The Role of Ombudsperson in the MENA Region
Introduction
The office of an ombudsperson is an important institution in public administration and governance affairs. The institution was first introduced than 200 years ago in Sweden, and since then, it has been established almost in every other country across the globe. However, the roles and mandates of ombudsperson institutions have evolved depending on the specific needs of the country or political entity in question. For example, ombudsperson roles in Israel and Turkey are not 100 percent similar. There are differences depending on the unique needs of the two nations. In other words, the role and mandate of the ombudsperson differ from one country to another as duties and functions vary. Because of the diversity and multiplicity of ombudsperson in different countries and territories, there is no clear cut definition of the roles of ombudsperson. However, there appears to be some uniformity in the major roles regardless of jurisdiction or government structure. In most jurisdictions, the primary roles involve improving the performance of public servants, government agencies, and enhancing accountability. The institution is tasked with responsibilities of representing the interests of the public by investigating cases related to the violation of rights, as well as addressing complaints related to mal-administrations. An ombudsperson investigates the actions of the government departments, prisons, public universities and other public facilities to find if they operate within the dictates of law. Although the ombudsperson is appointed by the government to investigate complaints that are lodged by private citizens against financial institutions, businesses, government departments or other public entities, the office is independent. It is not controlled by the parliament or any arm of the government, at least in most western countries. The ombudsperson is expected to provide protection where there is imbalance of power and ensure justice, and the rule of law is not undermined.
The office of the ombudsperson in the MENA Region is located in the Middle East and North Africa (Beirut, Lebanon) and south-west Asia and the Arab Region (Doha, Qatar). The officers have various responsibilities that include addressing workplace issues at an appropriate level, upholding an ethical, transparent and compliant organizational culture promoting a productive and positive workplace and preserving reputations.
There is no mention of the MENA Region in a paper that is supposed to be on the Office of the Ombudsperson in the MENA Region.
Where is your roadmap as explained in the RML classes?
The General Roles of Ombudsperson
The ombudsperson institutions have become common in institutional frameworks of most countries in different parts of the world. An Ombudsperson is a state official who is appointed to provide checks and balances on the government actions as far as the interests of citizens are concerned. The office of the ombudsperson is considered as the guardian of the rights of citizens as well as a mediator between them and government. Ombudsperson is the defender of public interests. It is the person who is charged with the responsibilities of ensuring there are no abuse of human rights in the government offices, agencies, and employees. Governments across parts of the globe established Ombudsman office in order to ensure there is sanity in execution of services among government officers and offices. The contact of the ombudsperson with citizens coupled with the experience and expertise, the office of ombudsperson is always in a unique position to promote the principles of an open government. The capability of the ombudsperson to intercede on issues that people encounter or experience when interacting with government and public offices places that office is a better position to promote openness and transparency in governance and administration.
Nations and political territories in different parts of the globe have established Ombudsperson’s office as an institution to execute different mandates ranging from accepting and dealing with grievances against public (government) officials in order to safeguard human rights.
As mentioned earlier, the roles, scope, and mandate of ombudsperson office differ from one country to another because its responsibilities are determined by the political, historical, and institutional contexts of the country. Since the establishment of the first ombudsperson office in Sweden in 1809, the roles and functions of ombudsperson institutions have evolved significantly but depending on the specific needs of the countries. In Turkey, for example, ombudsperson is required to investigate complaints related to violation of human rights, abuse of office, and other injustices in all public offices. In Israel, the ombudsman is mandated by the act of parliament to investigate injustice claims within the court system or rather within the judiciary. It does not concern with injustices in other offices or among government agencies and state officers.
Although the existence of the ombudsperson office is rooted on the notion of transparent and open government, its mandate is to promote openness in governance and administrations as well as delivery of services to the public. The ombudsperson is empowered to investigate the conduct of state affairs in public administration and governance process in all spheres of departments of governments. Ombudsperson conducts preliminary investigations on matters of public interests and recommends actions to be taken on concerned person if found guilty. The office also has the mandate to conduct fact-finding investigations in order to validate complaints before recommending prosecution or whatever action deemed fit and necessary. Therefore, an ombudsperson can be an important player in ensuring that no cases go unprosecuted because of claims of insufficient evidence. In most countries, especially among OECD countries, ombudsperson institutions are supposed to investigate cases of maladministration within the government. Maladministration refers to the actions of government departments or agencies that cause injustices in the cause of delivering services. These actions include the failure to provide services as required, delay in service delivery, discourtesy behaviors, unresponsiveness, and inefficiency. They also tasked with responsibility of identifying systemic issues within government and public administration that lead to poor services as well as breaches of rights of citizens. The ombudsperson not only investigates complaints but also attempts to resolve them by issuing preferred recommendations, whether binding or unbinding.
