whether or not they were helpful in those cases where it has not explicitly taken them on board.

To support the implementation of the ECtHR judgments, the PDO regularly submits rule 9 communications to the Committee of Ministers (CM) of the Council of Europe (CoE). The PDO has submitted 5 new communications (about the cases of Identoba, Tkhelidze and Tsintsabadze groups as well as the case of Merabishvili v Georgia) since 2023. In these documents, the PDO refers to the CM decisions on execution of judgments, comments on the government’s action plans/reports and assesses general measures adopted in the course of the execution process. Thereby, the PDO contributes to the supervision of implementation of cases to ensure that the supervision is conducted properly and not closed prematurely. As explained above, the PDO also prepares alternative reports on the aforementioned MoJ reports on the state of execution of judgments of the ECtHR.

Apart from the rule 9 communications, engagement with stakeholders is another way for the PDO to contribute to the implementation process. In May and June 2023, the PDO held meetings with the representatives of the CoE Department of Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The parties discussed the execution procedure and the rule 9 communications of the PDO at the meetings. The PDO finds exchange of information and experiences in such formats to be useful for its participation in the implementation process. Moreover, the PDO’s representatives attended a working meeting on the oversight of the execution of the ECtHR judgments and decisions in Georgia in November 2023. The meeting was dedicated to the Draft National Execution Strategy and Action Plan prepared by the CoE experts and involved stakeholders from the CoE, the public bodies and civil society. The PDO’s representative, as one of the speakers, presented the PDO’s position on improving the domestic monitoring of execution by the Parliament. Moreover, the PDO’s representatives engaged in discussion of matters covered by the Draft National Strategy, such as enhancing cooperation and coordination between the authorities, resolving the backlog of pending cases, etc. Furthermore, the PDO’s representative participated in the following events organized by the Council of Europe in March 2024: the Conference on Parliamentary Oversight over the Execution of European Court of Human Rights Judgments in Georgia and the Steering Committee Meeting on the Project “Reinforcing national execution of the European Court's judgments by Georgia”.  Thus, the PDO contributes to the supervision of the implementation on both national and international levels.

The PDO recommends to national authorities to:  

• Consider the assessments and follow/fulfil the recommendations that are expressed in the Rule 9 communications submitted by the PDO; 
• Strengthen the implementation process by, inter alia, improving the parliamentary oversight and meaningfully engaging the PDO and civil society in the process. 

The PDO recommends to regional authorities: 

• Closely monitor the implementation of European courts’ judgments in Georgia and publicly issue assessments on the execution process with a view to pressure or prompt the Georgian government to enhance implementation.

Media freedom 

Unfortunately, the challenges affecting media freedom have remained unresolved. This problem is illustrated by the continued assaults on journalists, such as attacks against journalists of critical media companies “Formula” and “TV Pirveli” in September 2023 and an attack against one of “Formula’s” founders and TV presenter Mikheil Mshvildadze in June 2023. The investigation into the latter attack was launched by the MIA under paragraph 1 of article 126 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (beating or another type of violence causing a victim's physical pain). The PDO called on the Prosecutor’s Office to transfer the case from the MIA to the SIS for further investigation in order to determine whether the attack constituted a violent persecution for expressing an opinion. Indeed, indications of such a persecution can be inferred from the statement made by N.G. who claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the case files examined by the PDO, N.G. explained that he had attacked Mikheil Mshvildadze because the latter, in N.G’s words, “offended the Patriarchate, referred to the cross as a symbol of violence and protected homosexuals”. Thus, the attack had a hate motive as Mikheil Mshvildadze became its victim because of his publicly held opinions and positions. The PDO finds that violence motivated by hatred or intolerance against a person for expressing an opinion should be classified as a persecution committed with violence and because/on the grounds of an expressed opinion under subparagraph “a” of paragraph 2 of article 156 of the Criminal Code (Persecution committed using violence or threat of violence). However, investigative authorities did not apply this specific provision and did not reclassify the charges in Mikheil Mshvildadze’s case, thereby failing to legally assess an alleged discriminatory motive of the attack. 

Apart from physical assaults, another negative development in terms of media freedom was the suspension of accreditation for representatives of critical media by the Parliament's Office. The media representatives claimed that the reason for the suspension was that they had expressed opinions or asked questions unacceptable to the ruling party. In this connection, the PDO considers the Rules for the Accreditation of Mass Media Representatives in the Parliament of Georgia, approved by the order of the Speaker of the Parliament in February 2023, to be partially problematic. In particular, these rules do not provide for an appeal mechanism. Moreover, the decision to suspend journalists’ accreditation did not specify the deadline or procedure for appealing it, contrary to the requirement of the legislation. The Public Defender called on the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia to make changes to the aforementioned rules to ensure that the regulation did not cause an unjustified interference in the activities of media representatives.  

LGBTIQ+ rights 

Inadequate protection of rights of the LGBTIQ+ community is a persisting systemic challenge. Despite its seriousness, the government has overlooked this problem on the policy level. In particular, the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights for 2022-2030 was adopted by the Parliament in March 2023 without including the needs of the LGBTIQ+ community. Although the National Strategy separately refers to (the needs of) other vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, the document does not mention the LGBTIQ+ community at all. This has been criticized by the European Commission. According to the latter’s report, “the national strategy for the protection of human rights for 2022-2030 does not address LGBTIQ+ rights. The authorities fail to recognise and acknowledge the systemic nature of discriminatory patterns and inequalities affecting LGBTIQ+ persons, and this has resulted in significant gaps in the measures taken to address these concerns. There is an absence of concrete measures to support LGBTIQ+ persons, combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” (The European Commission, Georgia 2023 Report accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2023 Communication on EU Enlargement policy, page 40). The European Commission’s report called on the Georgian government to “adopt the Human Rights action plan ensuring also the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons” (ibid, page 28). However, there is no reference to the LGBTIQ+ community in the 2024-2026 Action Plan for Protection of Human Rights that was approved by the government in December 2023. Unfortunately, the new National Concept of Gender Equality also fails to mention the LGBTIQ+ community.

The PDO recommends to national authorities to: 

• Investigate attacks or any other offences committed against media representatives effectively, in compliance with relevant human rights standards; 
• Ensure that the specific needs of the LGBTI+ community are properly addressed through measures to be adopted on the basis of the current policy documents and are adequately reflected in future policy documents.

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo (OIK) through the years has established a very good working relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe and other international human rights organizations based in Kosovo, which have continuously been strategic partners to our institution. Therefore, our NHRI’s work has been regularly part of European Union benchmarks for Kosovo, which helped in strengthening our NHRI and ensuring compliance with international human rights standards. This process facilitated the development of a robust institution capable of promoting and protecting human rights effectively, thus contributing to the overall democratic progress and rule of law in our country.

According to the 2023 EC Report for Kosovo, the country’s general legal framework guarantees the protection of fundamental rights and is in line with European standards. During the reporting period, Kosovo adopted the Law on the Kosovo Property Comparison Verification Agency and set up a State Protocol for the Treatment of Sexual Violence cases. Moreover, the capacity of the authorities to which the OIK has been addressing recommendations regarding fundamental rights policies and legislation has improved and the rate of implementation of the Ombudsperson’s recommendations increased. In addition, during the reporting period, the Parliament adopted the Law on Prevention and Protection from Domestic Violence, Violence against Women and Gender-Based Violence. However, despite these positive developments, human rights issues need to feature higher on the political agenda and consequently more human and financial resources should be allocated to relevant institutions, this way also strengthening the rule of law compliance in Kosovo. 

In relation to the Ombudsperson Institution, this report emphasized also the delay of the Assembly in selecting the fifth deputy Ombudsperson from non-majority communities and in approving the Ombudsperson’s annual report. It recommended more systematic tabling of review of the annual reports and selection of deputies of the Ombudsperson in the Assembly are needed to avoid such delays. In addition, it stated that although the institution has progressively expanded its responsibilities, it was not provided with additional financial and human resources to carry them out. Nevertheless, “the Ombudsperson still enjoys broad public trust”.

The Ombudsperson is constantly monitoring the implementation of recommendations from regional actors, and they are reflected in our annual reports.

The Ombudsperson has continuously taken action on raising awareness of responsible authorities in implementation of its recommendations, however, further action is required to increase their rate. During the reporting period, the institution has carried out a campaign which consisted of roundtable discussions in six different municipalities throughout of Kosovo with the purpose of raising awareness of the authorities with regard to the mandate of the Ombudsperson and the importance of implementation of its recommendations (See roundtables in Graçanica, Ferizaj and Mitrovica).

Article 28 of the Law on the Ombudspersons stipulates that "Authorities to which the Ombudsperson has addressed recommendation, request or proposal for undertaking concrete actions, including disciplinary measures, must respond within thirty (30) days. The answer should contain written reasoning regarding actions undertaken about the issue in question". The Office for Good Governance (OGG), within the Office of the Prime Minister, is responsible for overseeing enforcement of the recommendations provided by the Ombudsperson. In this regard, a good practice has already been established so far. OGG is notified by the Ombudsperson about all Reports with Recommendations that the Institution addresses to authorities, and on the base of this, the OGG commences follow-up and communication processes with authorities in order to facilitate their implementation. In order to support the implementation of the given recommendations, meetings are organized with responsible authorities and also with the Human Rights Committee (See Law for Protection against Discrimination, article 10). In this regard, an electronic system for monitoring the implementation of Ombudsperson’s recommendations was established, as well as a joint team for their coordination and monitoring.

During the reporting period, the OIK has addressed 300 recommendations that raise various human rights issues which will have an impact on the rule of law in the country. The institution has a positive trend with regard to their implementation, however progress needs to continue. The Assembly should strengthen its cooperation with the Ombudsperson and address the problem of the lack of responsiveness of public administration bodies, which was also a recommendation from the EC Country report.

Due to the specific international standing of Kosovo, the Ombudsperson Institution is unable to seek accreditation before GANHRI’s Sub-Committee on Accreditation, organized under auspices of UN OHCHR. The Institution is a non-accredited, associate member of ENNHRI. It has worked for the promotion and protection of a wide range of human rights issues in Kosovo.

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo operates based on a very strong legal framework, which guaranties its operational and financial independence.

The mandate of the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo is based in the Constitution and other laws which are approved by the Parliament. The legislation on which the institution bases its mandate was approved in 2015 as part of a human rights law package, when three basic new human rights laws entered into force: Law on the Ombudsperson, Law on Protection from Discrimination and Law on Gender Equality, which vested new mandates and additional competences to the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo. Later on, in 2019, the Law for Child Protection was approved, which assigns the Ombudsperson as complaint mechanism.

A recent EU Peer Review Mission on Independent Oversight Bodies in Kosovo concluded that the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo (OIK) is a constitutional and legal body with a broad mandate, which upholds human rights and fundamental freedoms, founded under a democratic parliamentary legitimacy and in accordance with Paris and Venice Principles.

Due to this strong legal infrastructure, the Institution has not encountered any challenges in the effective fulfilment of its mandate during the reporting year, except with the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector which entered into force on 5 February 2023. This law regulates salaries in the public sector, where Ombudsperson Institution was included as well and affected the institution due to the deduction of salaries and attempted interference in the internal organization of it. Therefore, on 7 April 2023, the Ombudsperson raised the issue of the constitutionality of this law with the Constitutional Court. On 26 December 2023, the Constitutional Court decided on this case by approving Ombudsperson’s Referral and declaring as unconstitutional the contested provisions.

Despite the legal amendments that may affect the Ombudsperson Institution, there are substantiated mechanisms in Republic of Kosovo for protection of the independence of independent institutions, such as the Constitutional Court. 

It is worth pointing out that the Constitutional Court in 2023 has also assessed the constitutionality of the Law on Amending the Law on Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, according to which the Ombudsperson had the power to appoint/delegate the third member of this Council. The Constitutional Court, among other things, has concluded in its judgment that this provision is not compatible with the Constitution in terms of Ombudsperson’s role and mandate.

In this regard, the Ombudsperson notes that there is a tendency of vesting of additional tasks to the Ombudsperson through adopted laws by the Assembly, which frequently are not in compliance with Ombudsperson’s constitutional powers. This can perhaps be assessed positively due to the credibility that the Ombudsperson enjoys, but on the other hand, there is no assessment of whether these new tasks are in compliance with the constitutional powers of the Ombudsperson as well as the budgetary impact that these additional tasks may have on Ombudsperson Institution while the Ombudsperson has not been consulted in advance regarding these delegations. 

The Ombudsperson does not consider that there were situations that posed risk to the functioning of the institution. However, authorities can further improve the environment for the effective exercise of Ombudsperson's mandate. In this regard, the Assembly should set timely scheduled sessions for the review of Ombudsperson’s Annual Report, while the executive authority would have to promote accountability by responding to Ombudsperson’s requests. 

Similarly, it is necessary to involve and notify of the Ombudsperson on drafting of normative acts related to human rights, where the Ombudsperson’s comments and response are required, as well as on normative acts that have an impact on constitutional powers and the budget of Ombudsperson’s Institution. 

The Ombudsperson recommends that:

• Timely and reasoned response(s) are provided to the Ombudsperson’s recommendations;
• Effective follow-up of NHRI recommendations is carried out by state authorities;
• The Assembly schedules sessions timely for review of Ombudsperson’s Annual Report and to make members of the Parliament aware of the importance of this Report for human rights in the country; and 
• The practice of voting Ombudsperson’s Annual Report is discontinued, because it undermines the effectiveness of NHRI recommendations as a tool to promote and protect human rights.

The Assembly of Kosovo has adopted the Law No. 08/L-196 on Salaries in the Public Sector, according to which, salaries of judges of all levels of courts, as well as of employees of Independent Constitutional Institutions were diminished, by reflecting in this way, the intrusion of executive and legislative power in the salaries of institutions that are part of the judicial power as well as independent constitutional institutions. With reference to this issue, the Ombudsperson has submitted a Referral, by which he requested the Constitutional Court to assess whether the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector is in compatibility with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. Regarding this issue, the Constitutional Court has issued a Judgment by which it repealed some provisions of the above-mentioned law. In this regard, the Ombudsperson and the Constitutional Court have played the role of the checks and balances between institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. 

The Ombudsperson, during the reporting year, had observed that the Assembly of Republic of Kosovo had adopted the Law No. 08/L-228 on General Elections in the Republic of Kosovo. This law was adopted in an accelerated procedure, by making it impossible for interest groups to provide their comments regarding the content of the provisions of this law. The Ombudsperson has noted that this law contains a provision (Article 28), which indirectly places in an unequal position women and men in the electoral lists. Regarding this subject matter, the Ombudsperson addressed the Constitutional Court with a Referral to assess whether Article 28 of the Law on General Elections in the Republic of Kosovo is in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. The Constitutional Court has not yet decided on this issue. 

The right of access to public documents is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo (Article 41) and since 2019 the new Law on Access to Public Documents is in force which guarantees and regulates the right of each person, without discrimination on any basis, to have access to public documents. Based on this Law, the Information and Privacy Agency is responsible for monitoring and implementing it, also based on the relevant legal infrastructure, the Agency has the right to take measures and impose fines, which are provided for by Law on Access to Public Documents as well as Law on the Protection of Personal Data.

It is worth taking into account Article 22 of the Constitution on the basis of which human rights and freedoms guaranteed by international instruments are directly applicable in the Republic of Kosovo. The Ombudsperson notes that the legal framework that governs and covers this field is quite well consolidated because in case of conflict, the international norms have priority over the provisions of national laws and other acts of public institutions.

As for the practical aspect, the Ombudsperson notes that since the election of the Commissioner of the Information and Privacy Agency in 2021, it is observed that there is an improvement in the implementation of the Law on Access to Public Documents. 

Apart from the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, which has negatively affected the independence of independent institutions as a whole, namely the Ombudsperson Institution; Auditor General of Kosovo; Central Election Commission; Central Bank of Kosovo; and the Independent Media Commission, the OIK has not come across any other law which could have negatively affected the independence of these institutions. 

In such cases, when the Ombudsperson assesses that the adopted laws are in contradiction with the constitutional independence of independent institutions and addresses the matter to the Constitutional Court. It is worth taking into account that the Constitution vested the Ombudsperson with the power to raise the question of constitutionality of laws with the Constitutional Court and that he has so far exercised this authorization several times successfully and without obstacles.

Mainly, the civil society organizations in Kosovo are considered to have an enabling environment of operation. Regarding the reporting period, the OIK did not receive any complaint from civil society organizations for any arbitrary interference on freedom of assembly, freedom of association or SLAPPs lawsuits. Freedom of association and assembly generally can be estimated to be respected in our country. Such an assessment was also given in the 2023 EC Report for Kosovo (see page 10).  Mainly the dissatisfactions of CSOs are related to public participation in the legislative process, because the comments and inputs provided by civil society are not systematically reflected in public consultation reports and more efforts need to be done to enforce cooperation in this regard.

It is worth mentioning that in 2023 the new Law no. 08/L-166 on Public Gatherings was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, according to which “Each person shall have the right to organize and participate in public gatherings, regardless of gender, race, colour, language, religion, nationality, economic or financial, education or social status, political or other beliefs or any other personal circumstances, according to the rules set out in this Law”. 

