EL BLOG DE LA FIIAPP. Cooperación Española

Soledad Becerril, the Ombudsman since 2012, was the first woman to hold the office in Spain.  In this interview, she tells us what the work of the Ombudsman’s Office consists of:

Do all citizens have access to the Ombudsman’s Office?

All citizens have access to the Ombudsman’s Office, on a non-discriminatory basis and, we hope, without any type of difficulty. Because, for submitting their complaints, they have toll-free numbers they can call, they can write to us directly by sending a letter, come into the Ombudsman’s Office physically to explain their problem and, of course they can also do so via Internet, using e-mail or through our website.

What types of complaints does the Ombudsman handle?

Complaints about public administrations. The Ombudsman does not handle complaints between private citizens or private institutions or businesses.

We also act through the corresponding ministry in the case of large companies that provide public services, such as telephony or transport, or, for example, matters related to banks, through the Bank of Spain. But we handle all types of situations and problems. In relation to disabled people, problems with local taxes, matters involving the national tax agency, waiting lists in hospitals, etc. In short, all types of problems and circumstances.

Are all of the complaints in Spain brought before the Ombudsman handled in Madrid, or are there also branch offices in the self-governing communities?

We cover the entire Spanish territory. There are also Ombudsman’s Offices in ten self-governing communities which have the capacity to act within the jurisdiction of the particular community.

How many complaints are received each year by the Ombudsman’s Office?

Around 20,000. And, a great number of them are submitted by individuals. Although groups, associations and institutions can also contact us.

In 2015, in the annual report we present every year to parliament, we realised that 50,000 people had submitted documents requesting action from the Ombudsman.

Are there priority issues for the Ombudsman’s Office?

We don’t have priority issues. What we do is to try to identify situations that are more urgent than others. For example, if there is a person in an irregular administrative situation who is about to be deported and we are aware that there are also circumstances of vulnerability involved, very unique or very special ones, we act rapidly before the person is deported.

If we are aware that a minor’s situation is very dramatic or very difficult, these situations are handled before other ones, but all issues are addressed.

What are the main challenges facing the Ombudsman’s Office?

The greatest challenge is to reach the greatest possible number of people and to ensure that the greatest number of people with a problem know how to contact the Ombudsman and can do so. That’s why the website is so important. To make us visible and make the population understand what we do, to be appreciated. This is fundamental, having the trust of citizens.

What are the greatest difficulties?

The same difficulties that all administrations, local governments, regional community governments or the national government have; budgetary problems related to getting more money allocated to assistance, social or health services.

What is the role of the Ombudsman in other countries?

Most countries in the European Union have ombudsman’s offices, as well as Ibero-American and some Mediterranean countries. We have helped them and assisted in training the teams working in these ombudsman’s offices.

Most recently we were in Turkey for two years (through a project managed by FIIAPP and financed by the European Commission). We showed them how we work in Spain and collaborated in training the staff there. In addition, we have an ongoing relationship of collaboration with the Ibero-American ombudsman’s offices, which follow the Spanish model.

 What has the Spanish Ombudsman’s Office contributed in Turkey?

We provided part of the necessary training to its teams: how to handle matters, which areas they can take action in, how action can be taken, how to contact administrations, monitoring of legislation in force, respect for human rights… in sum, all of these fields.

How are Turkish citizens benefiting from this project?

Turkey is a very large country, with 80 million inhabitants; extending the action of the Ombudsman throughout the entire geography and to all Turkish citizens is going to take some time and a great deal of effort. But I hope that little by little they achieve it.

Are there plans to work on more projects in other countries?

If other projects come up, yes. We’ll do it based on requests for our help.

What is the role of the Ombudsman in refugee issues?

This is a very complicated issue because the procedures are quite convoluted, but the position of the Ombudsman is to carry out monitoring to ensure that Spain fulfils its commitments in this area. From the Ombudsman’s Office we speak out in favour of receiving, welcoming and integrating the people arriving in our country.

Within the framework of a monographic training course held at FIIAPP’s offices in Madrid, Fernando Pedro Méndez González, Director of International Relations, answers our questions about the function of Spain’s Association of Land Registrars at the international level. We talk about the contributions of the Association in countries like Cuba and Colombia, and about opportunities for working with the rest of the region.

