The Ombudsman welcomes the intention communicated to her by the Executive Council of the Social Security Institute (ISS) to extend the validity of the informal carers ID card to one year. The current period of validity of the card is only three months, and it is true that among the approximately 11,000 informal carers already recognised, there are those who…
The Ombudsman informed the Secretary of State for Health on receipt of various complaints from citizens holding medical certificates for multiple disabilities (AMIM) whose validity had expired on 31st December 2022, despite having requested re-examination of their situation in due time. The situation is due to the persistent delay in scheduling a medical committee, and covers people who had requested…
The Portuguese Postal Service (CTT) is unduly demanding payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) on small-value non-EU remittances between private individuals, concluded the Ombudsman after examining several complaints in this regard. In a recommendation addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. and communicated to the Director of Customs Regulation Services of…
On 10 December the international community celebrates International Human Rights Day, marking the moment when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Constituting a civilizational milestone in our collective history, the Declaration brought to the legal, social and cultural level the strong idea that all human beings are holders of inalienable rights, regardless…
The Ombudsman has received various complaints about delays in the issue of the Former Combatant’s Card, and it has been established that these delays are often the result of out-of-date data from the applicants. In order to update this data, interested parties may access the Balcão Único da Defesa and submit the completed form, which is available there. Alternatively, this…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, was in Parliament for a presencial hearing on the legislative initiatives under appraisal by the Working Group on the legal framework of Professional Associations. The hearing took place at the request of the coordinator of the Working Group, constituted in the scope of the Commission of Labour, Social Security and Inclusion.
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, participated in the XXVII General Assembly of the FIO, Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen, which took place in Mexico City from 28 November to 1 December 2022. The work brought together more than a hundred representatives of public human rights bodies from 21 countries. They focused in particular on the challenges posed by the pandemic and…
The Ombudsman has sent a letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment and Energy suggesting changes to the PAES – Support Programme for More Sustainable Buildings, aimed at avoiding, in the future, a repetition of the constraints and inequities that have led to more than a hundred complaints over the last year. Based on the experience resulting from…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, received a delegation from the Ministry of Justice of the Bavarian State Government, headed by Minister Georg Eisenreich and accompanied by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Julia Monar, in an audience on 3 November. During the meeting, several aspects related to the history and the national and international activity of the Ombudsman…
Representing the Portuguese Ombudsman, the adviser Carla Vicente participated, on 31 October, in a Seminar on Responsible Gaming, organized by the Gaming Law Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association. The Seminar took place in the context of the procedure underway, in Brazil, to regulate the gaming market, and the topic was addressed in an interdisciplinary manner, with the presence of…
