The work of the Ombudsman was severely criticized in the Senate

Today, on 7 April, at the thirty-ninth plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the report on the activities of the Human Rights Representative (ombudsman) of the Oliy Majlis in 2022 was discussed.

It was noted that the activities of the Ombudsman in national commissions, cooperation with civil society institutions, raising legal awareness and legal culture, protecting children’s rights, ensuring the openness and transparency of activities, especially the cases and events of the Ombudsman in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, were discussed at the meeting.  Participation in the activities of the study commission caused wide discussions.

Senators also noted that there are still some shortcomings in relation to the Ombudsman's work.

In particular, in the second half of 2022, the activity of the Ombudsman in dealing with appeals received through the Unified online platform was relatively low.

The effectiveness of the influence measures introduced by the Ombudsman on the relevant state bodies and organizations has decreased.

Within the framework of the “Ombudsman School” project, propaganda activities across the republic were not organized in some regions.

Due to insufficient measures taken by the Ombudsman, 387 orphans and children who had been deprived of their parents’ care in 2022 were not placed in families, or children’s institutions, and 25 children who were supposed to be given housing were not provided with housing.  The Ombudsman therefore was rightly criticized.

Analyzing the problems in the regions with the most appeals to the Ombudsman, it was noted at the meeting that it is necessary to reduce repeated appeals and to widely use measures of influence established by law to restore the violated rights of citizens.

In addition, within the framework of the “Ombudsman School” project, aimed at increasing the legal consciousness and legal culture of the population, proposals were made to further strengthen the promotional activities, to pay special attention to the effectiveness of monitoring activities in places where persons with limited freedom of movement are kept.

At the same time, in order to establish control over the full placement of orphans and children deprived of their parents’ care in families and children’s institutions, in order to protect the rights and interests of children given to families, by constantly monitoring the conditions created for them,  relevant duties were set.

The relevant decision of the Senate was adopted on this issue.