7. The role of ombudspersons in protecting asylum seekers and refugees: international experiences Survey findings Number, geographical and legal remit of respondents A survey was circulated by the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) to its 238 members. Anonymous responses, incomplete responses, responses submitted by ombudspersons with a private sector jurisdiction, and duplicate responses were not included in the analysis. In total, 34 usable responses were received and used in the analysis (14.3% of IOI members). Most responses (n = 23) were received from the IOI’s Europe region, four were received from the Africa region, four from the Caribbean and Latin American region, two from the Australia and Pacific Region, and one from the North America region. No usable responses were received from the IOI’s Asia region. The sample was heavily skewed towards the IOI’s Europe region, albeit this is the region that contains the largest number of IOI members (n = 91). 25.3% of the IOI’s Europe region members completed the survey. The vast majority of respondents (n = 29) had a remit which included both maladministration and human rights. Six respondents reported that they had an anti-corruption remit. Nine respondents reported being the National Preventative Mechanism (NPM) under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) 28 and 18 were designated as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) 29 for their jurisdiction.
Complaints received from asylum seekers and refugees Numbers of complaints received from asylum seekers and refugees by respondents’ institutions Respondents reported the following in terms of the numbers of complaints received from refugees and asylum seekers: • 44.1% of respondents (n = 15) reported having received fewer than 99 complaints a year (six respondents received between 1 and 24 complaints, three respondents received between 25 and 49 complaints, and three respondents received between 50 and 99 complaints). • 8.8% of respondents (n = 3) reported having received between 100 and 199 complaints a year. • 5.9% of respondents (n = 2) reported having received between 300 and 399 complaints. • 5.9% of respondents (n = 2) reported having received between 750 and 999 complaints. • 36.4% of respondents (n = 12) reported that they did not collect data about the number of complaints received from asylum seekers and refugees. 83.4% (n = 26) of respondents considered that the number of complaints they received from asylum seekers and refugees did not reflect the likely level of injustice these groups experienced. While respondents considered that complaints were under- reported the data provided show that many respondents received more complaints from asylum seekers and refugees than ombudspersons in the UK. 30 Potential reasons for variations between ombudspersons in terms of the number of complaints received include: the behaviour of the state and public bodies towards asylum seekers and refugees; the extent to which ombudspersons promote their services to asylum seekers and refugees; limitations in jurisdiction (for instance, municipal or regional level ombudspersons may have no remit over the asylum process); and differences in legal powers (e.g. the absence of human rights and additional mandates). 31
28 The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights describes the role of NPMs as follows: “NPMs have the mandate to regularly visit places of deprivation of liberty in their country, such as police stations, prisons and other detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and any other places where persons are not permitted to leave at their own will.” Their role is to independently monitor the implementation of OPCAT and make recommendations. See: https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/spt/ national-preventive-mechanisms [Accessed 14 March 2025]. 29 The UN and Council of Europe encourage the establishment and maintenance of national human rights institutions (NHRIs). These are designed to act as a bridge between civil society and the state and between national and international bodies. They have a wide remit including: advising on legal compliance; monitoring; reporting; complaint handling; research, cooperation; promotion; and supporting human rights defender. See: https://ennhri.org/about-nhris/ [Accessed 14 March 2025]. 30 While data for the UK is not published, information provided at the international expert roundtable (see below) and published information about complaints against the Home Office, suggest that very few complaints are brought by asylum seekers and refugees. 31 Consideration was given to whether the number of complaints received by ombudspersons related to the number of asylum seekers and refugees in a particular jurisdic- tion. This was examined using data published by the Office of the High Commissioner For Refugees (https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics), however, no relationship was found between the numbers of complaints received by ombudspersons and the number of asylum seekers and refugees in a jurisdiction.
50 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software