As it was reported also in recent reports, the Ombudsperson in order to strengthen the cooperation between the Ombudsperson Institution and Civil Society Organizations in Kosovo, with regard to human rights protection and promotion, has established The Forum for Dialogue between the Ombudsperson Institution and Civil Society Organizations in Kosovo. There are mainly three working meetings of the Forum, held per year, where are discussed current issues and challenges regarding human rights situation in the country and joint activities planned for further strengthening of human rights promotion and protection. 

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo addresses following key recommendations to national and regional authorities to strengthen the system of checks and balances:

• Ensure that Ombudsperson enjoy organizational, administrative and financial independence in the implementation of their mandates, to ensure full alignment and compliance of national laws and policies with international and regional human rights standards; 
• Refrain from any action aiming at or resulting in undermining the integrity and independence of Ombudsperson institutions.
• Increase the accountability of public institutions and improve public consultations process by involving relevant stakeholders and representatives of vulnerable groups in consultation processes during law making.

Republic of Kosovo has adopted advanced legislation in the field of security, including the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing, the Law on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Victims of Trafficking, the Law on Cyber Security, the Law on Interception of Electronic Communications and other laws that cover this field and that are in the spirit of European Union standards and legislation. 

The Ombudsperson Institution has not observed any particular development in terms of changes in legislation, and no additional measures of increased supervision by the security institutions in the country have been observed. There was a proportionate response to the September 2023 events, when the organized terrorist attack against the state and security in Kosovo occurred, in which a police officer was murdered and some of armed attackers. 

In a part of the country (four municipalities of the north of Kosovo), members of the minority community, influenced from abroad, gave up their guaranteed constitutional and legal rights thereby affecting the exercise of those rights. Members of Serbian ethnicity employed in institutions of Republic of Kosovo, within a short period of time (within some days) resigned in an organized way and continued with the boycott of work. This situation has affected the service providing to citizens living in this part of the country. 

In this part of the country, riots and protests have been organized by citizens of Serbian community after early local elections in these four municipalities, which came as a result of the resignations of in office mayors. These protests have been accompanied by acts of violence against law and order and security bodies, where members of the international security forces have been injured as well. 

The efforts of the security institutions in establishing order and rule of law throughout the country have continued. 

After the meetings held with representatives of civil society organizations in that part of the country, the Ombudperson in a public statement emphasized that it is the duty and responsibility of the state security authorities and other bodies to guarantee security and full respect for human rights, of each citizen in accordance with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the law. Moreover, the National Preventive Mechanism, which operates under the umbrella of the Ombudsperson Institution, based on the mandate for monitoring places where persons deprived of their liberty are kept, visited the High Security Prison and interviewed, arrested persons accused of terrorism and saw that rights of detainees were being respected and that during the interview they had no complaints regarding the treatment by the correctional officers.

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo recommends that security and law enforcement institutions must take care of having due respect for the rights of citizens, but for general national security as well. In situations where national security is compromised, individual rights are also called into question. A cautious analysis of policies and establishing a balance between them is imperative.

Kosovo, in its Constitution, has given direct effect and supremacy over its domestic laws to nine international human rights instruments. These instruments include the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and its protocols, the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Framework Convention) and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). 

Furthermore, Article 53 of the Constitution of Kosovo provides that all "Fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution shall be interpreted in accordance with the judicial decisions of the European Court of Human Rights". 

However, due to political obstacles, Kosovo is still not a member of the Council of Europe and as a consequence citizens cannot file application to the European Court of Human Rights. Despite the advanced Kosovo’s legal infrastructure, citizens have no further effective remedy in case they feel their rights have been violated or not effectively adjudicated by authorities in Kosovo and cannot submit a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. 

However, on 12 May 2022, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, has applied to become a Council of Europe (CoE) member and its application is being reviewed, hoping that it will have a positive epilogue, because it will provide our citizens with a human rights protection system than can only work effectively and relevant authorities can only be held accountable for human rights standards in a significant way through membership.

A Report by the eminent lawyers appointed by the Bureau of the PACE related to the Application for membership of Kosovo to the CoE, was published on 25 May 2023, which emphasised that “with respect to the rule of law, the legal framework in Kosovo generally corresponds to Council of Europe standards and provides in particular strong guarantees for the independence of the judiciary”.

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo recommends to:

• Strengthen follow-up mechanisms to address the non- implementation of European Court’s judgments by state authorities;
• Increase capacities of responsible authorities through training on the importance of implementation of European Court’s judgments.

Media freedom 

Media freedom is Kosovo is guaranteed by Constitution of Kosovo, namely Article 42. According to Association of Kosovo Journalists, in 2023, in Kosovo happened 72 attacks against media and journalists. A number of attacks happened in the Northern Part of Kosovo as a result of tensions, during which many KFOR soldiers and Kosovo Police officers were attacked and seriously wounded.

The Association declared to the media that it was happy the way the justice system was handling these cases. However, the Association of Kosovo Journalists, on 27 December 2023, expressed its concern with the Draft-Law on Kosovo Independent Media Commission, proposed by the Government of Kosovo to the Parliament for adoption. According to their press release, the proposed changes in the Draft-Law are in contradiction to Council of Europe and OSCE. This situation came to the attention of the Ombudsperson of Kosovo as well. 

It is worth mentioning that on 5 December 2023, the Ombudsperson published the ex officio report no. 146/2021 with regard to Language used in public discourse, in relation to the obligations that the state has in guaranteeing freedom of expression and preventing hate speech.

This report reflected the situation of the language used in the public in Kosovo. The report is based on monitoring, research and analysis of data collected from parliamentary sessions, TV debates and comments on social media for the period covering 2020 through 2022. 

The design of datasets and the choice of the timeframe were determined by the ultimate goal of the research: provide not only an updated and comprehensive overview of the various instances and groups that may be targets of hate speech in public discourse in Kosovo but also potential instigators of hatred (with or without intent). 

The report provides an overview of the analysis of public and media discourse, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, following the examination of transcripts from: 8 parliamentary sessions (January 2022 – March 2022); 23 online TV debate shows; 4 social media platforms; 43.511 comments and 313 news posts on social networks. The research has identified recurring patterns, such as reasons and targets for the language used (political beliefs and affiliation; ethnic affiliation; religion; sex, gender and sexual orientation), forms of expression (threats and curses; insults based on racial and ethnic grounds; dehumanising metaphors); as well as media discourse that triggers hate comments from social media users. It also highlights the lack of moderation in the media, exposing public opinion to instances of hate speech. Attention has also been paid to the rhetorical discourse and language used towards LGBTI individuals, the impact of public discourse, the agenda in mainstream and social media, as well as public reactions to them.

Among other things, this report aims to draw attention to public awareness and institutions regarding international and local standards, the right to freedom of expression, and the concept of hate speech. It also aims to contribute to understanding the discourse patterns of language used in social media and public communication in the country, including hate speech, discriminatory language, offensive rhetoric that involves disagreements with certain ideas or thoughts, challenging ideas or beliefs, rhetoric that includes nonviolent negative actions or characterizations and insults, and specifications of dehumanizing characteristics of individuals or affected groups. Furthermore, it aims to enhance society’s ability to react and develop a narrative that promotes human rights, diversity and tolerance. The report provides examples retrieved from research on the language used in public discourse, with a focus on television shows and the country’s parliament that trigger debate, even in social media. From monitoring 9 parliamentary sessions in the Assembly of Kosovo within the period from January 2020 through March 2022, the Ombudsperson found no direct incitement of hatred, however, other expressions of the language used were identified, which in the findings of this report were assessed as soft hate speech. Whereas, from monitoring 23 TV debate shows broadcasted on various media, including online platforms, and the comments generated by followers on social networks, the Ombudsperson finds that hate speech is quite prevalent. The Ombudsperson emphasises that comments containing hate speech and other expressions are not only a result of other comments in the live broadcast of the debate on Facebook but are directly related to the topic discussed by the participants in the TV debate shows. To explore examples of hate speech content comments on social media platforms, comments have been collected from the Facebook pages of four online media outlets - “Gazeta Express”, “Telegrafi”, “IndeksOnline”, and “Kosovo Online”. The selection of these four online media outlets has been made based on the number of followers. The research finds that one (1) comment in every fifteen (15) comments contains hate speech. The majority of comments fall into three categories: dehumanising metaphors, political beliefs and limited abilities.

Justice systems

For many years Judicial System of Kosovo was criticized by many International and national bodies due to inability to handle the cases in accordance with the Article 6 of ECHR. Also, the Ombudsperson of Kosovo, every year received a number of complaints against judiciary due to inability to handle cases within a reasonable time limit (see the EC Report for Kosovo, p. 15 and Ombudsperson’s annual reports)

Corruption

As regards corruption, according to International and National reports, despite many efforts, Kosovo needs to do more in order to successfully combat corruption( US State Department Human Rights Report on Kosovo, 2022, Transparency International Report, EC Kosovo Report 2023.

Protection of rights of marginalized groups

The adoption of Civil Code of Kosovo, which provides for the rights of LGBTIQ+ communities, has been pending since last year, due to opposition by some MPs in the Parliament. Adoption of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities appears to be problematic in the Parliament as it requires votes of national minority communities as well. Currently Serbian MPs are not attending the Parliament sessions. Despite many measures and activities taken by the Authorities, domestic violence remains a problem for Kosovo. Also, despite many improvements and efforts by the Government of Kosovo, more must be done in order to improve situation of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities in accordance with the Constitution and applicable legislation in Kosovo.

The Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo recommends to: 

• The national and regional authorities to understand the obligations deriving from the international conventions, constitution and national legislation and that Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms are necessary for all democratic societies in order to provide equality and justice for all; 

• Establish Impartial and independent Judiciary and independent media; 

• Establish mechanisms to successfully fight corruption.

The Ombudsman notes that in 2023 the national authorities took various actions to implement the provisions of European conventions and the recommendations from Council of Europe bodies. 

Notably, in February 2023, amendments were made to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Family Code to align them with the Istanbul Convention. These changes introduced state-guaranteed legal aid for victims of domestic violence or sexual offences. By Decision no. 332/2023 the Government approved the National Programme on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence for the years 2023-2027. Additionally, the Government established the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence through Decision no. 926/2023 to implement public policies for preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. 

In efforts to enhance the protection of children's rights, amendments have been made to the Code of Criminal Procedure to enable the implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention). These amendments, effective since January 2023, require that the hearing of minor witnesses must be carried out in special conditions regardless of their age.  Furthermore, amendments have been made to Article 276 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which lists the offences which require the victim’s complaint for prosecution to start. With sexual harassment excluded from this list, victims are no longer required to file a complaint in cases of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. 

The Ombudsman also notes the establishment of the National Council for Human Rights through the Government Decision 65/2019 to draft and evaluate human rights policy documents and ensure the implementation of international standards. Besides the Council, there are specialized committees, coordinated by the State Chancellery, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Research, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which oversee the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other regional and international human rights documents. 

The People’s Advocate Office prepared and published the Shadow Report on measures giving effect to the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), which was ratified by Parliament through Law no. 144/2021. Additionally, the People's Advocate conducted advocacy actions to raise awareness and promote GREVIO’s recommendations from the evaluation report on the Republic of Moldova, published on November 14, 2023. 

Throughout 2023, representatives of the People’s Advocate and the People’s Advocate for Children's Rights participated in working meetings of the Human Rights Council on the development of the National Human Rights Action Plan for 2024-2027. The new National Programme, among other things, aims to contribute to the implementation of international and national recommendations that have not been addressed in other public policies. 

Since 2023, the People's Advocate representative has been a member of specialized committees of the National Human Rights Council for monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the Istanbul Convention, CRPD, European Social Charter, and ICESCR. Additionally, the People's Advocate has observer status in the specialized commission for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation status of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security (Resolution 1325), the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), as well as of the recommendations and observations from international institutions as part of the reporting procedures to international bodies. 

The People's Advocate remains concerned about the persistence of the restrictions imposed by "Guretsky law", which prevent citizens from the Transnistrian region from reporting human rights violations to the constitutional authorities in Chisinau and to international bodies. This law, enacted by the self-proclaimed authorities on the left bank of the Nistru River, has faced repeated criticism from the Ombudsman for significantly impeding the freedom of expression and conscience of the citizens in this region. Despite the Ombudsman’s request for the assistance of international and national partners to stop the effects of the "Guretsky law", no visible improvements have been achieved. 

Certain constraints on the rights of LGBT persons still persist in the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia. The Ombudsman is concerned about the ongoing restrictions faced by LGBT individuals in Gagauzia following the adoption of Resolution no. 62-IV/VII of May 25, 2022, by the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, which prohibits the promotion of non-traditional relationships. This group continues to face various limitations on their rights, including the prohibition of promoting non-traditional relationships, organize mass events, seminars, conferences, and other educational events on non-traditional relationships. Production, distribution, broadcasting, and promotion of content on non-traditional relationships are also prohibited in mass media in Gagauzia. Specific restrictions also target the Education Directorate of Gagauzia, prohibiting it from organizing events on non-traditional relationships in educational institutions of Gagauzia. 

The Office of the People’s Advocate of Moldova (OPA) was last re-accredited with A status in October 2023.  

Noting that in practice, the NHRI’s recruitment process aims to ensure the inclusion of a wide range of societal groups, the SCA recommended that OPA takes steps to advocate for the formalization of processes that ensure the principles of pluralism and diversity in its staff composition.  

Additionally, the SCA recommended that the OPA continue to advocate for an adequate level of funding to ensure it can effectively carry out its mandate, to permit the employment and retention of staff with the requisite qualifications and experience, and to ensure the allocation of funds for premises which are accessible to the wider community. 

Finally, the SCA recommended that the OPA continues to advocate for the removal of the provisions from Law no.52/2014 which removes the requirement for the Parliament of Moldova to approve the initiation of criminal proceedings against the OPA in cases of money laundering, offences related to inappropriate performance in the public sector and illicit enrichment offences. Further, it recommended that the NHRI continue to advocate for restoring the stronger provisions regarding the functional immunity of the Ombudsman for actions taken in their official capacity in good faith. 

The Ombudsman reports that SCA recommended, in the September-October 2023 Report, engaging international, regional, and national stakeholders to strengthen the institutional framework of the NHRI. In response to this recommendation, the Ombudsman sent a request on December 5, 2023, to GANNHRI and ENNHRI asking them to send letters of support to national public authorities such as the Parliament, the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. This initiative underscores the importance of implementing SCA recommendations regarding adequate funding and protection against criminal and civil liability for the Ombudsman. 

It is worth noting that previously, to enhance the financial efficiency of staff, on October 13, 2023, the Ombudsman instituted proceedings before the Constitutional Court regarding the unconstitutionality of legislative provisions in the State Budget Law concerning the remuneration of PAO staff. The Ombudsman requested alignment of these provisions with the standards set by the Paris Principles and the Venice Commission, which prescribe an adequate level of remuneration for PAO staff. 

Additionally, throughout 2023, the Ombudsman continued advocating with the State Chancellery and the Government for increased remuneration for PAO staff. This led to amendments in the State Budget Law for 2024, resulting in a 33-35% increase in remuneration. While these amendments do not fully meet the NHRI standards, they nevertheless represent a significant step towards ensuring the financial stability of PAO. 

Furthermore, SCA referred to the importance of adequate funding for PAO infrastructure. Therefore, PAO has consistently raised with the public authorities the issue related to the institution’s premises, which are currently being renovated. While some progress has been earlier reported in this sense, PAO stresses that adequate funding for renovation is essential to have an infrastructure accessible to all.  

Regarding immunity and safeguards, SCA highlighted the importance of providing protection from criminal and civil liability for actions undertaken in good faith for performing job-related duties to safeguard NHRI from individual legal proceedings from anyone who challenges PAO’s actions. In February 2023, Law no. 52 of 2014 on the People’s Advocate was amended so that the Parliament’s prior consent is no longer required for initiating criminal proceedings against the Ombudsman in case of flagrante delicto and money laundering offences, offences against the proper conduct of affairs in the public sphere, and illicit enrichment. PAO will continue advocating for returning to the regulations prior to the February 2023 amendments, which provide for a more robust operational immunity for the Ombudsman. 

Following the enactment of Law no. 1 of 02.02.2023 amending certain normative acts, amendments have been made to Law no.52/2014 on the Ombudsman and Law no.164/2015 approving the Regulation on the organization and operation of the People’s Advocate Office. Key changes included increasing staff numbers, empowering PAO to examine protection applications from whistleblowers, and defending the rights of legal persons. Additionally, the remuneration of PAO staff has been increased to strengthen the financial sustainability of the NHRI. 

