72nd E-News Letter of Asian Ombudsman Association August 2023
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PAKISTAN FEDERAL OMBUDSMAN DIRECTS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF HIS DECISIONS IN SPEEDY AND EFFICIENT MANNER.Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib) Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi has urged the Federal Government Agencies of Bahawalpur Division to implement his decisions against maladministration and administrative excesses expeditiously so that the rights of the marginalized and poor strata of the society are protected. |
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HONG KONG OMBUDSMAN PROBES ENFORCEMENT BY PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND LANDS DEPARTMENT AGAINST UNAUTHORISED LAND DEVELOPMENTS.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced the launch of a direct investigation to examine the enforcement by the Planning Department (“PlanD”) and the Lands Department (“LandsD”) against unauthorised land developments. Currently, PlanD takes enforcement action against unauthorised developments in the rural New Territories within a development permission area (“DPA”) (Note 1) pursuant to the Town Planning Ordinance (“TPO”). |
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KOREA ACRC ACTIVELY RELIEVES FOREIGN WORKERS APPEALING AGAINST THE INJUSTICE OF UNFAIR DISMISSAL.A judgment has been made that it is inappropriate to disallow the change of workplace due to the overdue period of application for the change, even though a farm owner terminated a labor contract without agreement with foreign workers. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Kim Hong-Il) expressed its opinion to the head of the Regional Employment and Labor Administration that in cases where business owners unfairly terminated labor contracts with foreign workers who entered Korea through the Employment Permit System, these workers should be allowed to change the workplace to enable them to continue their job search during their stay in Korea. |
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PAKISTAN FEDERAL OMBUDSMAN TOUR OF FAISLABAD DECISION TO START IRD PROGRAM IN FAISLABAD.Federal Ombudsman, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, presided over a meeting of Regional Heads of Federal Government Departments and Investigation Officers of Regional Office during his tour to Faislabad on 22-8-2023 in which he announced the start of Informal Resolution of Disputes (IRD) program to resolve the disputes between parties through mediation and conciliation. |
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THAILAND THAILAND SEAOF SENIOR OFFICIAL MEETING CONVENES IN BALI.The beautiful island of Bali played host to the Southeast Asian Ombudsman Forum (SEAOF) Senior Official Meeting (SOM) from August 10 to 11, 2023. Organized under the Chairmanship of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia, the meeting welcomed delegates from SEAOF three founding members, including the representatives from Indonesia, the host country, Thailand, and the Philippines. |
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HONG KONG RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION INTO GOVERNMENT’S ENFORCEMENT AGAINST DEFECTIVE SEWAGE WORKS ANNOUNCED.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today announced at a press conference the completion of a direct investigation into the Government’s enforcement against defective sewage works of New Territories Exempted Houses (“NTEHs”) and made 10 recommendations for improvement to the Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) and the Lands Department (“LandsD”). |
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MACAU COMMISSIONER AGAINST CORRUPTION CHAN TSZ KING RECEIVED COMMISSIONER OF HONG KONG ICAC WOO YING-MING.The Commissioner Against Corruption, Chan Tsz King, received the delegation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong who visited Macao today (28th July) and had a meeting with the Commissioner of the ICAC, Woo Ying-ming. Both sides agreed to reinforce cooperation on the basis of the current foundation and join hands together to enhance practical exchange and personnel connection among the anti-corruption agencies of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in order to proactively take forward the integrity building of the Greater Bay Area. |
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AZERBAIJAN OMBUDSMAN CONDUCTED VISIT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF NPM ACTIVITIES.The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva and the members of the Ombudsman’s National Preventive Group against Torture conducted visits to the detention places, which persons cannot leave at their own will, without prior notice. |
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HONG KONG RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION INTO PILOT SCHEME ON COMMUNITY CARE SERVICE VOUCHER FOR THE ELDERLY ANNOUNCED.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced at a press conference, the completion of a direct investigation into the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly (“the Pilot Scheme”) and made 11 recommendations to the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) for improvement. |
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GEORGIA PUBLIC DEFENDER MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NGOS AND JOURNALISTS WORKING IN AKHALKALAKI.On August 24, 2023, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani met with representatives of the non-governmental sector operating in Akhalkalaki and local journalists in order to receive information about the challenges in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. |
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KOREA LABOR AND MANAGEMENT MEETING TO IMPROVE THE EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN SEAFARERS.A place for discussion on measures for institutional improvement will be organized to address issues related to the employment of foreign seafarers in the era of low birth rates and an aging population. |
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AZERBAIJAN THE OMBUDSMAN CONTINUES NPM ACTIVITIES.Upon the instruction of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, the National Preventive Group (NPG) members conducted the next visit within the framework of the National Preventive Mechanism activities. |
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GEORGIA PUBLIC DEFENDER PARTICIPATES IN ENNHRI MEETING.On August 31, 2023, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani and Deputy Public Defender Tamar Gvaramadze participated in a meeting organized by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) in Oslo. New heads of the European National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) were introduced at the event and they were informed about the fundamental principles and effective functioning of the NHRIs. |
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ARMENIA THE PERSON DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY UNDERWENT SURGERY WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE DEFENDER.The person deprived of liberty asked for the support of the Human Rights Defender in order to organize a medical treatment, specifically heart stenting prescribed by the doctor. In accordance with the addressed complaint, the citizen has a disability of the second group and cardiac-related health issues. The medical service of the penitentiary institution is delaying to organize the indicated surgery for the purpose of treatment, which has led to a deterioration of the health condition. |