PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

76 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Argentina: Based on an outstanding Nordic tradition, Argentina has
established the Office of the Ombudsman that reports to the national
parliament. The role of this body is to protect the interests of the
citizens, groups of citizens and the community in general in the face of
any government act that violates the fundamental rights of citizens. The
results of this institution in Argentina have been very promising. Its
existence has also allowed for greater participation of the citizenry in
the oversight mechanism. In some countries, the Ombudsman reports
to the executive branch. But the experience from Argentina supports
the general view that this institution should report to the legislative
branch. (Eduardo Menem, former Acting President of Senate).
In Latin America, the history of widespread human rights violations under
former military regimes has made the establishment of the office of Public
Protector (or in some countries a National Human Rights Commission with
similar functions) a key element in restored democratic arrangements. Most
commentators agree that, to be effective, such bodies should:
■ be completely independent of government;
■ have wide-ranging investigative powers;
■ be properly resourced and cost-free to complainants;
■ be easy to access, both geographically, through local offices, and electronically;
■ easy to access, both geographically, through local offices, and electronically;
■ report and be accountable to parliament.
In most countries where the office of Ombudsman or equivalent has been
established, it is in fact accountable to parliament, either as a whole or through
a specific committee. In Malta, the Ombudsman is an officer of Parliament and
reports to Parliament through the Speaker. In Ukraine the Parliamentary
Commissioner (Ombudsman) for Human Rights is accountable to the whole
Parliament for monitoring human rights in the country, and works closely with
particular committees of Parliament according to the nature of the appeal or
complaint. Her remit covers economic and social rights as well as civil rights.
An example of the former is given in the report from her first year of office:
Throughout 1998, the Commissioner and the Parliamentary Committee
on Issues of Health Care, Motherhood and Childhood received a number
of appeals by employees of medical establishments who complai-