The major amendments impacting the institution’s operations include:  

• Parliament’s prior consent for prosecuting the Ombudsman is no longer required in cases of flagrante delicto, money laundering offences, offences against the proper conduct of affairs in the public sphere and illicit enrichment. Although PAO requested giving up to these proposed amendments during consultations due to the risk to the institution’s independence, this recommendation was not accepted. The Ombudsman will, therefore, advocate for a return to the general immunity formula in place before the February 2023 amendments. 
• Revisions in the provisions guaranteeing independence. Now, the Ombudsman cannot be obliged to give explanations or make statements on examined or pending cases, except when such explanations or statements are necessary in the interests of the applicant. Previously, the law obliged the Ombudsman to give explanations or make statements on examined or pending cases involving information of public interest as well, which significantly affected PAO’s independence when dealing with cases under examination and the public credibility of the institution. 
• The selection of candidates for the position of Ombudsman is conducted by a special parliamentary committee, which invites the incumbent Ombudsman, a representative from the Lawyers' Union and a civil society representative as experts with consultative voting rights to the selection process.  
• The Ombudsman has the right to submit to public authorities, organizations and companies, regardless of the type of ownership and legal form of organization, and to decision-makers at all levels opinions and recommendations for necessary improvements in their work to respect human rights and freedoms. 
• The Ombudsman has the right to prepare independent reports on the status of human rights and freedoms and submit them to international and regional human rights institutions and organizations. 
• The People’s Advocate examines protection applications from whistleblowers and contributes to their protection. 
• Legal persons have the right to submit complaints to PAO about violations of human rights and freedoms. 

Regarding the examination of applications submitted to PAO, several provisions have been introduced, including the following: 

• PAO has the right to forward the received applications to competent authorities for examination with the petitioner’s consent. 
• The period of examination and decision on the application has been extended from 10 to 15 days. For justified reasons related to the complexity of cases, the total examination period may be extended with a maximum of 15 days. 

Additionally, PAO’s staff number has been increased from 65 to 72.

According to the Law no.52/2014, the Ombudsman’s duties require engaging with public authorities, legal persons or decision-makers at all levels. In this regard, the Ombudsman submits proposals and/or recommendations to stakeholders for restoration of individuals’ rights, provides opinions on draft public policies received for consultation, and requests materials, documents, and information from authorities. The Ombudsman notes that there are instances where responses from authorities are general and fail to address the substance of the Ombudsman's requests for information. 

Moreover, Law no. 52/2014 grants PAO the right to conduct visits without hindrance to any units in the places of detention and receive any information regarding the treatment and detention conditions of individuals deprived of their liberty. However, the exercise of this right remains limited in the Transnistrian region because the unconstitutional authorities hinder the Ombudsman's access to detention facilities. Additionally, the Ombudsman highlights that the Moldovan Government has not yet implemented the recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) concerning capacity-building for PAO to monitor and safeguard human rights in the Transnistrian region. 

Monitoring the implementation of PAO’s recommendations 

To facilitate the monitoring of the Ombudsman's recommendations to public authorities, the Ombudsman entered into a partnership with the State Chancellery in 2023. As part of this collaboration, a matrix has been jointly developed for tracking the implementation of recommendations from the Annual Report on Human Rights and Freedoms in Moldova, which is presented annually to the Parliament. Through this matrix, responsible public authorities can provide relevant information on the progress of implementation of PAO’s recommendations.  

Overall, approximately 60% of the Ombudsman’s recommendations have been partially implemented. 

Adequate budgeting and PAO staffing 

The new legislative regulations in force since February 2023 have strengthened PAO’s financial and operational autonomy. Article 37 of Law 52/2014 stipulates that PAO’s activities are funded from the state budget, based on the needs estimated by the Ombudsman. Furthermore, paragraph (2) of the same article specifies that PAO manages its own budget independently in accordance with the legal provisions. 

The Law on the State Budget for 2024 has been amended to increase PAO staff remuneration by 33-35% as of January 1, 2024. This amendment represents an important step in aligning the funding standards with the Paris Principles and the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Additionally, the number of PAO staff positions was increased by 7 in February 2023.  

One of the challenges faced by the People’s Advocate Office remains securing adequate funding for the renovation of the permanent headquarters of the institution. Currently, PAO staff operates from a rented temporary building until renovations on the permanent premises are completed. 

Level of cooperation between different human rights actors/bodies 

The Ombudsman's mandate involves cooperation with international and national authorities, as well as civil society and mass media. To this end, the Ombudsman monitors and reports on the human rights situation to international and regional bodies, partners with nonprofit organizations, and engages with mass media to raise awareness and promote rights and freedoms in society. Additionally, PAO prepares annual and special reports to address human rights issues, forwarding recommendations from those reports to public authorities. Human rights awareness-raising activities carried out by PAO include regular training sessions for children and professionals in justice, social protection, education, and related fields. 

PAO representatives actively participate in the working sessions of the committees monitoring the implementation of international and regional human rights conventions and serve as members of the Government’s National Human Rights Council. 

Obstruction of the work of NHRI 

On December 15, 2023, the Ombudsman published a Special Report regarding a suspicious suicide at the temporary detention facility of the Cimislia police inspectorate. The report outlined several identified shortcomings, including issues related to the right to privacy of individuals in custody guaranteed by Article 2 of the ECHR; inadequate training of police officers in monitoring individuals in police custody, including giving first aid; insufficient medical equipment for emergency care; issues related to medical examination of individuals during apprehension and/or detention in the temporary detention facility. 

Subsequently, on January 19, 2024, the Ombudsman received an official letter (notification) from the Chief of the General Inspectorate of Police, expressing disagreement with certain findings in the report and requesting its revision and withdrawal of the press releases about it. The Ombudsman deems the actions of the Chief of the General Inspectorate of Police as an attack on the independence of the National Human Rights Institution. The Ombudsman, therefore, has referred the matter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, informing the Prime Minister and other relevant institutions about this interference and attack on the guarantees of PAO’s independence. Additionally, the Ombudsman has called for measures to be taken to put an end to any intimidation and interference in the work of the Ombudsman by the General Inspectorate of Police. Furthermore, the Ombudsman has brought the case to the attention of the Speaker of Parliament and several specialized parliamentary committees. These developments drew further attention to the Ombudsman's independence and the importance of his reports. 

To enhance effectiveness and financial independence, the People’s Advocate Office recommends the following: 

• Ensure adequate funding for NHRI staff remuneration to enable them to carry out their duties effectively and independently, as well as to retain staff possessing the required qualifications and experience. 
• Strengthen NHRI protection by reintroducing the more robust provisions of Law 52/2014 on the People’s Advocate that were in effect before February 2023, particularly regarding the Ombudsman’s immunity for actions carried out in good faith in his/her official capacity. It should be noted that because of the amendments enacted in February 2023, Parliament’s prior consent is no longer required to initiate criminal proceedings against the Ombudsman for flagrante delicto and money laundering offences, offences against the proper conduct of affairs in the public sphere, and illicit enrichment.  
• Ensure funding for renovating the permanent headquarters of the People’s Advocate Office. 

All of the above recommendations are in line with the SCA report on the accreditation of national human rights institutions published in 2023. Following the evaluation, the Ombudsman has been reaccredited with “A” status. 

Evaluation of candidates to Superior Council of Magistracy and Superior Council of Prosecutors 

The evaluation of candidates to the self-governing bodies of judges and prosecutors (pre-vetting) continued in 2023.  After the Pre-Vetting Commission completed the pre-vetting for all candidates to the Superior Council of Magistracy, the General Assembly of Judges convened on March 17, 2023. However, the participants voted for postponing the General Assembly of Judges to April 28, 2023 - one month beyond the legal deadline for holding elections. The decision to postpone the General Assembly of Judges drew strong criticism from the President of the country, who interpreted it as an attempt by judges to undermine the efforts to reform the judiciary and impede the restoration of justice in Moldova. 

It is worth noting that during the meetings of the General Assembly of Judges, a judge from the Supreme Court of Justice criticized pre-vetting, alleging that the judicial system is captured. 

On September 8, 2023, the Pre-Vetting Commission initiated the re-evaluation of 21 candidates to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP), following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) on August 1, 2023, which annulled 21 decisions of the Pre-Vetting Commission and ordered a re-evaluation of those candidates. 

At the request of the Ombudsman, on September 29, 2023, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) prepared and published the Report on the evaluation of candidates for members of the Superior Council of Magistracy of the Republic of Moldova, the Superior Council of Prosecutors and their specialized bodies. The report includes a number of recommendations for the future evaluation of judges and prosecutors. Those recommendations pertain to the composition of the evaluation commission, consultation with civil society in selecting national members, gender equality criteria in the commission membership, procedural aspects in the work of the evaluation commission, information gathering and verification, hearings of candidates, evaluation decisions, and available remedies. 

The Ombudsman views the Report as a valuable resource of findings and suggestions to address deficiencies in the evaluation procedures for judges and prosecutors and highly values the support of ODIHR/OSCE in promoting democratic processes with a focus on the protection of human rights. 

Electoral processes 

The most recent general local elections held on November 5 and 19, 2023 were conducted in accordance with the new provisions of the Electoral Code and related legislation. Overall, the elections took place in a transparent and professional manner and were well managed by the election administration at all levels, including on election days. The Ombudsman acknowledges that the minor procedural shortcomings did not significantly impact the elections. However, the misuse of public funding affected the campaign, and accountability and oversight over campaign financing still need to be improved.  

During the election campaign, there were instances of candidates, politicians, opinion leaders, journalists, and citizens using hate speech, inciting discrimination and disseminating sexist messages. Consequently, on October 6, 2023, the People's Advocate, together with the Equality Council and civil society organizations, publicly called on electoral candidates to maintain a balanced public discourse and refrain from hate speech, incitement to discrimination, and any form of intolerance. 

The Ombudsman highlights that the public consultation process is guaranteed by Law 239/2008 on transparency in decision-making. Moreover, the Government Decision no. 967/2016 establishes a consultation mechanism with civil society during the decision-making process. In this regard, the online platform managed by the government provides an opportunity for all citizens to provide feedback on draft normative acts. Thus, public authorities are obliged to publish decisions and related materials on both their official websites and the online platform.  

The Ombudsman wishes to emphasize that, according to Article 12 of Law 239/2008, the deadline for submitting feedback on draft decisions should be at least 10 working days from the date of publicly announcing the initiation of drafting the decision or from the date of announcing public consultations. However, in case of some public policies only 2-4 days are given for consultation, which is insufficient time for formulating well-founded opinions. For instance, public consultations on the draft state budget law for 2024 lasted only 4 days from November 28 to December 1, 2023. 

Additionally, the Ombudsman notes that the informative reports accompanying some draft public policies subjected to consultations failed to provide justification for all proposed changes. Consequently, the Ombudsman issued opinions calling attention to the lack of justification for the proposed amendments of the draft normative acts, aiming to ensure proper justification for suggested amendments. 

On June 9, 2023, Parliament passed the Law no. 148 on access to public information, scheduled to take effect on January 8, 2024. The purpose of the law is to ensure transparency within the public sector. The People's Advocate participated in the public consultations on this Law 148/2023 and proposed improvements regarding access to information of public interest for vulnerable groups. The Ombudsman considers that access to public information must be provided in a non-discriminatory and easy to understand manner, ensuring access to information in the requested language for national minorities, and in the Braille system for the visually impaired. Additionally, charging a fee for information exceeding 20 pages could be a significant burden for low-income groups. Regrettably, neither of these suggestions were included in the legislation. 

The People's Advocate highlights that, to counter pro-Russian propaganda in the context of the war against Ukraine, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova passed the Law no. 242 of 31.07.2023 establishing the Centre for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation. During the consultation period, the People's Advocate provided several recommendations from a human rights perspective, which were accepted by the Parliament. The recommendations focused on human rights and non-discrimination, avoiding duplication of tasks between the Centre and other authorities under the Ministry of the Internal Affairs and refraining from interference in private life. According to article 6 of Law no. 242/2023, the Centre for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation is tasked with enhancing and coordinating inter-institutional efforts against disinformation, manipulation of information and coordinated dissemination of messages, narratives, communications, regardless of their origin, which may be harmful to and jeopardize national interests. 

The Ombudsman expressed concern that establishing such an institution in a democratic society could jeopardize free access to information and the right to freedom of expression. 

The Law no. 2 of February 2, 2023, amending certain normative acts (revising the regulatory framework on non-discrimination and equality) introduced amendments to the Law 121/2012 on equality. Those amendments aimed to enhance the functioning of the Equality Council to enable it to fulfil its mandate. Specifically, paragraph 8 was added to article 11 of Law 121/2012, stating that Council members cannot be prosecuted or held liable for their opinions and powers exercised under law. Furthermore, the new item (j) added to the article 12 of Law 121/2012 gives the Council the right to conduct fact-finding visits related to complaints or the implementation of its recommendations.  

The Council’s procedure for examining discrimination complaints has also been improved by regulating rejection of complaints (Article 14), and the deadline for examining complaints received by the Council has been extended from 30 to 90 days, with a possible extension of up to 60 days in case of complex cases or when additional consultations are necessary. In light of the above, the Ombudsman has monitored the amendments made to the Law 121/2012 on ensuring equality and notes that none of the proposed amendments would compromise the effectiveness and/or independence of the Equality Council. Additionally, there were no objections from the Council regarding the new amendments to the law. 

Throughout the reporting period, the Ombudsman did not identify any initiatives or practices that could negatively impact the civil society space or impede the activities of the human rights defenders. It should be noted that in 2022, discussions were held regarding the draft concept of a law to strengthen the protection of human rights defenders. The draft was shared for consideration and discussion with civil society, professionals, trade unions, mass-media and other stakeholders who may act as human rights defenders. Due to the complexity of the concept, the draft is undergoing further refinement to align with the applicable standards and will subsequently be subjected to consultation with policymakers and civil society. 

The Ombudsman’s recommendations to national and regional authorities are the following: 

• Comply with the legal deadlines for consultation of draft public policies and normative acts. Allowing sufficient time for public consultation on draft legislation and public policies is crucial for thorough examination and submission of relevant proposals by both CSOs and NHRI.  
• Provide detailed justification for all proposed changes in draft public policies. The Ombudsman notes that the accompanying information reports should cover all aspects of proposed adjustments or modifications in public policies, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the rationale behind these initiatives. 
• Ensure access to public information for various population groups, considering their specific needs. Public information should be equally accessible to all segments of the population, including national minorities, people with hearing and visual impairments. 

On October 30, 2023, the Commission for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Moldova (CES) adopted Decision no. 91, leading to suspension of 6 TV channels and blocking of several national websites. The Ombudsman issued a statement expressing concern over this decision, stressing the importance of communicating to the public the necessity and proportionality of the restrictions imposed by CES. 

The Ombudsman underscored that the state's obligation to protect the national information space against false information and disinformation is justified in the context of the war in Ukraine, and of the local elections. These threats required the public authorities to streamline their interventions to ensure fair elections, without external interference, prevent financial opacity of mass-media, ensure that mass-media is not biased and guarantee citizens' right to full, accurate and truthful information. However, the Ombudsman emphasized that any measures to counter threats to the security of the national information space must align with international standards, respecting press freedom and minimizing interference. Thus, no restriction on information access may be imposed for national security reasons unless their legality and necessity in a democratic society to protect the legitimate national security interests are demonstrated and unless the law provides adequate safeguards against abuse, including prompt, thorough, accessible and effective examination of the justification of the restriction by an independent oversight authority. 

In this regard, the Ombudsman called upon CES, the Audiovisual Council and the Security Service to provide additional and comprehensive information justifying the aforementioned restrictions. 

The recommendations from the People’s Advocate to national and regional authorities are as follows: 

• Ensure proportionality of restrictive measures aimed at safeguarding national security. The Ombudsman stresses that limitations cannot be imposed for reasons of national security unless it can be demonstrated that they are legally mandated and necessary in a democratic society to safeguard a legitimate national security interest. Moreover, the law must provide adequate safeguards against abuse and an effective oversight by an independent authority to review the necessity and legitimacy of such limitations. 
• Refrain from implementing restrictive measures for indefinite periods. Where application of restrictive security measures is unavoidable, we recommend avoiding their application for indefinite periods, which may significantly affect the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms over time, particularly for vulnerable groups (persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV/AIDS, national minorities, etc.) who daily face limited access to public services, discrimination, etc.  
• Put in place a compensatory mechanism where restrictive security measures are necessary. 

According to the 2023 Report of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) received 653 applications against Moldova. In comparison, 642 applications were received in 2022 and 630 in 2021. Moldova ranks 5th, with 2.60 applications per 10,000 inhabitants. In 2023, the Court delivered 24 judgments, all finding at least one violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by the Republic of Moldova. These judgments concerned 32 violations of the Convention, including 14 violations related to court proceedings or enforcement of judgements. Other six violations concerned the right to privacy, often relating to the relationship between parents and children, and five violations related to liberty and security, predominantly concerning the examination of arrest warrants by judges. 

Throughout 2023, the ECtHR issued judgments against Moldova in cases of significant importance and impact. For instance, in Stoianoglo v. Moldova case, ECtHR held that there had been a violation of the right of access to court. The case involved the alleged inability of the applicant, a former Prosecutor General, to appeal against his suspension that was due to ongoing criminal proceedings against him. The Court called attention to the need for procedural safeguards to prevent arbitrary use of the suspension mechanism. 

