PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

ned against excessive reductions in medical personnel and in the
network of medical establishments. Having examined the issues raised,
the Commissioner and the Committee arrived at the conclusion that the
reductions would destroy the sector and violate the rights of many
citizens employed in the health system. As a result, an open letter was
addressed to the President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime
Minister of Ukraine, and meetings with the Trade Union of Medical
Workers were held. The Ministry of Health finally took the necessary
measures to settle the problem.
In Namibia, the Ombudsman reports to a special Standing Committee of
Parliament, which is tasked among other duties with the following:
■ to examine, consider and report on the annual and other reports laid before
the National Assembly under the Ombudsman Act;
■ to satisfy itself that the Office of the Ombudsman has been carrying out
its mandate efficiently and effectively, and to make recommendations
accordingly;
■ to confirm that Government offices, Ministries and Agencies are responding
positively to queries and are duly cooperating with the Ombudsman
Office.
Human rights committees of parliament
An accessible parliament I 77
In other countries, the Ombudsman or its equivalent is accountable to a
Human Rights Committee of Parliament, which has a broader remit for the
defence and promotion of human rights throughout the country. In the
Philippines the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives
has initiated the establishment of Human Rights Resource Centres (HRRCs)
in local government units across the country:
The need was felt for them within the context of armed resistance and
protest actions against human rights violations that had become rampant…..When
established, the HRRCs will become part of a network
that ensures good governance from a human rights perspective.
Through advocacy work, the network will include schools and universities,
military and police academies.
In Brazil the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee is itself responsible
for receiving allegations of human rights violations and investigating them,
and constitutes the country’s main human rights monitoring body. Since