Islamabad, 25 March 2024: The Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan has processed a record 194,099 complaints against the maladministration of government departments in 2023, which is 18% higher than the previous year. Out of these, 193,028 complaints were disposed of which is 22% higher than the year 2022.

This was reported by the Wafaqi Mohtasib, Mr Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, who called on President Asif Ali Zardari and presented the Annual Report of the Federal Ombudsman, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.

The Mohtasib briefed the President about the performance and initiatives taken by the Federal Ombudsman. He said that the Ombudsman was providing speedy and free-of-cost justice to the complainants against the maladministration of various government departments. He informed that 49,190 complaints were received online in 2023, which was an increase of 47% from last year. He added that 22,321 complaints were received through the Mobile App, showing an increase of 21% as compared to the year 2022. He stated that the Ombudsman was using the latest technology to help in the speedy redressal of cases and to enhance its outreach to the people in remote areas of the country.

The Mohtasib highlighted that the opening of new regional offices, holding of Khuli Katcheries, launching of the Informal Resolution of Disputes mechanism, and visits of Mohtasib’s inspection teams had helped in addressing complaints, besides leading to an increase in the registration of complaints. He further said that the office of Overseas Pakistanis in the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat had processed a record 202,367 complaints received through Pakistan Missions abroad, and One Window Facilitation Desks at all international airports of the country.

The President appreciated the performance of the Mohtasib and urged the need to take further steps to enhance its outreach so that the maximum number of people could benefit of its services.

The 29^th annual meeting of the Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman (FPO) was held on 3^rd January, 2024 at Lahore. The meeting was hosted by the Provincial Ombudsman Punjab and attended by Federal Ombudsman, Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Federal Tax Ombudsman, Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, Provincial Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Punjab, Ms. Nabila Hakim Khan, Ombudsman of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Ch. Muhammad Naseem, Mr. Mubassher Naeem, Director General, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Pakistan and Mr. Ishrat Mehmood, Registrar Provincial Ombudsman Sindh. The meeting reviewed activities of the Forum and agreed on various steps to improve the working of the FPO and strengthening plans for enhancing cooperation and exchange of best practices.

Mr. Shoaib Ahmed Sidddiqui, Chief Commissioner, Pakistan Information Commission, Islamabad & Ms. Samaira Nazir Siddiqui, Member, Anti-Dumping Appellate Tribunal, Islamabad visited the office of Provincial Ombudsman Sindh on 22.01.2024 and discussed the issues of mutual interest. Honourable Ombudsman Sindh Mr. Ajaz Ali Khan presented Annual Report 2022 to the Chief Commissioner. The Honourable guests appreciated the efforts made by him in providing relief to the aggrieved persons.

• Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi visits Regional Office, Lahore.
• Instructs the Staff to ensure speedy redressal of grievances of the general public.
• Urges the need to enhance the outreach of the institution

Federal Ombudsman Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi visited the Regional Office, Lahore on
19 October 2023. He received detailed briefing from the Head of the Regional Office
Dr. Arshad Mehmood about the performance of this Office at the provincial metropolis.

Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi appreciated the work of the Regional Office and directed the Officers and Staff to extend best possible services in providing expeditious relief to the general public facing difficulties and delays in their dealings with the governmental agencies. He instructed the staff to ensure effective implementation of the decisions so that the aggrieved citizens can get rightful relief without undue delays. Mr. Qureshi stated that the pension cases of the widows deserved special attention and, if necessary, the Officers may call on the Heads of various agencies to expedite settlement of their outstanding matters.

Federal Ombudsman appreciated the good performance of the Regional Office, Lahore and directed them to employ their best abilities and skills in the service of the general public.

On September 25, 2023, the Public Defender of Georgia met with members of the delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Levan Ioseliani introduced the mandate and activities of the Office to the Special Representative for the Eastern Partnership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rein Dekkers. The parties reviewed the state of human rights in the country and talked about the implementation of the 12 initiatives laid down by the European Parliament for Georgia to get candidate status for EU membership and the role of the Public Defender of Georgia in this process.

The meeting was also attended by the Senior Policy Officer EU External Affairs, Camille Merlen, and the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia, Maurice Paulussen.

Hearing a suomotu matter regarding non-issuance of number plates to 300,000 vehicles in Sindh, the Ombudsman directed the Excise and Taxation Secretary to streamline the process to facilitate the general public.

The Excise Secretary Atif-ur-Rehman briefed the Ombudsman Sindh, highlighting the reasons for the backlog and steps taken to improve the situation

The founding Chief of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), Nazim F. Haji, who joined the meeting through a video link, also shared his suggestions for making the situation better.

After detailed discussions and considering the suggestions made by the participants, the Ombudsman directed the Excise and Taxation Secretary to examine the feasibility of delivery of number plates to the vehicle owners through courier to address the grievances of vehicle owners and curb the corrupt practices.

The Ombudsman also asked the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department to extend and improve the service delivery and also suggested it to integrate the system with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for biometric and related facilities in the public interest

The Ombudsman also directed the Sindh Excise Department to prepare a feasibility regarding setting up of desks and one-window offices at different places to facilitate the people.

He also suggested bringing the registered motor dealers into the system to curb the corrupt practices. The Excise Department has also been directed to submit the report about the progress within one month.

Starting this year, a new survey method using the mobile application service KakaoTalk to be introduced

(Aug. 18, 2023, ACRC)

The 2023 Comprehensive Integrity Assessment (CIA) to which 629 public institutions across the nation are subject began in earnest.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Kim Hong-Il) announced that in Aug. it began to conduct a survey of approximately 270,000 public servants and citizens (policy customers) who have experienced major public administrative services of public institutions in order to assess the levels of integrity of public institutions.