Why is the international cooperation of the Association of Land Registrars with the countries of Latin America important?

One of the conditions for any country to join the European Union is a solid legal system. Why is this so important? Because a good legal system guarantees that the property rights that exist in a country can be exercised, for example, in the case of guaranteeing mortgage loans; and this means there are resources for initiating business or professional activities.

But this cannot be done if deeds are not clear and easily transferable. And this, in an environment of impersonal contracting in a world made up of millions of people, is very difficult and requires very specific and sophisticated technology, and land registries have this. If registries develop themselves, the property market develops. All of this has, therefore, an enormous impact on a country’s economic development.

What are the strengths of the Spanish Association of Land Registrars?

Our main asset is our reputation. The prestige of the Spanish land registration system and of the Association of Land Registrars is very high. That is the fundamental reason that institutions from other countries come to us.

Not so much because our land registration systems are similar, as in the case of Cuba or Puerto Rico, but because they believe that we can offer them innovations, etc.

Moreover, we are going to other countries in an absolutely respectful manner. In other words, we aren’t going there to impose anything. We are going to answer the questions they put to us or to make suggestions we feel are opportune in light of what we are seeing. And I think that this peer-to-peer approach, to put it thusly, is very important for them to continue to trust us.

In what areas could an association like yours collaborate with a foundation like FIIAPP?

FIIAPP is an excellent rara avis because it is dedicated precisely to institutional strengthening and manages considerable funds to this end; and the goal of the Association of Land Registrars is, precisely, institutional strengthening in the area of the land register, the mercantile register, the immovable property register, and tax issues related to these registries, which constitutes a basic institutional aspect.

Therefore, we are two institutions called on to understand each other and to collaborate as intensely as possible.

What can the Association offer in Cuba?

In the case of Cuba, we have been cooperating for some time on the theme of liberalisation of property ownership in the country, and right now we are working on the development of its registration system in three areas: training of human capital, technology transfer, and legislative advising. Always to the extent that they request.

There is a convention signed with the Cuban government that is currently pending implementation. And we want to develop it in coming weeks.

The first thing to be developed is the training of human capital with a course for some 25 Cuban registrars, who are already working to become familiar with the technologies we are using. So that they can see how the Spanish registries work and the benefits that can be obtained from a register, so that, if they consider it interesting, they can put it into practice there.

And in the case of Colombia?

The case of Colombia, everything depends on the post-conflict scenario. Let’s say there is a great deal of energy that is currently waiting, in effect, for the post-conflict scenario to emerge.

And, here, we are working on a policy on accessible housing. We want to collaborate because they have asked us to, in relation to the degree that development of property registration might contribute to the regularisation of landholdings altered as a consequence of so many years of conflict.

Mikel Mancisidor is a member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). Re-elected for the 2017-2020 term, he is working with 17 other independent experts to monitor States’ application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, one of the principal international human rights treaties.

In this interview, Mikel Mancisidor talks to us about the committee’s work and his day-to-day activities.

What is the purpose of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?

It is a body charged with monitoring and supervising compliance on the part of States with the obligations they have assumed in ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Or, to put it more simply, the International Human Rights System has various treaties, and perhaps the broadest two are the best known: the Covenant of 1966, which includes Civil and Political Rights, and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Each of these covenants has its own committee, and these committees have the mission of supervising compliance by the States with their international obligations.

The States, by ratifying these covenants, or treaties, in addition to signing other treaties—such as on the rights of children, the situation of women and the disabled, or against torture—commit to reporting to the United Nations, normally every five years and through a periodic report, on how they are progressing in terms of compliance with these obligations. The committee’s function is to analyse these reports, engage in dialogue with the State to verify that this progress is taking place, certify States that have advanced in some area, and ones that haven’t, identify work that still remains to be done, and issue recommendations, etc.

In addition to this main function, which involves the periodic reports, the dialogue with the States and the publication of the conclusions and recommendations, since the entry into force of the additional protocol to our covenant, there is a new function, which is to study individual communications.

How many people are on the Committee?

In our case, the committee is made up of 18 international members from all over the world.

What is your typical day like, your role on the committee?