Ombudsperson office helps to promote the rule of law as well as ensuring existence of better governments. Through its independence and impartiality, ombudsman office has turned out to be an important player in public governance and administration. By ensuring that people are compliant with the rule of law and recommending disciplinary actions to persons found guilty, ombudsperson helps in maintaining integrity in government and public offices. By interacting directly with citizens, ombudsperson gathers important information that he or she uses to make policy recommendations that can promote the concept of fair and transparent government. Most OECD countries in the region established ombudsperson office to support democratization, expansion of human rights, and most importantly to influence social and political movements that promote establishment of human right institutions. The office of the ombudsperson is empowered to prevent or stop public officers or government agencies from engaging or performing acts and duties that can hurt the government or citizens. For example, ombudsperson can abort corruption scandals planned by government officers and agencies. They minimize opportunities that lead to corruption and awaken people’s awareness of the evils of corruption and seek public support in the fight against corruption in order to maintain efficiency in government services and operations.
Background Check of the MENA Region
The MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) Region’s largest population adheres to Islamic ideologies since it is predominantly a geographical region occupied by Muslims. MENA is a region that is characterized by conflicts, abuse of human rights, and quest for democratization. Indeed, the region has some of the worst records related to the violation of human rights. A majority of the countries in the region do not have legal protection for human rights as well as the rule of law. Religion is an important factor in this region. Democracy is not understood as it is western countries. Most of the countries are not democratic, and democracy seems to be a hard political ideology to implement. Research shows that much of the value systems on which public morality rest is highly influenced by Islam ideologies. The teachings and cultural practices of Islam tend to have significant impact on legislation and social practice as well as governance. Islam lays down the framework for the family, personal and social life. As aforementioned, concepts such as democracy, human rights, and role of women in society tend to be interpreted rather differently. For example, some countries in the region do not have any problems with early marriages for girls.
The poverty of MENA region is multifaceted. Research shows that the region is characterized by huge economic and social differences between and within countries. Although some countries fall into the category of middle-income countries, many of them experience widespread poverty and economic challenges. Most of the countries such as Kuwait, KSA and Iran are major exporters of oil and petroleum products, but they have not managed to address the question of poverty all because of maladministration injustices. Some countries are under authoritarian rule, and protection of civil, social, economic, and political rights is inadequate. The judicial system is not entirely strong, and independent and civil societies are generally too weak to achieve anything of substance. Research shows even the independent judiciaries tend to undermine the rule of law.
The Arab Spring that happened in 2011 was orchestrated and motivated by demand for freedom, transparent governments, and need of justice for all. However, a lack of rights-based government systems continues to puts pressure on the region to reform and embrace democracy and respect for human rights. The Media in the region, for example, is not entirely free but operate under strict control and watch of the government. Censorship is widespread, and freedom of press is relative- it depends on what is reported and why. Journalists and cultural media actors who oppose system are either prosecuted or have their careers put to an end. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is a good recent example that indicates the reality about the freedom of speech, media, and type of government in some of the countries in the MENA region. Another important to about MENA is that region is rich in oil and gases. However, because of poor governance and administration, poverty has remained widespread.
Role of Ombudsperson in the MENA region
Ombudsperson is a popular institution within the MENA region. The offices were established or have been established as a response to widespread cases of injustices in public offices and numerous scenarios of abuse of human rights. Like in other countries across the globe, ombudsperson tends to have the same power. However, the nature of ombudsperson office in MENA countries is rather different. Although such persons and offices are in place in most countries, they are not as effective as they should. Based on the information mentioned above in the background section, ombudsperson institution in MENA region has been created to enhance protection and promotion of human rights, freedoms as well as promote existence of transparency governance and administration. MENA is a region that, among many other things, is characterized by a lack of democracies, abuse of human rights and lack of human freedoms. Therefore, ombudsman institutions have been established and tasked with duties of being the defender of citizens right in the government. The office investigates issues of human rights abuses as reported by citizens and recommend appropriate actions to the relevant authorities. However, there is variance in the focus of ombudsperson in the region. In some countries, the office focus is on handling complaints related to maladministration in the public sector while in others, the focus is more on human rights abuse and cases of corruption in public spaces and offices.