In its judgment of July 18, 2023, in Manole v. Moldova case, the ECtHR found a violation of the right to freedom of expression. This case concerned the applicant’s dismissal as judge for having disclosed to the press the reasons for her dissenting opinion before the full text of the Court of Appeal’s decision was made public. The Court acknowledged that the duty of discretion required that the decision reasons should not be disclosed before they are made public. However, the ECtHR emphasized the importance of considering procedural safeguards and the nature and proportionality of the penalty when interfering with freedom of expression guaranteed by the ECHR.  

To ensure effective representation of Moldova before the ECtHR and the enforcement of its judgments and decisions, an Advisory Council was established under the Government Agent for ECtHR. The Council includes a representative from the People's Advocate Office, who actively participates in the Council's working meetings to address complex or systemic issues. On November 23 and 24, 2023, the Council convened in Strasbourg to discuss the oversight mechanism of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe over the execution of the Court's judgments. Particular attention was paid to Moldovan cases under enhanced and standard procedure. The Council also considered individual and general measures to be implemented at national level to ensure the full and timely execution of the judgments. 

Overall, the People's Advocate highlights that the most commonly violated rights under ECHR in Moldova remain access to a fair trial, prohibition of torture and the right to liberty and security. 

The People's Advocate notes that it is the responsibility of the Government Agent of the Republic of Moldova to contribute to the implementation of European Court’s judgments. The Government Agent is supported by an Advisory Council, which operates in accordance with the European Convention. With the adoption of the Government Decision no. 824 of October 27, 2023, the membership of the Council has been revised. It now comprises representatives from public authorities, academia, the National Human Rights Institution (PAO) and civil society. The Council contributes to ensuring effective representation of the country before the ECtHR and the execution of the judgments and decisions of the European Court. 

As the Ombudsman is not responsible for the implementation of the European Court’s judgments, it does not provide recommendations in this regard. However, given that the previous report on State of the rule of law in Europe for 2023 refers to the recommendations of the Government Agent, we wish to provide an update on their implementation. The recommendation to strengthen the capacities of the Government Agent by ensuring the effective functioning of the Advisory Council has been implemented following the amendment of the Regulation of the Advisory Council, which expanded its membership. Therefore, according to article 4 of the Regulation of the Advisory Council, a representative from the People’s Advocate Office is now a member of this body. 

Situation of refugees 

Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine was introduced as of March 1, 2023, through the Government Decision no. 21/2023. The decision guarantees displaced persons rights such as access to healthcare, education, residence in the country, labour market, social assistance and accommodation. Between March 1 and December 26, 2023, a total of 35,950 persons were registered in the temporary protection information system of the General Inspectorate for Migration. Consequently, 27,715 identity documents were issued to beneficiaries of temporary protection, including 8,326 to minors. 

The Decision no. 21/2023 of the Republic of Moldova transposed the provisions of Directive 2002/55/EC ensuring access to suitable accommodation or necessary financial resources for accommodation. Additionally, the Directive mandates social assistance and subsistence support to be provided in accordance with EU standards. Therefore, the Advisory Council for the Prevention of Violations of the Rights of Refugees established under the People’s Advocate Office continued to monitor the access of refugees to accommodation, health care, social services, education, etc. In 2023, the Council produced two half-yearly reports on the rights of foreign refugees in Moldova and a thematic report on the accessibility of basic health services for refugees. The Council also made recommendations to the authorities in this regard. Among the most important recommendations that have been implemented was the granting of temporary protection to foreign refugees from Ukraine. The recommendations to provide adequate living conditions in temporary accommodation centres have also been implemented to a large extent. Additionally, the recommendation to provide refugee children with equal access to education implemented in September 2023 led to the cancellation of the visitor status for displaced children from Ukraine in classes. Yet, there are still several recommendations that have not been implemented by the authorities, particularly concerning non-discrimination against Roma refugees from Ukraine in placement centers; the lack of a mechanism to identify and refer refugees with mental health problems; the absence of an employment policy for displaced persons. Because the complexity of these recommendations requires a comprehensive approach and an extended timeframe, they are still in the early stages of implementation. 

Transnistrian region 

The People's Advocate remains concerned about the status of human rights in the Transnistrian region, particularly regarding people held in detention facilities. Regrettably, the unconstitutional authorities in this region impede PAO ‘s access to the places of detention. Therefore, the Ombudsman has recommended to the Government to implement holistic measures to safeguard human rights, in order to be able to unconditionally monitor places of deprivation of liberty in the region on the left bank of the Nistru River. The situation of children's rights in this region is also a matter of concern. The Ombudsman has called attention to the need to convene sectoral meetings, with a particular focus on human rights. Thus, on October 10, 2023, PAO representatives participated in a meeting of the working group for human rights held at the Bender headquarters of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. Discussions during the meeting included various topics, such as the rights of people with mental disabilities, access to quality medical services and synergy of approaches from both banks of the Nistru River to the application of international standards; freedom of thought, conscience and religion in the Transnistrian region; rights of refugees. Furthermore, the issue of restricting the freedom of movement of citizens to the Transnistrian region, notably concerning journalists and human rights promoters, was addressed. It is worth noting that the last meeting of the working group for human rights took place on November 22, 2021. Since then, several sectoral group meetings have taken place, but convening specifically on human rights matters has been unsuccessful. Therefore, the Ombudsman has urged the state to involve PAO representatives in other sectoral groups as well, besides the one focused on human rights. 

Media freedom

On January 24, 2024, TV8 journalist Viorica Tataru and cameraman Andrei Captarenco were apprehended in the Transnistrian region by the so-called "mgb" while covering a protest in Tiraspol against the new provisions of the Customs Code. Subsequently, the journalists were interrogated for three hours and coerced to delete all the video footage they had taken during the protest before being released. 

The Ombudsman publicly condemned the actions of the Tiraspol authorities on January 25, 2023, denouncing them as a severe attack on press freedom, which is essential in any functioning democracy. The Ombudsman emphasized that this incident once again shows the disregard for human rights in the region and the low standards of human rights protection. Furthermore, the People's Advocate was quick to commend the response of the General Prosecutor's Office, which initiated a criminal case for abduction of the journalists, as well as that of the Reintegration Bureau for promptly notifying Tiraspol’s political representative in the Transnistrian settlement negotiations and calling for the immediate release of the journalists. 

Rights of minority groups 

The expression of hate speech and prejudices by some members of Parliament towards the LGBTQ+ community in the Republic of Moldova, along with the refusal of the mayor of the municipality of Chisinau to authorize the march of this community on June 18, 2023, raised concerns for the People's Advocate. In response, the Ombudsman published on June 16, 2023 an appeal emphasizing the importance of respecting fundamental human rights and freedoms, noting that hate speech poses significant risks, as it could generate hate crimes or cause social tensions and even societal divisions. 

The Ombudsman also notes that the LGBTQ+ Pride March held between June 12 and 18, 2023 took place without incidents, but was accompanied by police to ensure participants’ safety. This shows that society still remains reluctant towards sexual minority communities. The Ombudsman, therefore, calls on public authorities to strengthen efforts to reduce stereotypes based on gender and gender identity. Minority communities are members of society and should participate actively in its development without restrictions. 

It should be noted that in ATU Gagauzia the promotion of non-traditional relationships and LGBT community was prohibited following the adoption of Decision no. 62-IV/VII by the People’s Assembly on May 25, 2022. This decision prohibits the promotion of non-traditional relations, organizing mass events, conferences, or discussions on this topic. Moreover, such events are forbidden within educational institutions in ATU Gagauzia. 

The People's Advocate highlights that in 2023, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova passed Law no. 2/2023, which protects sexual orientation and gender identity criteria against all forms of discrimination.

The People's Advocate highlights a significant deterioration in the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region, particularly since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine. The Ombudsman, therefore, recommends that both national and regional authorities establish a new monitoring procedure, including by appointing a Special Rapporteur or initiating a special mission to address human rights issues in the region. Previously, as part of his mandate, the Ombudsman wrote letters to the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, emphasizing the need to enhance the monitoring process on the left bank of the Nistru River, and asked for support in this regard. 

During the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), several UN member countries called on Montenegro to take actions for the Ombudsman to achieve A status - which Montenegro accepted. Moreover, during the Sustainable Development Summit of September 2023 the President of the Republic submitted a document outlining commitments towards sustainable development goals that Montenegro accepted, including the Ombudsman becoming an A status institution. This would also support Montenegro's path towards the European Union as one of the criteria includes the obligation to strengthen the independence, professionalism, and institutional capacities of the Ombudsman. In the latest progress report, the European Commission urges Montenegro to "take measures to better align this framework with the Paris Principles to advance the institution's status to A."

In the 2023, the Protector commemorated twenty years of work. The institution enjoys significant, if not the greatest, trust among all institutions in Montenegro, as evidenced by recent years' perception studies such as the Balkan Barometer. The success and quality of work of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro is confirmed by a high level of trust from citizens, as well as assessments from credible international institutions, and support for obtaining A status will contribute to the implementation of all human rights and strengthening of Montenegro's democratic and civil society. 

We expect that in the first half of 2024, the first concrete steps towards achieving status A will be taken, with the formation of a working group that will work on amending legislation to create the conditions for alignment with the Paris Principles. This implies amendments to the regulations with the aim of improving the status, and in the part related to the mandate of the Protector, selection and appointment, provision of adequate means for work and financial autonomy, a clear position and autonomy in the employment of staff, as well as stronger interaction with international human rights system. 

The Parliament of Montenegro, through the competent Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms, within its monitoring and oversight role, monitors the implementation of recommendations of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro addressed to relevant state authorities, as contained in the Annual Report, and adopts conclusions to follow up on their implementation. 

The legislative framework at the national level, in accordance with the Paris Principles, must provide and guarantee a system that is independent, efficient, and meets all requirements for the establishment, functioning, and mandate of national institutions for the protection of human rights and freedoms. 

Although the recommendations of ombudsman institutions and equality bodies are not an effective legal tool de jure, de facto they have an irreplaceable role in the field of protection and prevention of human rights violations. When public authorities act in accordance with given recommendations, the state shows a responsible attitude towards the citizen and the authority of the institution is strengthened. Through the dialogue of decision-makers, it is necessary to continuously point out the importance of given recommendations and thereby encourage their implementation in practice. 

The previous practice has shown that timely implementation of recommendations prevents the repetition of the same mistakes in the future. Therefore, we will continue to insist on monitoring the implementation of recommendations, some of which do not represent major challenges, such as those addressing problems that are not systemic in nature, or those that do not require major investments or changes in regulations and solve a specific problem of vital importance for individuals.  

The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro was accredited with B status in May 2016.  

While noting that, in practice, the Ombudsman undertakes some promotional activities despite the financial constraints it faces, the SCA encouraged the Ombudsman to advocate for appropriate amendments to its enabling law to make its promotional mandate explicit.  

Further, the SCA encouraged the Ombudsman to advocate for the formalisation and application of a selection and appointment process that includes requirements to publicize vacancies broadly; maximise the number of potential candidates from a wide range of society groups; promote broad consultation and participation in the process; 5 assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined objective criteria; and select members to serve in their individual capacity.  

Additionally, the SCA was concerned that the budgetary resources allocated to the Ombudsman are insufficient for it to effectively carry out its mandate.  

Finally, during the review, the Ombudsman reported that it may only recruit staff after obtaining a certificate from the Ministry of Finance that funds are available for salaries, even if necessary funds have been approved in the budget. The SCA noted that NHRIs should be legislatively empowered to determine its staffing structure, the skills required to fulfil the Ombudsman’s mandate, set other appropriate criteria (such as diversity), and select their staff in accordance with national law. 

The President of Montenegro at the conference on the occasion of 20 years of work of the institution of the Ombudsman, stated that the scope of competence of the Ombudsman should be expanded in order to affirm the value of the rule of law, and the Secretary General of ENNHRI Debbie Kohner believes that the Protector could achieve A status accreditation with relatively small changes to its founding legislation - to codify its promotion mandate; ensure an open and transparent selection process; introduce financial autonomy; give it freedom to recruit its own staff; and ensure adequate funding to fulfil its mandates. 

As mentioned in the previous chapter, also, during the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), several UN member states called on Montenegro to undertake activities in order for the Protector to receive A status - and Montenegro accepted those recommendations. Another example of the same obligation is the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2023, when the President underlined the obligation of Montenegro to ensure that the Protector to become an institution with A status. 

After 20 years of work, we consider that the role of the institution of the Ombudsman is well established in the state-legal system of Montenegro.  Its results are recognized and valued, especially by the international community, as evidenced by initiatives and support for the institution to change its accreditation status before the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) as soon as possible. 

There have been no changes to the applicable national regulatory framework introduced in 2023.

The institution has successfully cooperated and continues to cooperate with all relevant domestic stakeholders. This particularly applies to certain judicial bodies, as well as collaboration with public bodies of legislative and executive powers, emphasizing the constructive and continuous support provided by parliamentary working bodies:  the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Committee on Gender Equality. 

The academic sector and educational institutions are also significant partners in joint efforts to develop a human rights protection system, as are trade unions, and the civil sector has long been recognized as a strategic partner and a source of numerous pieces of information that serve the timely and efficient protection of human rights and freedoms in Montenegro. The Montenegrin media also play such a role. 

Moreover, the Protector notes that it is necessary to have a more systematic and better organized public authorities in order to monitor and implement the recommendations of the Ombudsman. 

The institution does not have its own space (venue), which is rare when talking about ombudsman institutions, and contradicts the standards for the operation of such an institution, as highlighted by EU partners in their reports. Investing in personnel infrastructure and strengthening it is also important, as it can significantly impact the quality of work. The institution must be able to meet its new responsibilities in the right conditions. Ensuring that is usually a long-term process; it is not just about filling vacant positions. 

The recruitment process takes place through the responsible state authority (Human Resources Administration), in accordance with the law governing the rights, duties and responsibilities of civil servants and state employees.  

The Protector is not completely independent in the selection of staff, given that the procedure is carried out before the Government’s Human Resources Agency. This is contrary to the recommendations of international partners (CoE, TAIEX mission) which calls for complete independence in staff recruitment, as it is the case with the Assembly. Also, during the election campaigns, as a form of preventive measure for all institutions due to possible political corruption, the Protector (as many others) is prevented from hiring personnel, which further burdens the personnel selection process. 

The Protector is not completely financially independent because the dynamics of spending his budget is approved by the Ministry of Finance, unlike the Assembly which does so independently. In addition, spending is limited during election campaigns, which further complicates the work of the institution. 

The competences of the Protector are too broad and the existing budget does not provide all the financial resources for the full implementation of the mandate. Part of the funds have been provided through donor support. However, due to the constant lack of funds and due to the extension of the mandate a fair balance must be found between these two requirements (administrative and financial). This includes the analysis of the personnel structure. This is especially so if it is well known that according to the available information the work in a near future will be done on the new Law on the Protector (by the end of 2024). 

Reports from ombudsman institutions and equality bodies that highlight certain systemic anomalies, especially in situations where a certain issue is continuously raised, are strategic documents that public authorities should take into consideration in their work. 

Crisis times at the national level must be accompanied by increased budget allocations for ombudsman institutions and equality bodies, thereby increasing the efficiency of these institutions in responding to the needs of citizens. 

We have indicated and continue to indicate that human rights cannot wait for more stable and better times and that, regardless of economic, political and other processes and reforms that will inevitably take place, efforts must be made to ensure continuity in the effective application of laws and other regulations, institutional stability, and professional and efficient behaviour by all parts of public administration. All in all, the preconditions for the implementation and development of the human rights system in Montenegro must be provided, in order to avoid legal uncertainty and distrust of citizens in the institutions of the system. 

In 2023, the Protector dealt with 1,107 complaints, of which: 977 complaints received in 2023 and 130 complaints transferred from 2022. The procedure was completed in 958 cases (86.54%) 

The complaints received by the Protector indicate, among others, that laws and policies are still not sufficiently aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and there is a lack of effective implementation of the existing normative framework, which makes it difficult or impossible for persons with disabilities to exercise their guaranteed rights. 

The Protector notes that there have been relatively few legislative interventions that would be significant in terms of improving the regulatory framework in the field of anti-discrimination, which may be a consequence of the lack of parliamentary sessions during this period. The trend in favour of using the procedures of the Ombudsman continues. This mostly due to the fact that the procedures in question are flexible, simple, and free. This trend has been present for a longer period of time, as evidenced by the frequent direct communication of officials of the institution with citizens. When it comes to subjects in the field of administration and justice, which are generally the most numerous in the statistics of the Ombudsman, it is evident that the same problems in realizing human rights and freedoms still exist. 

Judicial cases are still tied to the slowness of court proceedings, as well as the prosecutorial investigations that precede them. Additionally, there is a noticeable trend of prolonged investigations in particularly sensitive cases, where victims are individuals from vulnerable groups, which goes against the positive obligation of the state based on multiple rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (right to life, prohibition of torture, right to privacy). In the field of children’s rights, progress has been made in certain areas, but there is still inequality in the realization of rights. The issue of child poverty remains very pronounced, so it is necessary to create policies that will contribute to its reduction.  