The committee’s working system is through the study of the periodic reports submitted by the States, and the most important moment in the work of the committee is the dialogue with the States. Every five years, a State delegation comes to the UN, in Geneva, which is where the Committee is based, and presents is periodic report on the situation of economic, social, and cultural rights in its country and the progress made towards compliance with its obligations during these years.

We study the report, consult other sources of information from international bodies, NGOs, universities, ombudsman’s offices, etc. And with all of this information, we spend an entire day in dialogue with the State, during which we study its compliance with its obligations and question the State with respect to the points in which compliance has been unsatisfactory. Following this dialogue with the States, we prepare a document internally, which is the document of conclusions and recommendations to the State for the next five years.

 What advances have been made since the approval of the Committee?

The advances, in my opinion, are very significant. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of these covenants. In these fifty years, there as been very significant progress in the application of economic, social, and cultural rights around the world. Even in recent years, in which we have experienced a very major period of crisis, during which the countries in our sphere are living through a very difficult situation of economic crisis with a resulting loss of standards in both labour and economic and social matters. We mustn’t lose the overall perspective. The advances have been significant.

Obviously there are countries where this is not the case, countries where the situation has gotten worse. There are failed countries, countries with conflicts in which the situation is horrible and has deteriorated enormously. But, in general, the situation of economic, social, and cultural rights in the world is getting better little by little. If we think in terms of access to food, health, and water, for example.

Then, from a more technical standpoint, the international systems for promoting and protecting these rights have also improved. A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that economic, social, and cultural rights could be protected internationally by means of individual communications. In other words, individual complaints.

Nonetheless, in 2008 the Additional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted, allowing the submission of individual complaints for the first time in history. For the countries that have ratified this protocol, Spain among them, it is now possible to submit individual complaints for violations of these types of rights. And in fact, in another committee, we have already received various complaints from Spain and have resolved some of them.

 What is meant by Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 contained the list of rights and a comprehensive vision in which the rights were seen as interdependent. For historic reasons this led to a system of two international treaties that separated civil and political rights from economic, social and cultural rights. The latter group corresponded to a later tradition. For example, the right to health and education, labour rights, rights to a minimum standard of living and food, water, housing, cultural rights, etc.

 How does one become a member of the committee?

The experts are chosen based on the basis of geographic criteria. In other words, the 18 members are chosen based on a regional distribution, so that there are, for example, four members from Western Europe, four from Eastern Europe, four Africans, four Asians, etc. The members of these committees, this one in particular, are chosen by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, in New York, and every two years a vote is held to replace part of this committee.

The States nominate the candidates, and the Member States of the international community vote for the ones they consider most suitable.

Mikel Mancisidor, is a member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and a FIIAPP expert in the ‘Strengthening Human Rights in Morocco‘ project

What is commitology?

Commitology is the European Union’s way of implementing its rules.

The processes for approving European rules are very complex, as the institutions with legislative capacity are, essentially, the Council and the European Parliament. As a result, when rules are approved, the Commission implements them, but always under the supervision of the competent committees.

All the decisions taken by the European Commission must go before a committee.

Which rules go before a committee?

The rule itself establishes when there is an implementing committee and when not. In 99% of cases, the rule establishes that there will be monitoring by a committee. This is its “implementing regulation” if we were speaking in terms of Spanish legislation.

Who are the people on these committees?

The committees are made up of one representative from each Member State, who can vote to give implementation of the proposal by the Commission a green light, and from the European Commission, which acts as the chair but does not vote.

How many different types of committees are there?

At the moment, there are two types of committees. The most frequent type is that which is responsible for the examination procedure, which addresses subjects regarding programmes with important implications. Such as, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Common Fisheries Policy; the environment; security; protection of health; the security of persons, animals and plants; or the Common Trade Policy and fiscal aspects.

The second type of committee is that of the consultation procedure, which is basically used for all other matters.

What situation has to exist for a rule to be approved?

In the examination procedure, the more habitual of the two, a rule is voted on, and approval requires a double majority, so 55% of the Member States, or 16 out of the 28, have to vote in favour. And this minimum of 16 States has to represent 65% of the total population. These figures are reviewed yearly as the population fluctuates.

