The current situation in Slovakia undermines the work of the Slovak Ombudswoman, Jana Dubovcová. President of the European Board of the International Ombudsman Institute Peter Tyndall writes this in a letter to the Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Pavol Paška.
According to the letter, undermining the work of Ombudsman is understood internationally as evidence of a lack of respect for citizens’ rights. Parliamentary deputies have asked the Cabinet to deal with the issue of the seat of the Office of the Public Defender of Rights in a building owned by the state or a regional self-government.
This comes as parliament discusses the Report on the Activities of the Public Ombudsman's Office for last year. The parliamentary human rights committee chair Rudolf Chmel (Most-Hid) announced that he appreciates the fact that Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcová points to human rights violations, as he believes that the problems in this area should be resolved. “The rule of law without respect for human rights is practically non-existent”, said Chmel. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) MP Martin Poliačik would like to see the entire Government present when the report on the activities of the Ombudswoman is read out in Parliament. He pointed out that it’s the Government that is responsible for ensuring that measures are adopted to help address the injustices and human rights violations that are pointed out by Dubovcová.
