The term ombudsman refers to the Ombudsman.
Ombudsman is a concept in the Swedish language that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) . The term is used as an equivalent to Ombudsman , a public position that exists in numerous political regimes.
The ombudsman is responsible for ensuring that citizens' rights are not overwhelmed by the State . The mission of this official is to guarantee respect for the rights of each individual within the framework of any type of judicial, administrative, bureaucratic or other action.
Ombudsman role
What the ombudsman does, therefore, is defend the rights of the people and, in turn, ensure that the government in power does not violate these freedoms and protections of the subjects. The ombudsman has the particularity of being an official who receives the position through a Congressional election, after his figure has been subjected to a public debate, but who is independent of that same Congress.
Although its power depends on the Constitution of each country, it generally does not have the power to sanction authorities or force them to take action. Typically, their scope is political, making suggestions and trying to persuade the authorities.
The ombudsman can, however, lead actions that seek to involve a court or even the Supreme Court so that his proposals become effective and mandatory.
It should be noted that, in addition to his active role, the ombudsman can also receive and respond to complaints from citizens who ask for his assistance.
The ombudsman seeks to ensure that the State does not overwhelm the rights of citizens.
An international organization
Also known by its acronym ( FIO ), the Ibero-American Ombudsman Federation is a group that was born in 1995 in Cartagena de Indias , Colombia , and has the presence of Attorneys, Reasoners, Providers, Commissioners and Presidents of Public Commissions of Human Rights and Ombudsmen of the Ibero-American countries at the regional, provincial, regional, national or state levels.
This federation is governed by its Statute (which was approved on August 5, 1995 in Cartagena de Indias and reformed three times, in 1999, 2000 and 2006 ), as well as by the resolutions adopted by the Steering Committee and the General Assembly. , according to the type of decision that must be made at each step. It is worth mentioning that its highest authority is the General Assembly, which is made up of its highest ranking members.
With respect to the Steering Committee, it is made up of the heads of the national organizations that are part of the Federation and three people who represent the foreign organizations, so as to ensure the representation of the different geographic regions. Historically, these non-national representatives have been from Spain (which has regional Ombudsman Offices), Mexico (where there are State Human Rights Commissions) and Argentina (a country that has provincial Ombudsman Offices).
Objectives of the Ibero-American Ombudsman Federation
The main goal of the Ibero-American Ombudsman Federation is to create a space for discussion to exchange experiences, for cooperation and to promote, disseminate and strengthen the institution of the Ombudsman in its jurisdiction at a geographic level.
But its objectives do not end there, since the FIO also seeks:
* strengthen, expand and promote the culture of Human Rights in the countries of origin of its members;
* create and maintain collaborative ties with non-governmental organizations that advocate for the defense, promotion and respect of Human Rights;
* fight for the promotion of research and studies of topics within its competence, with the purpose of ensuring that people coexist peacefully, and to collaborate with the strengthening of the rule of law and the democratic regime.