How does the European Commission implement its external action?

To carry out its external action, which represents approximately 6% of the total EU budget, the Commission is equipped with different instruments, to which amounts of money are allocated according to the area, which can be geographic or thematic. These instruments include the Development Cooperation Instrument, the Neighbourhood Instrument, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the fund corresponding to humanitarian aid, and the European Development Fund (EDF), which is a very special case.

What makes the European Development Fund so special?

The European Development Fund has been active for over 50 years and has its own regulations, which gradually have become more like other instruments. This is the largest instrument of the European Commission, as it has €30 billion for seven years (2014-2020), of which Spain contributes more than 24 billion, nearly 8%. It is unique in that it is the only fund that is not part of the community budget. In other words, the money allocated to all the other instruments comes from the EU budget, but not in this case.

The community budget is funded by series of objective elements, GDP, VAT, customs duties, etc. In the case of the EDF, each Member State decides how much money to contribute. Spain is currently the fifth-largest contributor.

Who is on the EDF committee?

The EDF committee is made up of representatives of the Member States; one non-voting representative of the Commission, who acts as the chair; one observer from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is one of the most important implementing bodies of the EDF; and officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS).

What does the EDF committee approve?

In this committee, the rules that are approved are projects or programmes that are going to be funded by the EDF.

For votes in this type of committee, the amount of money contributed by each Member State is taken into account: Therefore Spain has 79 votes because it contributes 7.9%.

In the case of the EDF, 721 votes are necessary to approve a project, but the vast majority of projects are approved by consensus.

How is Spain represented on the EDF committee?

Spain’s representation on the EDF committee corresponds to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), because it is an extra-budgetary fund that is financed, in Spain’s case, directly through contributions from the Treasury (MINHAP).

How often does the EDF committee meet?

More or less once a month. It varies depending on the projects that reach the committee.

What are the areas of the National Markets and Competition Commission?

Since 2013, the year the Commission was created by combining or uniting various earlier bodies, we have had a series of competencies, the first being to apply regulations to defend competition in all markets in the economy. We also have supervisory and regulatory competencies in certain key and strategic industries, such as telecommunications, the audiovisual area, energy, and transport, which includes airports, railways and the postal sector.

How does the Commission’s work benefit citizens?

The truth is that our work can seem a bit abstract and remote, but, at the end of the day, we all have to pay our electricity and telephone bills, we all take an airplane or train once in a while, or buy a product in a store.

And our objective is that these everyday actions take place under optimal conditions so that we can all choose the best product, in terms of quality and price, and to ensure that the markets function competitively. Competition makes it possible for us to choose, because when there is no competition we have to accept the idea of “this is all there is, so take it or leave it”.

Is this where the Commission’s work of informing and applying pressure comes in?

There are various functions. There are regulatory functions aimed at creating the conditions for an optimal result. There is a supervisory function: we exercise oversight so that things operate correctly. And there is a sanctioning function when obligations are not met or when companies do business in an anti-competitive way. Last year, for example, with regard to defence of competition, we levied 550 million euros in fines and overturned 14 anti-competitive agreements between companies to share markets amongst themselves.

Moreover, we do very important work to promote improvements in competition through improved regulations, and advisory work to bring proposals for regulatory improvements to the government for it to adopt the ones it deems appropriate.

How do you mediate in resolving disputes between companies?

In those, we issue a ruling; it’s an arbitration function. When, for example, one telecommunications operator wants access to the network of another and has to negotiate conditions or pricing and they can’t agree, which may or not be due to objective difficulties, the Commission examines these cases and takes binding decisions for both operators in the interest of enabling the two to operate in the markets.

Why did you include the audiovisual area in the National Markets and Competition Commission?

It has been included since the birth of the Commission, but previously it was overseen directly by the Ministry, there was no independent body like us that had these competencies in the audiovisual sector.

How can the Commission help in a project like the one in Tunisia?

We have all the experience of being a European regulatory agency or an authority for defending competition on the front lines. And not only this, I think that, like many Spanish institutions, we have a competitive advantage with other Mediterranean countries: we are a natural bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean, and our cultural proximity facilitates our work compared to agencies from other countries.