Since 2022, the ACRC has introduced the revised comprehensive public institution integrity assessment integrating the Integrity Assessment based on a survey of integrity levels of public institutions and the Anti-Corruption Initiative Assessment which evaluated anti-corruption efforts and outcomes of public institutions. This year marks the second anniversary of its implementation.

The CIA consists of the following three areas of assessment to comprehensively reflect the level of integrity of each public institution without being biased towards certain factors: (1) Integrity Perception Level is assessed through a survey of perceptions and experiences of public service users and public servants of the public institution subject to the assessment; (2) Integrity Effort Level is evaluated according to public institutions’ anti-corruption efforts and their performances on related assessment indicators; and (3) Corruption Realities are assessed through reflecting real corruption cases that have actually occurred in public institutions such as corruption-related disciplinary actions and audits, etc.

* CIA score (100%) = Integrity Perception Level (60%) + Integrity Effort Level (40%) – Corruption Realities (up to 10% in max.)

The survey is conducted during the period from Aug. to Nov. and the assessment of anti-corruption effort outcomes will begin starting Oct until the mid-Dec., followed by the release of the final CIA grades for each public institution ranging from 1^st grade to 5^th grade in Dec. 2023.

The 2023 CIA covers 629 public institutions in total categorized into 16 types, an increase by 60 institutions in the number of targeted institutions from last year, and in particular, 92 local councils (17 in metropolitan areas, 75 in local provinces) were included for the first time this year in the CIA, strengthening the assessment of vulnerable areas.

<2023 CIA Target Institutions & Categorizations>

The assessment of integrity perceptions is conducted through mobile or online surveys until Nov. this year.

In particular, starting this year, the mobile survey utilizes the KakaoTalk mobile application service easily accessible to the public, in addition to the current method of using mobile text messages, to improve convenience for survey respondents and the rate of responses.

Integrity perceptions survey makes objective and accurate assessment of the levels of integrity of public institutions possible, as it directly asks public service users who have firsthand experiences of services provided by a public institution and employees of the public institution about their perceptions and experiences of corruption during the survey period, unlike other general surveys conducted on multiple random respondents.

Further, the confidentiality of respondents and their answers are thoroughly protected, and all relevant information are encrypted, allowing respondents to participate in the surveys without worries.

The ACRC Vice-chairperson and Secretary General Jeong Seung-yoon said, “The integrity perceptions survey conducted this time provides people with an opportunity to make Korean public sector clean and fair by directly participating in the assessment of the levels of corruption of public institutions,” adding that “their answers are thoroughly protected, so I would like to call for active participation in the survey.”

The 27^th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) was held in Brussels (Belgium) on September 19-21, 2023

The conference was devoted to the role of independent children’s rights institutions in the unwavering realization and protection of children’s rights.

At the General Assembly, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia was reelected a member of the Bureau for the third time. Ketevan Sokhadze, the acting Head of the Department of Children’s Rights, represents the Public Defender in the Bureau, who is also a child protection officer of the Network – a contact person for child protection challenges within the framework of the Network’s child and youth participatory project.

The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children brings together 44 independent children’s rights institutions from across Europe and aims to protect and realize children’s rights, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, through advocacy, capacity building, information and experience sharing, and mutual assistance.

Membership of the Network and involvement in the work of the Bureau is of special importance for the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia.

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, participated in an international conference titled “Effective Practices of the Ombudsmen: National Features and Universal Approaches” held in Kazan, Tatarstan.

While delivering a speech about the “Role of the Ombudsman in Ensuring Social Rights” at the event, attended by ombudspersons and heads of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of other countries, the Ombudsman said that the issues of social security of the population in Azerbaijan are one of the main priorities of the state policy.

S. Aliyeva also noted that the Ombudsman Institution actively engages in raising public awareness on the protection of human rights and freedoms, improving the national legislation, developing and implementing state programs and national action plans.

The Ombudsman gave broad information about the amendments made to the “Constitutional Law on the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan”  and the reforms carried out for the purpose of more effective protection of human rights and freedoms in our country.

The Commissioner underlined that the recommendations proposed in annual reports at different times and requests made to the relevant state authorities played an important role in the preparation of state programs and action plans in the fields of pension provision, demography, and migration, as well as in strengthening the social well-being of people.

The Ombudsman noted that large-scale projects are being carried out in the liberated territories as a part of the “I State Program on the Great Return to the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan liberated from the occupation” at full speed, however, the landmines buried in the territories of Azerbaijan during the Armenian occupation delay the process of returning of former internally displaced persons to their native lands.

The CCAC has been sparing no effort in fighting corruption. In order to further enhance the law enforcement capacity and skills of its investigators, it has specially invited the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong to send staff to Macao to launch a “continuous training programme on anti-corruption work for the CCAC’s investigators”.

The Deputy Commissioner cum Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the CCAC, Ao Ieong Seong and the Deputy Commissioner and Head of Operations of the ICAC, Yau Shu-chun, among others, attended the inauguration ceremony. Ao Ieong Seong showed her gratitude to the ICAC for specially sending its staff to Macao to provide training to the staff of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the CCAC and share with them their law enforcement experience. She expected that the staff of the CCAC can put their learning to good use in order to enhance the law enforcement capacity, safeguard the justice and righteousness, and support the integrity of Macao.

The programme, which commences today (19^th September) for four consecutive days, covers various investigation approaches and techniques including finance and accounting, money laundering, digital forensics and intelligence systems, among others.

Those who attended the inauguration ceremony also included the Head of the Investigation Department 2 of the CCAC, Lei Tong Leong, the Director of the Training and Development of the Operations Department of the ICAC, To On-ki, the Deputy Director of the Training and Development of the Operations Department, Leung Chun-yu, and the Chief Investigator of the Operations Department, Wong Hon-kit, etc.