There is a noticeable increase in violence among children, and a particular problem is the misuse of social media and the internet in general. The focus is particularly on the Anti-Discrimination Ombudsman, considering current social and political trends, ongoing crises, and the lack of constructive dialogue in the country’s political and public life. In addition to the evident lack of tolerance and understanding, the widespread polarization in the public often affects vulnerable groups and individuals who are least protected and are marginalized in society by all indicators. In this regard, we particularly emphasize the establishment and operation of an Independent Monitoring Mechanism for the promotion, protection, and monitoring of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in Montenegro, as well as the publication of the report “The Situation of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro”.  

The Ombudsman expects the adoption of a new Equality and Non-Discrimination Act, which is currently in the draft stage. The Protector has previously pointed out the need for amendments to the Criminal Code of Montenegro in terms of anti-discrimination legislation in order to align with the conventions of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, legal standards of the European Court of Human Rights, and other international documents. Therefore, the new amendments prescribe 17 new criminal offenses. It is emphasized that a specific form of the criminal offense of femicide has not been introduced, which the institution of the Ombudsman advocated for, especially considering the increasing number of women being killed by their spouses/partners in recent years.  

In 2023, 22 (twenty-two) requests for Free Access to Information were submitted to the Ombudsman, and all requests were processed as follows: 13 requests were accepted; 2 requests were partially accepted; 3 requesters were informed in writing; and 4 requests were rejected as unfounded. Requests for access to information were submitted by non-governmental organizations and citizens who had cases with the Ombudsman. The requests mainly related to providing information on the Ombudsman’s work in specific areas of human rights protection, providing statistical data on work, and providing copies of documentation from specific cases. 

Five complaints related to the free access to information have been submitted to the Ombudsman. In this regard, the Ombudsman has noticed that state authorities’ responses to individual requests were not provided in accordance with relevant legal provisions, and has found a violation of this right, and has therefore made recommendations for the timely response to the submitted requests. 

We express our satisfaction due to the fact that the importance and contribution of the Institution is recognized, so we continuously receive a large number of invitations for cooperation and participation of our representatives at gatherings organized by the civil sector. 

A meeting with representatives of the civil sector was held at the institution of the Protector, on the occasion of the preparation of the Tour Plan for 2023, which will be implemented by the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture. 

We are pleased that our Institution is recognized as a credible partner in many areas of our work, and especially that we have the opportunity to continue activities in cooperation with the civil sector on the protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms, equality and the rule of law. In the institution, we understand the role of the civil sector as an extremely important and credible partner in the protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms. 

In 2023, the total number of petitions submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in relation to Montenegro decreased. In 2022, 295 petitions had been assigned to a judicial formation of the Court. If we take into account the index of submitted petitions, which indicates the number of cases (inflow) in 2023 per 10,000 inhabitants, as a statistical parameter used by the European Court in its work, it indicates that Montenegro with an index of 2.80 is in third place of all member states of the Council of Europe per capita (the average index of member states of the Council of Europe for 2023 is 0.41). During 2023, not a single judgment was passed in relation to Montenegro that found a violation of any Convention right, while one decision was passed in which the petition was declared inadmissible. 

In relation to the European Court of Human Rights’ standards regarding the right to a fair trial enshrined in Article 6 ECHR, the Ombudsman has identified deficiencies in the procedure and efficiency of selecting judges and managing the work of the court; also in connection with organizational measures.  The Protector has highlighted the need to strengthen the efficiency of the system by ensuring that the legislative framework makes it possible to meet the reasonable-length requirement of Article 6 ECHR.  The problems that have been identified also concern the timely implementation of recommendations. To make sure that the recommendations are implemented and that human rights are effectively and fully respected, the parties have been encouraged to use all effective legal remedies to expedite court proceedings. For example, they can lodge a lawsuit for fair satisfaction before the Supreme Court of Montenegro or a control request for expediting the proceedings. A recommendation is also given to the Judicial Council to take legislative measures to ensure the efficient functioning and operation of the court. 

Relevant legal standards of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are applied in the proceedings, emphasizing the importance of state responsibility and the direct application of these standards to strengthen the national system and realize the rights of citizens within the national legal system. The recommendations are aimed at taking legislative procedural measures and actions, making decisions, and conclusively ending the proceedings. 

In 2023, there were no initiatives for amending and supplementing laws, but it is noted that amendments to the Law on Free Legal Aid in terms of aligning the concept of victim with the Convention against Torture, which were accepted in the previous government mandate, have been returned and will be reprocessed with the new parliament. 

Judicial system 

Enhancing the efficiency of the judicial system, in terms of organizational and legislative measures, especially in the process of selecting judges, as well as strengthening the information system, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the system at the level of procedural-legal prerequisites. 

To improve the functioning of the justice system, the Protector recommends to: 

• Strengthen the enforcement system of final court judgments in each individual case, in accordance with the established practice of the ECHR. 
• Continuously improve and encourage the use of effective legal remedies to expedite proceedings, in order to resolve cases and ensure that citizens can exercise their rights within the framework of national law. 

Hate Speech 

In 2023, the largest number of reactions and statements from the Ombudsman were related to offensive speech, hate speech, online threats and intimidation, particularly examples of misogyny and sexism, especially towards public figures. The Ombudsman’s practice, for years now, shows that a negligible number of cases relate to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, and this was also the case in the mentioned period (1 case). However, there was a significantly higher number of cases and/or examples where a public reaction was needed regarding hate speech. According to the Media Union’s data, there were 16 cases of attacks on journalists and media in 2023. 

Media freedom  

Journalism continues to be one of the professions whose representatives are exposed to the most frequent and continuous obstructions of work and attacks in the performance of their official duties, which requires a better systemic response from the competent state authorities. 

We are concerned about the assessment of professional associations that the working conditions and salaries are below the national average, that they still suffering pressures, censorship and self-censorship, in polarized collegial relations. Due to the situation pointed out by the journalists themselves, but also by all relevant domestic and international subjects that monitor the situation in this area, the institution of the Protector supports the adoption of the Branch collective agreement for media activity, as well as new media laws. 

It is necessary to continue to strengthen the awareness of the general public that a personal attitude towards editorial policies must not be a reason for harassing and endangering journalists and other media workers. It is especially important that public officials set an example in the promotion and respect of media freedom, and never interfere in their work. 

Responsible individuals in the public administration system, but also in the private sector, should act transparently and provide answers to the questions and topics that journalists decide to deal with, regardless of how uncomfortable it may be for them and if they do not agree with the editorial policies of the particular media.  

If there are justified cases when measures of restriction of freedom of expression are applied, especially when applying the strictest measures – such as criminal or misdemeanour liability - applicable international standards must be taken into account, in terms of possible pressures on the work of the media. 

Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro recommends to: 

• Start activities in the process of re-accreditation - change of status (from "B" to "A”) Improve the database; 
• Improve the promotion and content concept on digital platforms; 
• Promotion of the establishment, activities and effects of the work of the UNCRPD in Montenegro; 
• Publication of the report of the UNCRPD in Montenegro, which will be made on the basis of ten field visits to institutions of upbringing, education, social and health care, with the application of indicators for monitoring the Convention. 

The Ombudsman’s Office in North Macedonia remains the central body for promoting and enforcing human rights. In its last three reports, DG NEAR stipulates to North Macedonia the urgent need for improvement of the conditions in prisons, especially about the rights of persons in detention/prison. Finding alternatives to incarceration was also noted in the report, and is in line with the recommendation in the Annual report of the Ombudsman regarding the state of overcrowdedness in all closed penitentiaries. The condition of unhygienic premises, insufficient light and unfurnished premises has been continuously present for several years, which is why the Ombudsman has on several occasions through special information and reports indicated the necessity of taking urgent measures to overcome the problems. The recommendations made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on the treatment of detained and convicted persons were not addressed, which is a matter of serious concern. In 2024 the CPT published a report on the periodic visit in North Macedonia in October 2023. The report concludes that “there has been no improvement in the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police since its 2019 visit, although the report found that improvements have been made in some of the prisons, notably in respect of ensuring a minimum level of hygiene and state of repair in cells.”

The Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Civil Registry (Official Gazette of the RNM No. 129), as of June 21, 2023, introduced significant changes aimed at simplifying and enhancing accessibility to the process of registering individuals not previously recorded in the birth registry. These amendments facilitate a smoother pathway for those seeking registration.

Key provisions of the amendments include that individuals who have submitted applications in response to the public call and are listed in the register of unregistered persons, as per the Law on individuals not registered in the Register of births, will undergo additional verification processes. Following these verifications, they will be officially entered into the register of births, with the deadline set at no later than December 31, 2023.

Regarding inter-party support and collaboration amongst NHRIs it is worth mentioning that the 2023 ENNHRI NHRI Academy took place in Skopje, with the Ombudsman office in North Macedonia as a co-host of the event. At the Academy, representatives from 24 National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) gathered to delve into significant rule of law obstacles and explore how they can leverage the mandates of their institutions to tackle these challenges. The profound role of the NHRIs in tackling corruption, while protecting and enhancing human rights was also recognized.

The Ombudsman, through its case work and various mechanisms, including the National Preventive Mechanism through regular visits to institutions where freedom of movement is restricted, monitors compliance with its recommendations, guidance, and reports.

In this year’s Annual report the Ombudsman noted that despite not being fully staffed this year as a Mechanism for civil control of individuals with police authorizations, the Ombudsman continued to execute this responsibility diligently, often taking proactive measures. For instance, he investigated the conduct of special unit members at the Ministry of Internal Affairs during a search at the Penal-Correctional Institution in late October. The Ombudsman discovered violations of the rights of the incarcerated individuals. Subsequently, in line with his authority, he submitted a request for the initiation of proceedings to determine criminal liability against the special unit member.

Following the amendments and additions to the Law on Civil Registry, the Ombudsman once again requested updated data from the relevant authorities regarding the registration of children and individuals affected by these changes. This data was needed for the Ombudsman to assess the efficiency of the amendments to the Law on Civil registry, as no complaints were made regarding this matter. 

The recommendations given by the Ombudsman in last year's report pertained to ensuring that NHRI has a sufficient budget and maintains independence in financial decisions based on its needs, prevent the NHRI from having to justify its financial requirements and spending plan to state authorities, and ensuring the hiring of adequate professional staff according to the planned positions. Fulfilment of these conditions will directly reflect in the NHRI’s efficiency. However, none of the abovementioned recommendations were implemented.

The Ombudsman’s mandate in promoting and protecting human rights is closely related to facilitating a space where those rights could be exercised. In this venue, the Ombudsman’s annual report provides a broad spectrum of activities and measures taken related to his recommendations. Namely, at the end of 2023, the National strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2023-2030 and its 2023-2026 Action Plan were adopted. Organizations of persons with disabilities, supported by the Ombudsman, actively participated in preparing these strategic documents, which aim to promote and support the rights of these citizens in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A Draft Law on Secondary Education was publicized on the ENER System (Electronic National Register of Regulations), for which the Ombudsman provided an opinion. The Opinion commended the Ministry's commitment to harmonizing the regulation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the CRPD. It also expressed satisfaction with the improved normative framework for protecting against discrimination and promoting equality for children and youth in the education process.

The number of petitions submitted to the Ombudsman indicates that enforcement agents and courts are not implementing the amendments to the Law on Obligation Relations regarding the statute of limitations. Consequently, citizens are forced into bailiff-court relations. The Ombudsman asserts that the statute of limitations for enforcement should be universally applied, requiring executors and courts to adhere to the principles of constitutionality and legality in stopping enforcement when conditions for limitation are met. Additionally, there have been no improvements in the administrative judiciary, where citizens remain entangled for years in various procedures, a situation that also affects the work of the prosecutor's office, which prolongs pre-investigation procedures for years.

The Ombudsman of the Republic of Macedonia was accredited with B-status in October 2011.

The SCA acknowledged the NHRI’s human rights promotional activities and encouraged it to continue to interpret its mandate broadly. Additionally, it encouraged the NHRI to advocate for a wider mandate that includes all human rights set out in international, regional and domestic instruments, covers all areas of human rights and provides it with explicit protection and promotion functions in all human rights. 

Further, the SCA encouraged the NHRI to advocate for legislative amendments to the selection process that would include requirements to publicise vacancies, maximise the number of potential candidates, promote board consultation and participation in the process and ensure pluralism in the composition of staff. 

The SCA emphasised the importance of the NHRI engaging with the international human rights system, encouraging it to actively engage with GANHRI, ENNHRI, as well as international and national NGOs and civil society organisations. 

Finally, the SCA noted with concern that the NHRI had not been provided sufficient funding to carry out its additional responsibility as the NPM under the OPCAT. It urged the government to provide the NHRI with the necessary financial resources to enable it to fulfil this obligation. 

In 2023, the NHRI sent a proposal for amendments to its enabling legislation to the President of the Parliament, with the aim of strengthening the institution’s compliance with the UN Paris Principles.

The SCA accredited the Ombudsman of the Republic of North Macedonia with B status in 2011, and since then, no changes have been made regarding the institution's status. The SCA welcomed the promotional activities undertaken by the Ombudsman and recommended that the Ombudsman’s mandate be used even more broadly in this regard. As a result, the Ombudsman continuously increases the number of activities aimed at raising citizens' awareness about protecting their rights. Special attention is given to persons with disabilities, children, and students. The Ombudsman holds regular meetings with students to inform them on how they can exercise their rights, not only through the institution but also within the universities/faculties where they are enrolled.

Regarding the involvement of the Ombudsman in the international human rights system, the annual report provides detailed explanations of the activities and visits that the institution manages to carry out despite having a very limited budget. To move closer to achieving A status, the Ombudsman needs to improve its financial and institutional independence, which is why a draft law for the amendment and supplementation of the Ombudsman Law was submitted.

For the effective promotion and protection of human rights, it is crucial that the Ombudsman has full managerial, financial, and administrative autonomy. The independent allocation of the NHRI budget is also essential. The independence and autonomy of the Ombudsman and similar institutions are vital because they oversee state administration bodies, local government units, and other public authorities in areas that are particularly important to citizens and their rights.

From a formal-legal standpoint, the state has not yet established the necessary conditions for the Ombudsman to fully operate in promoting, preventing, and protecting human rights and freedoms. The required normative prerequisites for the independence of the Expert Service, the National Preventive Mechanism Team, special departments, and the Ombudsman's offices have not been met.

Additionally, under the current normative framework, having Ombudsman employees classified as administrative servants compromises the constitutional status and independence of the Ombudsman as an autonomous body. This setup obstructs the Ombudsman's ability to develop its capacities independently and to enhance the standards for its unimpeded functioning.

In December 2023, a group of parliament members submitted a draft law to amend and supplement the Law on the Ombudsman, which was placed on the agenda of the last session held by the previous composition of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia. At that session, the procedure for voting on the amendments and supplements to the Ombudsman’s law was postponed due to technical reasons. Consequently, during the reporting period, no new regulations concerning the institution were adopted.

The Ombudsman has not been subjected to intimidation or threats. In that capacity, the Ombudsman enjoys complete freedom to share their expertise, opinions, and recommendations without being held accountable for their actions, in accordance with the Law on the Ombudsman. However, the limitations in the functioning of the institution pertain to the provision of resources for its operations. Namely, the Institution's funds come from the RNM Budget. In recent years, project collaborations with donors have helped supplement the basic budget, but in 2023, no donor funds were added to the institution's budget. However, this year, the institution received financial support through a donation from the European Commission project "Support for the Rule of Law of the RNM," where the Ombudsman is a direct beneficiary under the 4th component. Additionally, the institution received support from the UNHCR office in Skopje.

During the budget approval stage, it was evident that the funds allocated for the four sub-programs within the basic budget were insufficient. The international community could view this as inadequate and not serious enough for the Ombudsman to fulfil its mandate and competences, especially compared to the budgets of similar institutions in the region. Even this amount was not used effectively due to difficulties in finding the legal means to hire all the expert profiles needed by the departments, which are the main "consumers" of their budgets.

The planned addition of three external members from civil organisations in the Citizen Control Mechanism did not happen again this year. Although, the Assembly of North Macedonia selected two associations in November 2023, the selection process for the third association was not completed within the reporting year.

It should be noted that to fully implement the Citizen Control Mechanism within the Ombudsman, additional financial resources from the RNM Budget are required. The Ombudsman submitted a written request to the Parliament to allocate the necessary funds in the 2024 Budget. However, despite this request, the Law on the Execution of the RNM Budget for 2024 did not approve the additional funds needed.

The Law on the Ombudsman requires that after reviewing the Annual Report, the Assembly determines measures based on general recommendations and obliges the Government to report every six months on their implementation. However, it has become customary for the parliamentary committee to consider the report immediately after its delivery and for the measures to be adopted in a plenary session towards the end of the year. This practice renders the legal provision ineffective and unnecessary.