The major difference between Ombudsperson in the MENA region and other places is that in the former, the office is not entirely independent, although it might be said to be. Its functions and responsibilities are monitored by the states. Besides, in some countries, the office is expected to file the progress report to the office of the prime ruler or the president. For example, in Tunisia, Ombudsperson office operates under classical mandate, and it is expected to submit annual reports to the office of president detailing the progress of the work and recommendations that can help improve functioning administration and cure cases of injustices. Whereas it is a good thing to collaborate with all arms of government in execution duties and function, direct responsibility to the office of president can influence how investigations are done as well as recommendations. For example, an Ombudsperson can hardly submit a report that pinpoints abuse of office by the president and the crew even if such evidence exists.
In most North Africa countries, research by Transparency International has found that there is limited support for citizens to hold government officers into account. In other words, citizens rarely report cases of injustices because there is no government protection. Political interference limits the power of independent offices, and where such offices exist, they are weak, under-resourced and ineffective. As of Today, Egypt does not have an ombudsperson institution that has strong constitutional powers to represent, guard, and defend civil rights. In 2013, when president Morsy appointed Mostafa al-Sharbatly as the new Ombudsperson, there were claims that the appointment was made secretly, and presidency wanted to keep it as so. In Morocco, the office of the ombudsperson involves rendering justice to citizens when they are subjected to any abuse. The post was created to give citizens the opportunity to report injustices they experience in the hands of government offices as well as report any case of human rights violations. Morocco recognizes ombudsman office as an independent authority whose primary duties are enshrining rights and injustices and ensuring the preservation of the rights of the citizens when they relate and interact with administration.
In Algeria, there is nothing like the ombudsperson office. The institution was first created in 1996 following public outcry of abuse of human rights by government officials and agencies, but it was later abolished in 1999. In 2001, the government established a relatively independent body, National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, to perform the same function as an ombudsperson institution. The office is mandated to, among other things, improve the relationship between citizens and the system of government. In Jordan, Ombudsperson is mandated to examine complaints from individuals on matters relating to any decree, practice, or procedure or any act of refusal by public administration. The office has successfully promoted citizens’ access to information. For example, when the Social Security Corporation (SSC) failed to provide a copy of the executive directives on matters of social security benefits, a lawyer filed a complaint with the ombudsman office, and SCC was ordered to publicize the directives in accordance to Access To Information Act. SSC responded immediately and published the information in the official gazette. The publication came after the intervention of the ombudsperson, which confirms the importance of the office in Jordan.
In Turkey, the ombudsperson office was established in 2010 after constitution amendments were approved, and the first ombudsperson was elected in 2012 by the parliament. The office is mandated to investigate administrative actions, attitudes, and behaviors from the lens of respect of human rights and freedoms as well as to the conformity to the rule of laws as enshrined the Turkish constitution. In Turkey, the ombudsman office is known as the public monitoring Institution. As the name suggests, ombudsperson is mandated to investigate the behavior of the public officers and government agencies as they execute their mandates in the public service. It is independently running office with an autonomous budget. Turkey is one the MENA countries that have tried to establish an empowered and resourced ombudsman office free from influence or manipulation of the state. The office is tasked to examine, investigate, and submit findings and recommendations to the administration. The office is mandated to carry out investigations independently and objectively in order to promote the rule of law respect for human rights and democracy. The institution is required to create or provide opportunities for the members of the public and administration to reach an agreement on conflicting subjects that are important to the public. It also required to create smooth paths to enable citizens to communicate their problems and grievances directly and free of charge. Like in other jurisdictions, the Turkish Ombudsperson Institution has two primary purposes; protecting fundamental freedoms and rights as well as promoting them. The creation came after long period of effort to establish and enforce rule of law.
