Summary of discussions at international expert roundtable The Annex sets out a list of participants in the expert international roundtable, which was held in Belfast on Thursday 23 rd and Friday 24 th of January 2025. Ombudspersons, ombudsperson’s staff, and academics took part from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Serbia, and Wales. In the following section, key themes and examples from different jurisdictions that were discussed at the roundtable are reported. Complaints from asylum seekers and refugees Asylum seekers and refugees are subject to different legal regimes and protections and will face different issues in terms of making use of the rights available to them. They cannot be treated as a single group. There is also a third category of failed asylum seekers who face particular challenges in relation to destitution once a claim fails. In Scotland, there have been no complaints from asylum seekers and refugees to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) in the last 8 years. The SPSO, like NIPSO, is using data about who uses and does not use its service to try to ensure that it is reaching vulnerable groups. One reason why complaints may not be emerging in Scotland is due to the more positive political and cultural climate in relation to asylum seekers and refugees that exists in Scotland compared to other parts of the UK. In Wales, there are very few complaints about asylum seekers and refugees to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. In Denmark, the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman has a limited jurisdiction when it comes to the asylum claiming process. In principle, the office is able to consider complaints from asylum seekers and refugees in relation to access to other public services but in practice does not tend to receive these complaints. The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman does not currently record information about whether asylum seekers and refugees use its service. However, anecdotally, there is an under- representation of complaints from ethnic minorities. In Serbia, the actual number of complaints made by asylum seekers and refugees to the Serbian Ombudsman is low – amounting to 12 in 2022 and 7 in 2023.
In Greece, issues relating to asylum seekers and refugees became very important from 2013/ 2014 onwards. In terms of the ombudsperson’s work, between 15,000 and 20,000 complaints are received a year and on average 800 – 1000 of those will be from asylum seekers and refugees. In Belgium, the Federal Ombudsman’s case management system does not register whether a complainant is from an asylum seeker or a recognised refugee. However, when dealing with complaints about migration, this status is requested and/ or registered since this is important to determine the applicable regulations. This has the consequence that there will be complaints from asylum seekers and refugees concerning other areas than asylum and migration that are not registered as a complaint from an asylum seeker or refugee. In terms of complaints strictly related to the asylum procedure, therefore, the Federal Ombudsman of Belgium received +/- 120 complaints, and between 2020 and January 2025 received between 500 to 550 such complaints. In Ireland, the Office of the Ombudsman received approximately 4,800 complaints in 2024 and nearly 9,000 enquiries. Approximately 100 complaints are received from asylum seekers and refugees. These mainly relate to accommodation issues. Last year, the office started recording demographic statistics with regard to complainants and this is something that will now be monitored over time. In the Netherlands, research shows that complaints are also not received from all demographic groups, with certain groups less likely to complain. This could create a “Matthew effect” where complaints result in more resources going to people who already have greater social resources and are able to make use of complaint systems, at the expense of those with fewer resources who are less able to make their voices heard. 33 Of the 20,000 requests received a year by the Dutch Ombudsman around 5% are related to public bodies responsible for asylum seekers, although it is unclear whether complaints are filed directly by affected individuals or by others on their behalf. Restrictions in legal mandates and political context The Greek Ombudsman is two bodies in one – an ombudsperson institution on the Nordic model but also with an extensive human rights remit. Its mandates include: National Preventative Mechanism (NPM), equality body, ombudsman for police and uniformed services, children’s ombudsman, and monitoring of forced returns. This broad set of roles and powers is considered to be essential to give the office a comprehensive picture across public administration (and is considerably broader than the jurisdiction of ombudspersons in the UK).
33 Hubeau, B., 2018. The profile of complainants: how to overcome the ‘Matthew effect’?. In Research handbook on the ombudsman, M Hertogh and R Kirkham (eds), pp. 259-279. Edward Elgar Publishing.
54 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
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