Additionally, there is a lack of legally established cooperation with the Government, which often does not act on most of the special reports submitted by the Ombudsman. The Government does not discuss these reports in sessions, nor do they confront the arguments and findings in the presence of the heads of the relevant institutions. 

In 2023 the institution continued to carry out its mandate and competences without the required number of deputies, considering that as of July 2021, the mandate of five deputies of the Ombudsman expired, and the Assembly of R.N. Macedonia has not yet elected new deputies.

• Sufficient budget that will allow the institution to proceed working efficiently within its mandate.
• Aligning the legal provisions concerning the Ombudsman’s mandate, funding and independence, with the international standards that apply to human rights institutions.
• Ensuring proper procedures, for efficient use of the Ombudsman’s funds, regarding hiring external collaborators and experts. 

In 2023, a total of 2,803 complaints were submitted to the Ombudsman across various areas, with the majority concerning the judiciary. Each of these areas is detailed in this year's Ombudsman's report, which was submitted to the Assembly at the end of March.

No elections were held during 2023, but in 2024 the presidential and parliamentary elections took place in April and May respectively. During the election process, the Ombudsman office actively monitored and acted upon complaints related to the elections.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman acted upon the lack of implementation of some legal provision that entered into force recently. Namely, the Assembly voted a Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Obligation Relations, which later was revised by the Supreme Court. 

However, almost no citizen has exercised the rights provided by the law since its inception. This is due to the non-application of these legal provisions by both enforcement agents and the courts. The formal justification given is a supposed vagueness regarding the procedure to act and halt the execution process.

According to the Ombudsman, this Law on Obligation Relations provision has general applicability. There are no valid reasons or excuses for enforcement agents and courts not to apply it directly to each case, per the general legal principles of constitutionality and legality, where the conditions for limitation are met. This would effectively halt the enforcement payment process.

In the last months of 2023, citizens constantly complained to the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the poor implementation of the process for changing personal identification documents. The obligation for changing personal IDs results from the so-called Prespa Agreement. The Ombudsman stated that the Ministry failed to ensure the smooth and timely execution of this process. The Ombudsman repeatedly emphasized the need for additional human and material resources and suggested that the state cover the costs of changing identity cards. However, the Ministry did not accept these recommendations.

There were cases when children-proteges of Correctional facility were excluded from the educational process, and the Ombudsman demanded most urgent solution to this problem. After the reaction, amendments to the Law on primary education were prepared, but not enacted. Although these children got trained in craft and computer skills, they remained excluded from the formal educational process.

On the other hand, the Ombudsman shares a positive opinion regarding harmonization and alignment of the national regulation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Ombudsman also expresses satisfaction with the improved regulatory framework for protecting against discrimination and promoting equality for children and youth in secondary education. Additionally, considering the views of civil society organizations involved in the Ombudsman's monitoring mechanism, the institution acknowledged their positive opinions and attitudes.

The Third assessment of the National Integrity system of "Transparency International"-Macedonia, stated the Ombudsman is among the first three institutions (third pillar) with the best results for integrity, accountability, responsibility, and readiness to fight corruption. The other two institutions are the State Audit Office and the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, independent institutions.

Also, the DG NEAR report recognized that the existing legislation allows for scrutiny by independent oversight bodies, specifically the State Audit Office and the Ombudsperson. However, a more systematic follow-up on their findings and recommendations needs to be done. The government should address shortcomings and prevent further irregularities and law enforcement agencies should prosecute offenses.

The Ombudsman’s mandate is interchangeable related to NGOs and civil society organizations. Creating a safe space where experiences, and ideas are shared amongst all stakeholders is of utmost importance and is something that the Ombudsman strongly supports and advocates for.

In the reporting year, which marked the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Ombudsman devoted most of his extracurricular work to this category of citizens - children, and in that direction conducted several researches, of which part in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Also, two pieces of information related to the rights of the child in the educational process were prepared, and an opinion was submitted on the Proposal for the Law on Secondary Education, with an emphasis on students with disabilities, and an Analysis was prepared on the access of persons with disabilities to higher education.

The Ombudsman and the Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives "Step by Step" researched children's rights comprehensively. The research is carried out as part of the project "Children in the 1st place!" financed by the European Union.

The Ombudsman, in cooperation with the Westminster’s Democracy Foundation for a more inclusive society for young people and persons with disabilities, prepared an analysis on the topic "Access to higher education for persons with disabilities in the Republic of North Macedonia". 

Considering that the system of check and balances is of utmost importance for the health of democracy and societies where rule of law supports and emphasises human rights, the Ombudsman recommends the following:

• Providing the NHRI with the proper legislative and financial independence for continuous monitoring of democratic processes and efficient fulfilment of its mandate not only regionally, but internationally as well.
• Inclusion of all of the stakeholders in the practices and processes concerning them, especially the NGOs and CSOs.

The Ombudsman office receives complains on the work of the National Security Agency, regarding the citizenship procedure, more precisely the opinion that the Agency is obliged to provide in this procedure. 

Namely, the failure of the National Security Agency to act, that is, the failure to provide the necessary opinion on the security check of the applicants, continues to be a major obstacle to the completion of the procedures for admission to citizenship.

Unlike in 2022, when communication and cooperation between the Ombudsman and the National Security Agency were completely halted for a period, the Agency in 2023 did respond to requests for security assessments of petitioners. However, these responses were always formal and lacked information on whether a positive or negative opinion was issued. As a result, the Ombudsman had to conduct additional checks with the Department of Civil Affairs, causing unnecessary delays in the proceedings before the Ombudsman institution.

The National Security Agency demonstrated a non-cooperative attitude towards the Ombudsman institution by not attending the International Conference on "The Supervisory Role of the Ombudsman over the Security Sector from the Aspect of Protecting the Rights of Citizens." The conference, organized in collaboration with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Management (DICAF), took place on November 8, 2023, in Skopje. Despite receiving formal invitations, neither the Director of the Agency nor any other representatives participated in the event.

• Providing a profound answer in timely manner by the National Security Agency in the citizenship proceedings.
• Establishing a proper communication between the Ombudsman and National Security Agency.

Towards the end of 2022, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment “Elmazova and others against North Macedonia” finding a violation of Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court established that Roma children were being segregated in two primary schools in North Macedonia. This situation had been previously observed by the Ombudsman, who took all available actions according to its mandate. Following the court ruling, the Ombudsman assessed the situation in the academic 2023-24 and found that no measures were taken regarding the ECHR decision. After gathering the necessary data, the Ombudsman delivered an Information to the authorities concerning established situation.

Creating a national co-ordination mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Court’s judgement.

Corruption is very persistent in the Macedonian context. All forms of corruption, beginning with the petty corruption, to high level corruption are hindering citizen’s from fully exercising their rights. The role of the NHRI concerning this issue is not very vivid, thus very little explored. However, NHRI has full mandate to act upon some of the issues related to corruption, with full consideration of the constitutional principle of rule of law, such as the division of powers. Because of that according to the Macedonian legal framework, the Ombudsman is recognized as an external channel for whistleblowing. 

• Ensure legal, financial and operational independence of the NHRI, by national authorities.
• Ensuring strong national and international support for the independent institutions in North Macedonia, which are recognized by Transparency International-Macedonia, as institutions with the best results for integrity, accountability, responsibility and readiness to fight corruption.

The Protector of Citizens monitors with special attention the handling of the recommendations issued by relevant regional and international actors and through its work, encourages their full implementation.   

The recommendation from the Report of the European Commission on Serbia for 2023 Rulebook regarding the provision of adequate premises for the work of the Protector of Citizens has not been fulfilled. At the end of 2023, the Protector of Citizens started work on drafting the Law on the Protector of Citizens on internal organization and systematization of job positions in the Secretariat of the Protector of Citizens. It will be harmonized with the Law on the Protector of Citizens, and will be adopted in the first half of 2024.   

Moreover, the recommendation from the Concluding Observations on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 2022,  among other things, refers to the member state taking necessary measures so that the competent state authorities adhere more closely to the views and decisions of the Protector of Citizens. The Protector of Citizens, as independent state body, records encouraging steps in terms of acting on the recommendations of the Protector of Citizens, however, there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of systemic recommendations in the area of protection of economic, social and cultural rights.

In 2023, the Protector of Citizens, as the national rapporteur in the area of trafficking in human beings, took numerous concrete steps in order to critically monitor the activities of state institutions and submit constructive proposals in the area of combating trafficking in human beings in order to implement the obligations arising from national legislation (GRETA recommendation, after the third evaluation round, June 2023).  

On this occasion, numerous meetings were held with representatives of the Government and judicial authorities in order to achieve cooperation and improve the area of combatting human trafficking, bearing in mind the recommendations from the GRETA report and the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) 2023. At the initiative of the Protector of Citizens, the competent state authorities implemented numerous activities: the Anti-Trafficking Council was appointed (Decision on amendments to the Decision on the establishment of the Anti-Trafficking Council, "Official Gazette of the RS", no. 92/17 and 60/23), the Working Group for the preparation of the planning document for the area of trafficking in human beings was appointed, which began work on its preparation, the National Coordinator for combating trafficking in human beings was also appointed. Two public prosecutors were appointed as contact points for combating trafficking in human beings in order to speed up the work process, detect perpetrators of crimes in this area, and conduct proactive investigations in cooperation with police officers. The staff and financial capacities of the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims' Protection, the competent institution that performs identification of victims of human trafficking and provides adequate support and assistance to victims with the aim of their recovery and reintegration, were strengthened.  

In terms of recommendations to national and regional actors, the member recommends the following:  

• Improve technical equipment in premises for the interrogation  

The existence of special rooms for the interrogation of persons, equipped with technical equipment for audio and/or video recording, represents a type of preventive action and a significant measure of protection of persons deprived of their liberty against possible illegal conduct of police officers. In carrying out the tasks of the NPM, the Protector of Citizens pointed out the need for the Ministry of Interior to continue implementing activities in order to equip the premises for the interrogation of persons with technical equipment for audio and/or video recording, as well as to regulate more closely the actions of police officers when conducting interrogations in the mentioned premises.  

• More efforts to combat impunity for torture and contribute to establishing individual responsibility in such cases  

Among other things, the Protector of Citizens pointed out the need for competent authorities (Ministry of Interior, Internal Control Sector and competent public prosecutor’s offices) to make an additional effort to fulfil their role in combating impunity for torture and other forms of abuse and illegal treatment and to contribute to establishing individual responsibility in each individual case of abuse, in a procedure prescribed by law, while appropriately sanctioning the responsible officials and compensating the victims.     

• Police forces to respect rule of law and international standards  

The Protector of Citizens issued a recommendation for the Ministry of Interior to ensure, through continuous training, that all police officers, when exercising police powers, act in accordance with the law and other regulations and respect the standards set by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, the European Code of Police Ethics and other international acts related to the police.  

• Improve application of the Methodology for the conducting of investigations in cases of abuse by the police  

Finally, although it is not authorized to control the work of public prosecutor’s offices, the Protector of Citizens issued an Opinion in which it pointed out the need to improve the method of application of the Methodology for the conducting of investigations in cases of abuse by the police, and bearing in mind the importance of conducting effective investigations to realise, improve and protect human rights and freedoms. It pointed out the need to provide adequate resources to conduct effective investigations, to ensure that all those who participate in them are trained to properly apply the instructions in the Methodology for the conducting of investigations in cases of abuse by the police and if necessary, to additionally regulate the manner of monitoring the operational course of an investigation, so that it is efficient, thorough and effective, and as such, leads to the determination of individual responsibility and the appropriate sanctioning of the perpetrators in the procedure prescribed by law, as well as to the compensation for the victims.

The Serbian Protector of Citizens was last re-accredited with A-status in October 2021.  

The SCA noted that while the draft law partially addressed concerns with respect to the selection and appointment process of the Protector, there were still concerns that the process would not be fully participatory. The SCA encouraged the NHRI to continue to advocate for the formalization and application of a process that includes requirements in this regard.   

The SCA encouraged the NHRI to continue to address all violations of human rights and to ensure effective follow-up so that the State makes the necessary changes to ensure that human rights are clearly protected. It further encouraged the NHRI to ensure that its positions on these issues are made publicly available, as this will contribute to strengthening the credibility and accessibility of the institution for all people in Serbia. Additionally, it encouraged the NHRI to continue to formalize its working relationships and cooperation with a wide range of civil society organization and human rights defenders.   

Finally, the SCA notes that the new draft enabling law provides additional responsibility for the NHRI, including as the National Rapporteur on human trafficking and the National Monitoring Mechanism under the CRPD. The NHRI informed of the importance of being able to attract staff with relevant and specific expertise needed to fulfil the existing and new mandates. In this regard, the SCA encouraged the NHRI to continue to advocate for additional funding to ensure it can carry out its new mandate, as well as to attract and retain adequately qualified and experienced staff through competitive and attractive salaries.   

The new law on the Protector of Citizens was adopted at the end of 2021.

In the context of recommendations of the SCA related to adequate funding, at the end of 2023 the Protector of Citizens developed the Proposal for the funding of priority areas for the next mid-term period. The Proposal h contains two new program activities related to the new competences of the Protector of Citizens provided for by the Law on the Protector of Citizens. Development of the new program activities includes identification of goals and indicators of program activities, as well as the evaluation criteria and their verification, in accordance with the methodology of creating the program budget, that is, the Law on the Budget System.  

There have been no changes to the Serbian NHRI’s regulatory framework since the adoption of the new Law on the Protector of Citizens in November 2021, which was discussed in more detail in the previous ENNHRI 2023 Report on the state of the rule of law in Europe.

Independence and funding of the NHRI  

The Law on the Protector of Citizens from 2021 additionally strengthened the independence of the Protector of Citizens, which enabled it to fulfil its broad mandate in accordance with the Paris Principles. In 2023, the Protector of Citizens was provided with sufficient funds for work, and they were not reduced.  

Competences of the NHRI  

When it comes to the performance of tasks from the new competences provided for by the Law on the Protector of Citizens, in 2024, the Protector of Citizens will adopt the new Rulebook on internal organization and systematization of job positions in the Secretariat, which will be harmonized with the needs related to the performance of tasks under the new competences.   

The premises of the Serbian NHRI  

The Secretariat of the Protector of Citizens is still placed in the same premises. However, based on the number and structure of employees determined by the upcoming new Rulebook on internal organization and systematization of job positions, the Protector of Citizens will reassess the need for new offices, and, if necessary, will again contact the competent authorities to resolve this issue.   

Cooperation with the NHRI  

Competent authorities achieved the legally prescribed cooperation with the Protector of Citizens to the greatest extent, by submitting relevant information to its inquiries, submitting regulations and strategic documents in the drafting phase for opinions and comments, providing access to information, documents and interviews with the staff during supervisory visits, etc.   

The Protector of Citizens did not encounter situations in which it felt threatened by the state authorities, and it enjoys authority among the state authorities.

The Protector of Citizens recommends that:  

• Competent state authorities should provide higher salary coefficients for employees in the Secretariat of the Protector of Citizens in accordance with the complexity of work and the responsibility that comes with working in an independent human rights institution of constitutional rank.  

• Competent authorities should understand the importance of the implementation of the Protector of Citizens’ recommendations regardless of the fact that the lack of compliance is not punishable like in the case of the judgments issued by the Constitutional Court.   

Non-enforcement of national courts’ judgments  

Acting on the complaints of citizens, the Protector of Citizens observed that some authorities, in certain cases, did not act on judgments of the Administrative Court, even after several requests calling for the enforcement of these judgments. Bearing in mind that the law stipulates that the administrative bodies, when reviewing their decisions on the rights, obligations and interests of citizens, are bound by the legal understandings, the reasoning and arguments made by the competent court., The Protector of Citizens issued recommendations to the authorities in order to eliminate the observed shortcomings.   

In their complaints, citizens continue to point out problems related to the supervision that the Ministry of Justice carries out over the work of the judicial administration, - namely the handling of cases by the courts within the prescribed time limits, and the handling of the complaints and petitions of citizens. Violations of the right to a fair trial, i.e. pointing to certain irregularities in the manner in which the acting judge conducts the proceedings, as well as irregularities in court decisions, continue to be the subject of appeals. Most often, citizens point out the wrongly established factual situation and the wrong application of the rules r. However, it is observed that complaints about the improper conduct of the proceedings or the deficiency of the court decision are often the result of the lack of knowledge of citizens, resulting from the lack of professional legal assistance.

After the cyber-attack on the website of the Republic Geodetic Authority in June 2022, citizens living abroad could not use its services. That is, they did not have access to the eCadastre pages of the Republic Geodetic Authority. The Republic Geodetic Authority carries out professional geodetic works, state survey works, deals with Real Estate Cadastre affairs and the management of all geospatial data at the national level.  

For this reason, the Protector of Citizens sent an opinion to the Republic Geodetic Authority to consider the possibility of re-providing the availability of basic real estate cadastre data through its website to all persons located abroad, as well as to initiate the adoption of the missing by-law, which would prescribe the scope of data availability, as well as conditions and manner of providing complete data. The Protector of Citizens has no knowledge of whether this opinion has been acted on.