In the state of Israel, the state comptroller adjudicates the duties and functions of an ombudsperson institution. The roles and mandates of the ombudsperson are centered on matters of injustices that take place in the court system. The ombudsman’s office is not established independently but as part of the Comptroller office, where there is a subsidiary office that operates as ombudsman office. The office was established in 2003 following frequent cases of public complaints about widespread injustices in the administration of justice in the courts. Like in other countries, the ombudsman is tasked with the mandate of investigating complaints against government officials, agencies, government companies and corporations, state enterprises and employees.
Israel’s ombudsman office is supposed to provide redress to any person who sees themselves as having been injured by misconduct of any facets or elements of the judiciary. The ombudsperson carries out investigation on complaints about misconducts of judges. For example, he or she can investigate the use of offensive language by the judge in making court’s decision or during court proceedings and hearing. He can also investigate judge’s misconduct outside the court; trial complaints such prolongation of the court hearings. The judges whose mandates are subject to be reviewed by the ombudsperson are judges serving in the religious courts, military judges, judges in the labor courts, and judges and registrar from the general court system. Therefore, from this information, it is clear that Israel’s ombudsman office does not deal with injustices and complaints leveled against other government offices apart from the judiciary.
In Bahrain, the office of Ombudsman act as independent secretariat administratively and financially. It is established in the ministry of interior to ensure there is total compliance with the professional policing standards as stipulated in the police code of conduct. It also ensures compliance with regulations that dictates the performance of the civil servants and operates within a framework that is guided by respect of human rights as well as consolidation of justice. It is also meant to ensure compliance with the rule of law and increase public confidence of the government as captured in the Bahrain constitution. The duties and responsibilities are informed by complaints received from the public security personnel in the interior ministry. Upon investigation and persons found guilty, ombudsman makes recommendation to the relevant authority in the ministry of interior to execute disciplinary actions. Ombudsman also is tasked to informed the office of the public prosecutor of Bahrain in matters or cases that have criminal weight. It is also the responsibility of the ombudsman office to inform complainant and defendant about investigations and the conclusion of the cases and steps followed, as well as the recommendation reached. In Cyprus, ombudsman is known as the commissioner for Administration.
In Saudi Arabia, ombudsperson institution does not exist. The government has not thus far established an office to address the case of human rights abuses and other forms of injustices, yet they seem to be too high. However, there has been pressure on the government to facilitate the creation of such office to address the human rights abuses that are widespread. “Nowadays, citizens in Saudi Arabia demand the highest levels of transparency and accountability in all areas of any governments, and they seek the same standards from the private sector”. As of today, all the powers regarding governance and administration rest in the hands of the king, who is considered as the highest decision-maker for the three arms of government –executive, legislature, and Judiciary. Corruption, maladministration, and abuse of discretion have continued to threaten the transparency of the government. Political and legal analysts argue that establishing an Ombudsman office in KSA would help to improve accountability network efficiency and ensure that the government satisfies the demand of the people. An ombudsperson will be tasked with the mandate of receiving, investigating and reporting the findings to the king to resolve the problem. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not the only country that does not have ombudsman office. Other countries within MENA include UAE, Palestine, Oman, Iraq, and Yemen.
Conclusion
The office of an ombudsperson is an important institution in public administration and governance affairs. An Ombudsperson is a state official who is appointed to provide checks and balances on the government actions as far as the interests of citizens are concerned. The institution was first mentioned more than 200 years ago in Sweden, and since then, it has been established almost in every other country across the globe. In MENA countries, an ombudsperson is considered as the guardian of the rights of citizens as well as a mediator between them and government. The office has emerged as the savior of human rights abuses that continues to set aside the region far from other global communities. Ombudsmen offices have continued to emerge depending on the political, social and economic needs of the respective countries. The roles and duties differ because of the unique needs of the countries. For example, the focus of ombudsperson in Israel is different from that of Bahrain. While in Israel of the focus is on the judicial and court system, Bahrain focuses on the officials in the ministry of interior and turkey the focus in every government civil servant and public offices. The situation characteristics of MENA region calls for stronger, empowered and resourced ombudsman offices. As mentioned earlier, MENA countries are characterized problems such as abuse of human rights, lack of democracy and freedoms.
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