According to the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, Spain has been the world leader in organ and tissue transplants for 24 years. In 2015, there were 13 transplants per day performed in our country, or more than one transplant every two hours. These figures make the Spanish donation and transplant system a global reference. 

A large part of the credit for this success belongs to the Catalan Transplant Organisation (OCATT). Created in 1984, this organisation was a pioneer in creating a system for extraction, distribution and transplant of organs and tissues based on coordination between hospitals which has been exported to other countries.

OCATT is currently working on two public cooperation projects, both financed by the European Commission and managed by FIIAPP, aimed at establishing a transplant system in Croatia and Moldova similar to the one in place in the European Union.

Taking advantage of the monographic training course on the Spanish transplant system being held at our headquarters in Madrid, OCATT Director Jaume Tort answered some questions on the project he has been working on since 2013 in Moldova, a country with strong Catholic beliefs.

What are the strengths of the Spanish model?

It’s a donation system based on coordination between hospitals that has been shown to be, over the years, the best system in the world, and that allows you to expand it to other countries reliably, because you know and have the experience that it works.

There are students—in more established countries like Croatia—that are nearly at Spain’s level at the moment, and they’re copying, in the best sense of the word, the Spanish model. And Ibero-America is also increasing its number of donations very rapidly, also by applying the Spanish model. Since it’s accepted and recognised that we are the leader, everything is much easier, because you have a basis for working with confidence.

During the project, training courses were held for Moldovan specialists, both in Moldova and in Spain and France. What have been the biggest challenges and difficulties of the project in Moldova?

 The difficulties are in the setting, it’s a poor country. Along with Albania, it’s the poorest country in Europe, and that means that in the context of healthcare, hospitals don’t have reasonable minimum conditions for working on donation and transplants. Maybe in the most basic things, yes, but at this level, which requires intensive care units, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Another basic issue is the cultural and social profile of the professionals, which is very conservative and individualistic. Teamwork is an issue that needs to be promoted and worked on in the country.

So clearly it’s a complex setting. There’s also an added factor in the field of donation, because they are coming from a history of organ trafficking and, therefore, the image society has of organ transplantation is negative and needs to be changed. This situation makes the work even more difficult, but at the same time more interesting.

How would you describe the experience of leading the project in Moldova?

 Very interesting and attractive, but complex at the same time, because the organisational and administrative cultures of the governments are different. Even in the way the ministry works is much more pyramidal and extremely bureaucratic. On top of that, there are very few management instruments, which means that the work is a bit hierarchical, and you need a great deal of flexibility and impetus in these things, so these structures make it difficult.

You have to chip away at it, in a good sense, keep talking to people and have them see our experiences. To bring as many people as possible to our country, or to France, which has been the country co-leading the project. This experience has been very positive because the Moldovan professionals were able to come, and they’ve seen another working environment. If they have the experience of seeing what is being done in a country objectively, they learn better and much faster.

How would you describe the experience of leading the project with France?

The experience with them has been fantastic, no problem, perfect. Coordinating with the people from the French Biomedicine Agency has been perfect. They have marvellous professionals and a fantastic team. For example, if on occasion a professional coming from France couldn’t make it, a Spaniard would fill in, and vice versa.

How do you think the work with the Moldovan professionals will be in transmitting what was learnt in the project to society and the rest of the professionals?

 That’s going to be harder to do, and it’s going to be in the hands of the team at the Moldovan transplant agency. The coordinators are going to have to do the work of raising awareness internally in the hospital, because they are the people who are trained and motivated for that, and they are the ones who understand the subject of transplants.  They are going to help the country, within their environment. At the societal level, the Moldovan transplant agency is also going to take responsibility for doing this.

Now that the project is ending, could you tell us about the current system of transplants in Moldova going forward?

In the area of donation and transplants, they are in a position to perform kidney and liver transplants on a fairly normal basis. They’re already doing some with great caution.

They need a certain amount of time to get used to the donation process that exists. They have some donors but, even so, it’s necessary to keep insisting, and there’s still a need to look after the people leading the donor theme in hospitals.

So while they are already doing transplants, they are in the first phase. I’m sure that the time and willingness of the professionals is going to bring them good results, but we’re still at the beginning.