The Pride March was held on 9th September 2023 in Belgrade, without incident, but with significant involvement of police forces. Apart from a small group of people that were blocked by a police cordon, no gatherings of opponents of the Pride were reported. This Pride March, the most attended one so far, walked peacefully with the message "We are not even close", referring to the realisation of the rights and the adoption of the demands made by the LGBTQIA+ community.

The Protector of Rights recommends that:  

• Competent authorities should continue taking active steps in order to prevent violence against media actors, enabling them to work safely;  

• Competent authorities should continue to invest efforts in strengthening ombudsman institutions and other independent institutions as guarantors of the rule of law.  

In its capacity as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the Protector of Citizens monitors certain aspects of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the case of Stanimirović v. Serbia. The way NPM monitors the implementation of this judgment, as well as the CPT and other treaty bodies’ recommendations, is by monitoring compliance with relevant international standards in the prevention of torture.

NPM visits to police stations  

In carrying out the tasks of the NPM, during 2023, the Protector of Citizens paid special attention to monitoring the conduct of the police in light of the standards enshrined in the ECtHR’s judgments against Serbia. The Protector of Citizens paid 59 visits to police departments and police stations within their composition. During these visits, the conduct of police officers towards arrested and detained persons was monitored in connection with the respect for basic rights, such as: the right to access a lawyer and a doctor, the right to inform a close person about the deprivation of liberty and the right to be informed of the rights of arrested and detained persons, which form a guarantee against abuse.   

Detainees at police stations  

Also, during visits to institutions for the enforcement of penal sanctions (such as prisons), the NPM mostly focused on the treatment of persons by the police before they were brought to the institution and conducted interviews with detainees in order to gather information on the conduct of police officers towards them during their deprivation of liberty, during detention, as well as during the application of other police powers.   

In the visit reports, around 60 recommendations were issued to the relevant police stations and the competent ministry, with the aim of improving their work. The recommendations were mostly acted upon.   

Detainees' right to access a counsel  

The NPM issued a recommendation to the Ministry of Interior that it should improve the recording of the exercise of the right of arrested and detained persons to access a counsel, by undertaking the necessary activities to include in such persons’  detention records  information on whether they  wanted to hire defence counsel of their own choice, whether the defence counsel was assigned ex officio, when this is mandatory by law, and whether they had an unhindered conversation with the defence counsel. While recording all relevant data on the exercise of this right, during 2023, special attention was paid to monitoring the handling of the above-mentioned recommendation. In this regard, progress has been observed in the recording of the exercise of this right, in such a way that police stations now record information about the counsel, the time when he/she was contacted, the time when he/she approached the arrested and detained person and the time when he/she had a confidential interview with the person.   

With the aim of further improvement in this area, after the visit to the Valjevo Police Department in 2023, the Protector of Citizens in the capacity of NPM issued a recommendation to the Šabac Bar Association that it needs to point out to its members the importance of defence counsels in the protection against abuse and to remind them of the obligation to approach the defence of persons deprived of their liberty in accordance with the regulations and the code.  

Medical examination upon admission  

Also, during visits to institutions for the enforcement of penal sanctions, the NPM paid special attention to the method of performing the first examination upon admission to the institution, bearing in mind the importance of the role that healthcare services play in combating abuse. Acting in accordance with the recommendations of the NPM, the relevant institutions established the Book of Injuries of persons deprived of their liberty and introduced the practice of photographing injuries. In all cases in which the doctor, upon admission to the institution, observes injuries on the face that he/she suspects were caused in a violent manner, or the person states that they were inflicted by the police, the head of the institution informs the competent prosecutor's office and provides the documentation.  

In order to establish a continuous dialogue regarding possible measures to implement the recommendations of the NPM, to follow-up on the report on the implementation of the CPT recommendations and to improve the situation in the area of torture prevention, three meetings were held in 2023 with representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Participants in those meetings included the Commission for the implementation of standards of police conduct in the field of torture prevention, the Internal Control Sector, the International Cooperation Sector, the Police Directorate and the Border Police Directorate.  

The lack of ex officio powers to initiate investigations and to intervene in cases with legal remedies

According to the European Commission’s recommendations in the Enlargement Package 2023, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (HREI/HREIT) needs to improve its reputation regarding effectively tackling human rights issues and engaging in constructive dialogue with civil society. The European Commission stated that the HREI remained largely ineffective due to legislative and structural restrictions, including by not accepting applications filed by civil society organizations and by being overly cautious in tackling cases of torture and ill-treatment.  

HREIT notes that, according to article 9/1(f-g) of Law No. 6701, HREIT has the authority to conduct ex officio investigations, make decisions on human rights violations and discrimination cases, and monitor the outcomes. HREIT has ex officio inspection decisions on many issues. For example, HREIT decided that there had been a violation of Artvin Municipality’s “discrimination” ban in the case of the former Press and Public Relations officer F.T.  because her place of duty was changed 4 times after the local elections and lastly, she was assigned to collect garbage. This decision was also the subject of national news. 

Another example of an ex officio review is related to Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality's discontinuation of the accommodation service it provided to earthquake victims after the earthquake. In addition, an ex officio investigation concerned the claim that a student with Dyslexia was singled out during the 29 October Republic Day celebrations. Another example is about disabled people's access to public buses and their non-discrimination in benefiting from the service. 

HREIT has made efforts to engage in constructive dialogue through regular cooperation activities, memoranda and training with civil society. As an example memorandum of cooperation was signed with the international organization Care International on 28 October 2023. Within the scope of the memorandum, human rights trainings were given to lawyers working in earthquake zones and bar associations by HREIT. 

HREIT convenes a Consultative Commission in Ankara twice a year many of whose members are representatives of civil society. In addition to that, relationships are established with local civil society through Provincial and District Consultation Meetings held in the provinces. 

In addition, within the scope of the Joint Project on Supporting the Effective Implementation of the Turkish Constitutional Court Judgements in the Field of Fundamental Rights (SIAC Project), HREIT organizes two-day workshops and organizes workshops to which representatives of relevant non-governmental organizations are invited. The following workshops were held within the scope of the SIAC Project: 

• 29 September 2023 – “Workshop on Tax from the Perspective of Human Rights and Fundamental Rights” 
• 18-19 December 2023 - “Workshop on the Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life in the Light of the Constitutional Court Decisions” 
• 6-7 February 2024 - “Workshop on Combating Violence Against Women in the Light of the Constitutional Court Decisions” 

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) does not include a provision for receiving applications. However, the duty of receiving applications from persons deprived of liberties is regulated in the Law of HREIT in addition to the duties stemming from OPCAT. Under Article 9/1-c, “Inquiring into, examining, taking a final decision on and monitoring the results of applications filed by persons deprived of their liberty or placed under protection falling into the scope of the National Preventive Mechanism.” is listed among the duties of the Institution. According to Article 17, “Each and every natural person and legal person who claim to have suffered from violations of non-discrimination can apply to the Institution. Applications to the Institution may be filed via governorates in provinces and sub-provincial governorates in sub-provinces. Effective enjoyment of the right to application cannot be prevented in any way. There shall be no fee charged for applications.”  

The application made by civil society in the name of a natural person may not be accepted because they do not have the standard of having suffered from violations. In addition to the Law, Application via a legal representative or proxy is regulated in the By-Law, according to Article 37; “A legal representative or a proxy may also make applications. In applications made through a legal representative or proxy, a valid authorization document for representation or proxy must be submitted.” According to the regulation, if a Proxy like civil society makes an application, it has to prove this connection with a valid authorization document. While not submitting a valid authorization document is a reason not to accept an application, the Institution accepts the documents submitted by the civil society and shows this connection and investigations are carried out.  

Engagement with civil society 

Engagement with civil society is an essential issue for the Institution. For this reason, four joint NPM visits with international, professional and civil society organizations were conducted in 2023. These visits are as follows:  

• Bursa Sırameşeler Children's Homes Site Visit with UNICEF Türkiye officials, 
• Istanbul Autism Care Rehabilitation and Family Counselling Center Visit with lawyers of Istanbul No. 1 Bar Association,  
• Sincan T Type Closed Penal Institution Visit with lawyers of Ankara No. 1 Bar Association and  
• Kocaeli Köseköy Care Center Visit, Rehabilitation and Family Counseling Center with lawyers of Kocaeli Bar Association.  

The contacts with civil society continue with various meetings. The recent meeting with the Delegation representing the Solidarity Association with Refugees can be an example of contact with civil society. 

The independence and effectiveness of the NHRI 

The European Commission in the Enlargement Package report on Türkiye stated that the number of cases treated by the NHRI increased, but concerns remain regarding the operational, structural and financial independence of the NHRI and the procedure of appointment of its Board members. The NHRI’s effectiveness remained limited. HREIT is an independent organization that operates with its structure and finances. HREIT creates its budget and presents it to the Parliament for voting. The board of HREIT is the decision-making body of the Institution. There have been no updates to the Law governing the election of board members. As an umbrella institution, HREIT has three main duties that contribute to its effectiveness: 

• Protection and promotion of human rights and acting as National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)
• Prevention of torture and ill-treatment and acting as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) and within the framework of OPCAT
• Fighting against discrimination and acting as Equality Body. 

It is possible to gauge the effectiveness of the HREIT by analyzing the increasing number of applications and the impact of its decisions on the public. The HREIT conducted awareness raising activities on protection and promotion of human rights, such as symposiums, workshops within the context of follow up actions. For example:  

• Workshop on Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life in the Light of the Constitutional Court Decisions (December 18-19, 2023, in Ankara)
• Workshop on Tax from the perspective of human rights and fundamental rights (September 29, 2023, in Ankara)
• Symposium on Human Rights in Türkiye in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic (October 25-26, 2023, in Ankara)
• International Symposium on Vulnerable Groups in Disaster Times from the Point of Human Rights Law (May 3, 2023, in Ankara).

Also carried out joint activities with stakeholders such as universities and Bar Association. Such as below: 

• Training on "The Role of HREIT in Combating Discrimination Against Disabled People" was given to Çağ University Students on December 27, 2023
• A Webinar on Cyber ​​Bullying and Discrimination was held on December 15, 2023
• Within the scope of the Human Rights and Equality Campus project, the "Human Rights and Equality Law Seminars Certificate Programme" started with Başkent University Faculty of Law students on July 17, 2023
• Within the scope of the Human Rights and Equality Campus project, the "Human Rights and Equality Law Seminars Certificate Programme" started with Yeditepe University Faculty of Law students on July 10, 2023
• Training on Monitoring and Reporting Violations of Women’s Rights and Children’s Rights organized in cooperation with HREIT and UNICEF
• In collaboration with HREIT and Ankara Bar Association No. 2, a “Training Program on Application Procedures to HREIT” was held for lawyers (January 10, 2023)  
• So far, provincial and regional consultation meetings have been held regularly in the last weeks of each month.  

The Institution also prepared annual and thematic reports related to the follow-up activities on protection and promotion of human rights. For example,  

• Special Report on the Principle of Non-Discrimination and the Role of Equality Bodies in the Context of Combating Hate Speech and Xenophobia (2023)
• Monitoring Report on the Events After the Earthquake in The Context of Human Rights and Discrimination Law (September 2023)
• Children’s Right to Access to Justice Report (July 15, 2023)
• National Report of Türkiye on Combating Human Trafficking (March 2023)
• The Academic Journal of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye is a peer-reviewed academic journal published twice a year. In July 2023, Academic Journal 11th series was published. 

In addition to that, within the scope of upcoming project conducted in cooperation with HREIT and İzmir Bakırçay University, which aims to re-evaluate women's rights in the digital age, an academic book project titled “Digitalization and Women's Rights” will be carried out. All valuable scholars and researchers are cordially invited to contribute to this project with their articles. 

Also, in addition to raise awareness on human rights issues, discussions on human rights with the name of TİHEK Akademi (HREIT Academy) are broadcasted on Youtube channel of the Institution, with the participation of many national and international academics working in the field of human rights. So far, 20 discussions have been held, with two of these discussions conducted in English. 

Prison visits by the HREI as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) 

The European Commission in its Enlargement package report stated that, as NPM, the HREIT visits prisons but it does not have set and independent criteria for announced visits. In some visits, it only interacted with the administration and did not speak to the detainees. It has not visited all the prisons with the highest number of allegations of human rights violations or did so with a significant delay. The recommendations mainly deal with minor issues and do not make concrete statements on serious human rights abuses.  

According to Article 9 of the Founding Law of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (hereafter “Law”), one of the primary duties of the Institution is to “undertake regular visits, with or without prior notice, to places where those deprived of their liberties or those under protection are held; delivering the reports related to such visits to relevant agencies and organizations, and disclosing such report to the public when considered necessary by the Board; examining and evaluating the reports regarding visits made to such places by boards committees that monitor prisons and detention houses, provincial and sub-provincial human rights boards and other relevant individuals, agencies and organizations.” 

According to Article 19/2 of the Law, “Where authorized by the Head, such personnel listed in the paragraph one shall have the authority to request necessary information and documents from all public institutions and agencies and other natural and legal persons, to examine and take copies of the same, to receive written and oral information from relevant persons, to undertake visits to places where those deprived of liberty and those under protection are held and to carry out examinations in such places and draw up necessary reports and to interview person(s) alleged to have been ill-treated. Public institutions and agencies and other natural and legal persons shall have to facilitate the visits undertaken by the Institution and fulfil their requests without delay.” According to Article 56 of the By-Law on the Principles and Procedures for the Implementation of Law on the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (hereafter “By-Law”), the visiting Delegation has the authority to “visit the places where the persons deprived of liberty or protected are located, to make investigations and to prepare the necessary minutes, to make interviews with the person or persons alleged to be ill-treated.”   

Furthermore, under the By-Law, the Institution has set independent criteria for all announced and unannounced visits. Section 12 of the By-Law explicitly regulates “the Procedures and Principles of National Prevention Mechanism”. Accordingly, this By-Law sets a detailed regulation of the mandate, basic principles, purpose, and scope of visits, establishment of the visiting committee, visit planning, preliminary interview, on-site inspection, feedback, reporting and monitoring process, visits upon application and other preventive works in the scope of NPM mandate. According to Article 100 of the By-Law, “On-site inspection shall include the examination of the place of detention following the preliminary interview, the interviews to be held with detainees and the personnel working at the place of detention, the examination and provision of all information and documents concerning the visit, in particular the place of detention and detention.” Article 100 also includes another direct provision stating that “On-site inspection includes (…) conducting interviews with detainees without any other person or with the assistance of an interpreter if necessary”.  

In addition, the HREIT published a Guide named The National Preventive Mechanism in 20 Questions to clarify the issues related to the NPM function on its website  

In line with the mentioned regulations, the visiting Delegation conducts interviews with the persons deprived of their liberty without the participation of the staff of the visited centre. This method is included in the introduction part of the visit reports such as “Following the examinations here, based on the document regarding the settlement plan of the prisoners from the Administration, wards containing prisoners of different types of crimes were selected, without the involvement of the Administration, and interviews were held with the prisoners there, and the environment in which the prisoners were kept was observed on site.” 

Article 11 of the Guide states, “As a rule, visits are carried out without prior notice. However, it is possible to announce the visits in advance in some special cases, such as when the follow-up visit is announced to ensure that the recommendations given after the previous visits are implemented.” In the scope of NPM duty, the HREIT carried out 66 visits in 2023 and only four were announced. The announced visit was made to Ankara Akyurt Removal Center, Siirt Eruh District Gendarmerie Command, Bursa Sırameşeler Children's Homes Site, and Samsun Provincial Police Department. Visits to Ankara Akyurt Removal Center and Samsun Provincial Police Department were the follow-up visits. The visit to Bursa Sırameşeler Children's Homes Site was a joint visit with UNICEF Türkiye Office. 

In its Türkiye 2023 Report, the European Commission points out, "In some visits, it only interacted with the administration and did not speak to the detainees.” It is only possible in the case of a visit to police custody centres and only when there are no detainees to be held in the centre during the visit. Since visits to detention centres are generally carried out without prior notice, it is not possible to know whether anyone is being held in these centres during the visit. This situation has also been mentioned in the visiting reports; for example, in the visit report of Izmir Selçuk District Police Department, the visit method was clearly stated in paragraph 8: “The visit started with a preliminary meeting with the Central Administration. In the meeting, the HREIT Delegation informed the centre's managers about HREIT, NPM, and the purpose and method of the visit. Afterwards, the HREIT obtained general information about the District Police Department from the managers. After the meeting, the Delegation examined the Detention Centers within the Directorate. The visit ended with a final meeting with the District Police Chief officials.” In the 14th paragraph, the reason for not speaking to detainees was explained as follows: “During the visit, it was observed that no one was being held in custody.”  

The aim of the visits is stated in OPCAT Article 4 as; “These visits shall be undertaken with a view to strengthening, if necessary, the protection of these persons against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” For HREIT, among the selection criteria of places to visit, applications and notifications made to the Institution, news in the media, reports published by international and national organizations, information received from non-governmental organizations, type and size of institutions, geographical balance and observations obtained in previous visits can be listed. These visits are decided annually by the Board. In 2023, the Board decided to visit 52 places of detention/protection, and 49 of the visits would be unannounced and 3 of which would be announced. In addition to these visits, upon the news published in the media and considering the applications received, 14 places of detention/protection were also visited in 2023. Therefore, the NPM visited a total of 66 centers in 32 provinces in 2023. Reports regarding the visits are forwarded to the relevant institutions and organizations and are published on the Institution's website and social media accounts.  

