Oct 05, 2018
The Office of the Ombudsman issued its fifth annual report covering the period from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018. In a statement, it announced that the report reflected its march over the past five years, adding that the real challenge was to win trust of the public. It pointed out continuity of indices showing trust of the public in its efforts which brought about many positive changes, be they through the legal reference or the executive procedures which will have an impact in the long run.
Citing main figures and statistics related to its march throughout the previous year (2017-2018), it has been revealed that the Office of the Ombudsman received 1094 grievances, including 334 complaints, compared to 465 complaints received last year, marking a decrease of 30%. A total of 120 complaints were referred to the specialised investigation authorities while 169 complaints were shelved for absence of the wrongful act and 17 were shelved for lack of jurisdiction. Meanwhile, 28 complaints were kept under investigation, the Office of the Ombudsman noted, attributing the decrease in the number of complaints, compared to last year, to many reasons including the following ones:
-- The training and development programmes carried out by the Interior Ministry to boost human rights and the executive procedures followed by the ministry in all its facilities, including the use of CCTV and portable physical cameras
-- Continuous follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations of the Office of the Ombudsman mainly in the Reform and Rehabilitation Centres and the detention centres.
Within the same context, the Office of the Ombudsman received 760 demands for assistance that do not comprise allegations of misbehaviour or legal offences. They were just demands for information, consultation or assistance, most of which from detainees, prisoners or their families. A total of 746 demands for assistance were settled by more than 97%.
The Office of the Ombudsman lauded continuous support of the Interior Ministry and other ministries and institutions which backed its efforts over the past five years. It added that its fifth annual report can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.ombudsman.bh/periodic-public-reports.