The topics covered in the visit reports include torture and ill-treatment, physical conditions of the Institution, attitude/treatment of management and staff, access to complaints and request mechanisms, material conditions (food, lighting and ventilation, sanitary facilities, accommodation and overcrowding), contact with the outside world, education, outdoor exercise, leisure and social, cultural and sport activities, access to medical care and other issues related to human rights. Under these topics, conditions that may constitute torture and ill-treatment, not only minor issues but also systematic ones, have been discussed with relevant observations and findings. In addition to this, recommendations regarding each finding and observation are included at the end of the report. For instance, in the Eskişehir H Type Closed Prison Institution Visit Report, the issue of overcrowding was pointed out, and the Ministry of Justice was given a recommendation on this matter by referring to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) 2nd General Report [CPT/Inf (92) 3] paragraphs 46 and 50.   

Furthermore, the Board is authorized to file a criminal complaint in case of finding of a human rights violation in Article 18 of the Law; “(5) In cases where the Board finds any violation of human rights or non-discrimination of a criminal nature, it shall file a criminal complaint thereon.” There are examples of the Board using this authority due to violations of rights found during visits. Moreover, in the Sincan L Type Closed Prison Institution No. 2 Visit Report , allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners were explained in detail in paragraph 47, and the report was published with a Board decision using its authority to file a criminal complaint. 

Compliance with the OPCAT 

The European Commission’s 2023 Enlargement Package report stressed that although tasked with the role of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the HREI does not meet the key requirements under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and did not effectively process cases referred to it.  

The Institution was established in accordance with the OPCAT provision and has all the powers contained therein. Under Article 9 of the Law stipulating the Duties of the Institution, one of the primary duties of the Institution is “Acting as the National Preventive Mechanism within the framework of the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.”  Regarding concerns expressed in this section of the report, the SCA made several recommendations as guidance for achieving full compliance with the Paris Principles. To begin the process towards fulfilling SCA’s recommendations, HREIT communicated with the national stakeholders and the relevant authorities. Moreover, the aims of “regulations to improve the institutional capacity of HREIT” and “bringing the Institution into full compliance with the Paris Principles” have been included in various policy documents, such as the Action Plan on Human Rights (2021-2023), National Action Plan for Accession to the European Union 2021-2023, Annual Programme of the Presidency for 2024, and the Twelfth Development Plan (2024-2028). 

In line with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)’s recommendation, the official letter dated 07.07.2022 initiated the process requiring to establish a new spending unit/ a separate budget line in the form of "National Prevention Mechanism Expenditure Unit" as of the 2023 Budget period. Previous reports of the SPT and European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) were also included in the official letter along with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) and Paris Principles. The official letter dated 24.08.2022 informed the Institution that a new spending unit could be established according to the relevant legal provisions. The 2023 budget allocated to the Institution has a separate spending unit/budget line for the National Prevention Mechanism, which is 1.615.000 Turkish lira overall.  

Monitoring of prison administration and observation boards  

The European Commission in its Enlargement Package report on Türkiye stated that the HREI, as the national preventive mechanism, is also tasked with monitoring the prison administration and observation boards, but this work has remained ineffective.  

HREIT is tasked with "effectively combating torture and ill-treatment and fulfilling the function of a national prevention mechanism in this regard" by Law No. 6701. According to Article 9 of the Law, among the duties of the Institution is "to serve as a national preventive mechanism (NPM) within the framework of the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT)". In the 2nd article regulating the definitions, it is stated that NPM refers to "the system established to make regular visits to places where persons are deprived of their liberty within the framework of the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment". Thus, HREIT's NPM mission is clearly determined by law, both as stipulated by OPCAT and as desired by the United Nations Subcommittee on Torture (SPT). In view of HREIT, this ensures compliance with OPCAT. For the NPM to best deliver its duties, it must have broad powers. Law No. 6701 contains provisions in this direction and grants the following powers to the Institution as NPM: 

• To request the necessary information and documents from all public institutions and organizations and other real and legal persons, 
• To examine the information and documents in question and take copies of them, 
• Receiving written and verbal information from relevant people, 
• Organizing visits to places where those deprived of their freedom and those under protection are located, 
• To conduct inspections in such places and prepare the necessary reports, 
• Interviewing people alleged to have been mistreated. 

The information and documents requested by the National Preventive Mechanism regarding the subject of examination and research, stating the reason, must be provided within 30 days from the date of notification of this request. Administrative fines ranging from 4711 Turkish liras to 18,905 Turkish liras may be imposed on individuals and organizations that do not comply with these requests of the Institution within the specified period, despite the warning, without a justified reason. 

Moreover, as stated above, NPM's budget became independent in 2023. 

The prison administration and observation boards are regulated in the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions and the Execution of Punishment and Security Measures published on 29.03.2020 dated 31083 numbered Official Gazette. According to Article 22 of the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions “(1) The prison administration and observation board consists of under the chairmanship of the director of the institution, the second director responsible for observation and classification, an administrative officer, a prison physician, a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a personnel with another title working in the psycho-social assistance service, a teacher, the chief execution and protection officer and an officer selected by the director of the institution from among the technical personnel.” Duties and powers of the prison administration and observation boards are listed in the Article 28.  

The prison administration and observation boards do not have legal personality, and the HREIT’s recommendations in visit reports regarding the duties and powers specified in the law are given to the prison institution in question itself.  For instance, in the Eskişehir H Type Closed Prison Institution Visit Report, the recommendation given to the Prison Institution is as follows: “Since it was seen that detainees and convicts were kept together in the cells, it has been recommended classifying detainees and convicts and distributing them to different cells” which is implementation of listed duties of the prison administration and observation boards in the Article 28/1-a and Article 28/1-b of the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions. In addition, the “Ensuring that prisoners from different types of crimes are placed in separate wards” recommendation made to the Prison Institution in the Tarsus Women's Closed Prison Institution Visit Report and which is related to the duty listed in the Article 28/1-c of the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions. The recommendation of “Continuing studies to increase the variety of courses in the Institution to improve the prisoners and reintegrate them into society” took place in the Yozgat T Type Closed Prison Institution No. 2 Visit Report and the recommendation of “Diversify the courses offered to prisoners in the institution by including art, music, etc. and ensure that more prisoners participate in courses” took place in the Sincan L Type Closed Prison Institution No. 2 Visit Report are given to the Prison Institutions while the actions are related to duties of the prison administration and observation boards listed in Article 28/1-e of the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions. In the Diyarbakır Children and Youth Closed Prison Institution Visit Report, “Adding movie and additional music channels to television channels, taking into account the needs and demands of those deprived of their freedom” was recommended, which is related to Article 28/1-f of the By-Law on the Management of Criminal Institutions.

In October 2022, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey (HREIT) received its first-time accreditation with a B-status. While the SCA acknowledged the proactive steps taken by the institution in applying for accreditation, it outlined a number of serious concerns that require further attention by the HREIT for better compliance with the UN Paris Principles.   

Firstly, the SCA recommended that the Turkish NHRI advocate for necessary changes to its legislation to ensure the institution is formally independent from the Executive, noting that currently the Turkish President “may exercise powers regarding the administration of the institution through the Minister when deemed necessary”. The SCA also suggested that the institution strengthen its efforts to address all human rights violations, conduct follow-up activities and publicize its positions on key human rights issues. The SCA also encouraged the NHRI to establish a process whereby its reports are required to be discussed by the legislature. Further, the SCA advised the institution to advocate for amendments to its enabling legislation to include an explicit mandate to encourage ratification of and accession to international human rights institutions. In a similar vein, the Sub-Committee recommended that the HREIT engage effectively and independently with the international human rights system and all relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations.   

The SCA also noted that the Board members of the HREIT shall be selected by the President of Turkey and considered that the selection and appointment process currently enshrined in the law does not provide for broad consultation and participation of civil society. Finally, the SCA encouraged the institution to ensure members of the Board are representative of national society, selected through a clear, transparent and participatory appointment process, and cannot be re-appointed more than once.    

As mentioned previously, HREIT acted upon the SCA recommendations in regard to its compliance with the OPCAT in light of the Paris Principles. 

Establishment of the First Office 

According to the news shared by HREIT on its official website, the issue of strengthening the accessibility of HREIT was frequently brought to the agenda by the relevant international stakeholders during the accreditation process. As a follow-up recommendation, the first office associated with HREIT was established in Gaziantep on May 13, 2024 to create an access point to carry out the necessary monitoring and reporting studies on the issues within its field of duty. 

The process of accreditation and harmonization of HREIT has been included in the top policy documents 

In the Twelfth Development Plan (2024-2028), the institutional capacities of institutions working in the field of human rights in our country will be strengthened. Constructive cooperation will continue with the human rights mechanisms at the United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe (EC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)., the institutional capacities of institutions working in the field of human rights in our country will be strengthened. Constructive cooperation will continue with the human rights mechanisms at the United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe (EC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). 

In the 2024 Presidential Annual Program, there is an aim that efforts will be carried out to ensure that the structure of HREIT is fully compatible with the UN Principles on the Status of National Human Rights Institutions. 

The national regulatory framework applicable to HREIT has not changed.

State authorities strive to target an enabling environment for the HREIT to independently and effectively carry out its mission.

Judicial reforms 

The Action Plan on Human Rights and the Judicial Reform Strategy Document include objectives such as improving judicial independence and impartiality, facilitating access to justice, and protecting and developing rights and freedoms, and a number of targets and activities within these objectives. 

In the Action Plan on Human Rights there is an aim that is “strengthening judicial independence and the right to a fair trial”. According to that aim, the goals are defined as strengthening the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, strengthening the right to a reasoned decision, strengthening the standards as regards the application of the presumption of innocence, strengthening the right to a trial within a reasonable time, improving the standards concerning the principle of equality of prosecution and defence, strengthening the defence and increasing the quality of legal services of lawyers, strengthening the access to justice. 

In the Twelfth Development Plan, it is stated that the main objective is to ensure that judicial processes operate fairly, quickly and effectively, are predictable, facilitate access to justice and further increase confidence in the justice system, in line with the requirements of the rule of law and the state of law. 

In addition, it is stated in the Plan in question that the independence, impartiality and transparency of the judiciary will be strengthened, and that a situation analysis will be carried out to identify the elements that pose a problem in terms of judicial independence and impartiality, and a report will be prepared by examining good practice examples and international standards in this regard. 

Besides, it is stated that a new "Judicial Reform Strategy" and “Action Plan on Human Rights" will be prepared through a participatory preparation process. In the Twelfth Development Plan it is expressed in that citizens' access to justice, especially women, children, the elderly and the disabled, will be facilitated. 

In the Judicial Reform Strategy, an aim has been determined as “improving independence, impartiality and transparency of the judiciary”. The goals set out in this framework are as follows: 

• The system for the appointment, transfer and promotion of judges and public prosecutors shall be developed with objective criteria based on merits
• Disciplinary procedures regarding the judges and public prosecutors shall be restructured
• Judicial conduct shall be extended
• When legislative proposals are prepared, representatives of relevant beneficiaries shall be involved, while the welfare of participation and negotiation shall be improved in the judiciary
• The scope of the activity reports in civil and administrative judiciary shall be extended and the public awareness shall be raised
• Elections 

The first round of the Presidential elections in Türkiye was held on May 14, 2023, and the second round was held on May 28, 2023. 

In its decision dated 20/12/2023 and numbered 2023/1565, the Supreme Electoral Council emphasized the principles that press and broadcasting organizations must comply with in holding elections in a fair and free environment. In this context, some important decisions were taken regarding the principles of equality, freedom and honesty. 

The Supreme Election Council's decision dated 27/4/2023 and numbered 2023/690 included some provisions regarding the principles of impartiality and equality in terms of propaganda broadcasts on radio and television. In this context, the regulations regarding the procedures and principles to be applied in the elections by the Supreme Election Council and the Türkiye-Radio Television Corporation were discussed. 

An Election Observation Mission (EOM) was established by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to observe the Presidential and parliamentary elections held in Türkiye on May 14, 2023. EOM, which came to our country upon the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, paid a visit to HREIT to consult on the election process and human rights agenda.  

At the meeting, information about the functioning, structure, and duties of HREIT and the institutional activities carried out regarding the election process were conveyed. The structure and functioning of the mission were mentioned and information was given about the observation activities to be carried out during the election process by EOM. During the meeting, views were exchanged on many issues, particularly the participation of earthquake victims in the election process, the human rights violations that may occur during the election process and the situation of vulnerable groups. 

HREIT cooperates with various non-governmental groups in the context of its duty to protect and promote human rights. In this respect, an active cooperation is carried out with non-governmental organizations, trade unions, professional organizations, persons or organizations that support philosophical or religious tendencies, universities, academics, and parliament and government departments. 

HREIT is open to collaboration at national and international levels. As stated in the second paragraph of Article 22 of the Founding Law No. 6701, the HREIT shall carry out consultation meetings in Türkiye’s centre and provinces with the participation of public institutions and agencies, non-governmental organizations, unions, social and professional organizations, higher education institutions, printed and audio-visual media, researchers and relevant persons, agencies and organizations. Within the scope of provincial consultation meetings, views on human rights are exchanged. In addition, final declarations are published within the scope of the consultation meetings and the issues raised in the meetings are shared. 

Annual reports 

During the preparation of the annual reports of the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, official letters are sent to all relevant non-governmental groups to share their opinions and suggestions on human rights with the HREIT. These opinions and suggestions are evaluated within the scope of the reporting process. 

According to the latest reporting on protection and promotion of human rights, the following recommendations were made by HREIT: 

• Action and event ban measures decided on a provincial basis should only be used in necessary cases and in moderation
• Taking necessary measures to enable employees to exercise their freedom of association and trade union rights
• Consultative Commission 

In accordance with the By-Law on the Implementation of the HREIT Law, it is foreseen that the Consultative Commission will meet twice a year, once every six months. Representatives of various public institutions and organizations and non-governmental organizations share their opinions at the Consultative Commission meetings. There are 13 NGOs in the Consultative Commission. The fourth Consultative Commission was held on 9 June 2023 and the fifth was held on 22 November 2023. 

Non-governmental organizations are also invited to the awareness-raising activities carried out by HREIT.  

According to the latest reporting on protection and promotion of human rights, HREIT recommends that in order to establish a fair balance between the prevention of disinformation and the public's right to receive information, publication bans should be avoided unless they meet a compelling need in a democratic society. 

Continuing efforts to ensure that the right to a fair trial can be used more effectively. 

In 2023, the ECtHR concluded a total of 5,039 applications about our country. While 72 of these were ruled as violations, 4,967 of them were ruled as not in violation, striking out, or inadmissible for various reasons. 

Türkiye does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union. However, HREIT mostly cites the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in its decisions on anti-discrimination and equality and strives to transpose EU equality standards into its national law. 

In 2023, the HREIT took action to support the implementation of the European Courts' judgments in Türkiye.  

Within the scope of the SIAC Projects, HREIT organizes two-day workshops by inviting representatives of relevant non-governmental organizations to these workshops. It is planned to hold 20 workshops within the scope of the project. The topics of the workshops are determined according to the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights on the relevant subject. Three of them have been realized. The first was tax and human rights, the second was discrimination in working life, and the third was prevention of violence against women. Trade unions, civil society, parliamentary commissions, academics, Constitutional Court Rapporteurs and many stakeholder representatives contributed to the implementation of the decisions within the scope of these events. On 29 September 2023, in order to address the issue from different dimensions, a Tax Workshop from the Perspective of Human Rights and Fundamental Rights was held in cooperation with our Institution, the Council of Europe and the Constitutional Court. On December 18-19, 2023, workshop titled "Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life in the Light of Constitutional Court Decisions" was organized and coordinated as part of the European Union - Council of Europe Joint Project. The project aims to support the effective implementation of decisions made by the Turkish Constitutional Court in the field of fundamental rights in collaboration with the European Council, the Constitutional Court, and Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. 

To this end, HREIT participated in the "Judicial Reform Strategy and Human Rights Action Plan Meeting" held in Ankara on December 26, 2023.  

According to the latest reporting on protection and promotion of human rights, HREIT recommends avoiding hesitations about complying with the decisions of the ECtHR and taking necessary action to ensure timely and effective implementation of the ECtHR judgments.

In the Twelfth Development Plan, it is indicated that studies would be carried out to identify deficiencies in practice in order to strengthen freedom of expression. 

In the annual reports of the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, explanations are made on the subject under the heading "freedom of expression, assembly and association". These reports are made public on the corporate website.

The courts should dedicate sufficient time and resources to implement the decisions of ECtHR. HREIT recommends national authorities to ensure compliance of laws and practices with international and regional human rights standards through intensifying trainings for the judges, including the ECHR on annual and thematic reports.