History of offices, development, terminology

The term "ombudsman" originated in Scandinavia; it originally meant something akin to ambassador; a person or office established to safeguard the rights of individual citizens, or a particular group of citizens, in relation to the powers and actions of government. An ombudsman for justice was appointed in Sweden in 1809. In the many countries (more than 40) which now have general ombudsman offices the most common functions are to receive and investigate complaints, to act as a spokesperson and to advocate changes to improve things for individuals or for a particular group.

Many ombudsperson offices are established in relation to particular services (health, local government), or particular groups of citizens (prisoners, consumers, disabled people, minority groups). Some countries have "general" ombudsmen, covering a variety of human rights issues.

As with many positive developments for children, the idea of a children’s ombudsman was first developed by NGOs. Radda Barnen, Swedish Save the Children, established an Ombudsman for Children in the 1970s and promoted the idea internationally during International Year of the Child (1979).

If established by Parliament, ombudsman offices can have powers set out in an Act of Parliament, or at least some recognised official status.

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It was Norway whose Government was the first to use legislation to set up an independent body for children. An Act establishing the Barneombud was passed by the Norwegian Parliament in 1981. In 1975 the Ministry of Justice had established a committee to look at legislation on parents and children and to consider whether there was a need for some special public body for children. The unanimous proposal of the Committee in its 1977 report was that a public, national office of Ombudsman for Children should be established. The proposal was examined by an inter-departmental committee representing the six departments with major responsibilities for children. The Act establishing the office as an autonomous body is short; the statutory duty of the Barneombud is to "promote the interests of children vis-à-vis public and private authorities".

"Ombudsman" is a popular concept, but by no means all the independent offices fit the common perception of an ombudsman as a person or agency taking up and investigating individual complaints.

In 1998 the Act was ammended to link the role of the Ombudsman to implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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The establishment of some independent offices for children, including Norway’s, pre-dated the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But since the adoption of the Convention in 1989, the development of these offices for children is most usefully considered alongside or in the context of the development of national human rights institutions.

During the 1960s and 1970s, promotion of the International Bill of Human Rights led various United Nations bodies and NGOs to advocate the development of institutions to assist with the implementation of these new international standards at the national level.

In 1993 the General Assembly endorsed a set of principles (resolution 48/134), "The Paris Principles". The principles affirm that national institutions are to be vested with competence to promote and protect human rights and given as broad a mandate as possible. Among proposed responsibilities are:

All of these aims can be re-written to relate specifically to the promotion and protection of the human rights of children.

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In most countries non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role as independent advocates for children, or for particular groups of children. Their role is recognised in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Ratification and promotion of the Convention has led to a rapid growth in the numbers and influence of NGOs promoting children’s rights; in many European countries coalitions of the NGOs working for children’s rights have been formed. NGOs’ national role is not diminished - although it may be changed - by the existence of an independent office for children established by parliament. Where such an office exists, it is likely to develop a close and mutually supportive relationship with NGOs.

In some countries non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have styled their advocacy for children as ombudsman activities (and "ombudswork" for children is a broad term which has been adopted by some commentators to cover all aspects of child advocacy, both governmental and non-governmental). In one European country - Finland - a large and well-established NGO is generally regarded as providing an independent children’s ombudsman service and is a member of ENOC.

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The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the development of independent offices for children

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, symbolises a new worldwide determination to do better for children. At the World Summit for Children in 1990, the largest gathering of world leaders stated: "The well-being of children requires political action at the highest level. We are determined to take that action. We ourselves make a solemn commitment to give high priority to the rights of children".

Between 1989 when the Convention was adopted and 1997, almost all the world’s countries have ratified - fully accepted - the Convention. This gives these States serious commitments under international law to respect the principles and detailed standards set out in the Convention.

The Convention requires "States Parties" - the 191 states which have ratified it - to report regularly to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee, established by the Convention, consists of 10 experts, elected by States Parties to monitor progress towards implementation.

As States go through the process of gathering information for these reports on how their laws, policies and practice affect children, and on the situation of children themselves, they find not just that they need new laws and new policies. They also need new mechanisms, structures and activities to promote a new priority for children.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently encouraged all the States whose reports it examines to establish special mechanisms, structures and activities for children (terming them "general measures of implementation"). It has placed particular emphasis on the development of independent offices to promote the human rights of children.

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The Committee on the Rights of the Child has commended the establishment of independent offices for children - a children’s ombudsman, commission or commissioner. Thus in its comments on Norway’s Initial Report, it noted

The Committee also welcomed the creation by the Government of Denmark of the National Council for Children’s Rights, set up for a trial period in 1994 with a similar role and established permanently in 1997 (Denmark IRCO, Add.33, para. 6).

It welcomed similar developments in Portugal and Guatemala:

"... the Committee notes with satisfaction the establishment of the Office of the Human Rights Procurator and its Children’s Ombudsman" (Guatemala IRCO, Add.58, para. 5).

In its comments on reports from other countries, the Committee has proposed development of independent offices. For example, commenting on Nicaragua’s report, the Committee stated it

In its Concluding Observations on Argentina, the Committee proposed monitoring,

And to Bulgaria:

"The Committee encourages the State Party to pursue its consideration on the establishment of an independent mechanism to monitor observance of children’s rights, such as an Ombudsperson or a National Commission for Children’s Rights" (Bulgaria IRCO, Add.66, paras. 10 and 23).

The Committee welcomed the establishment of a general ombudsman in Panama but still proposed a specific post for children:

"The Committee recommends that the establishment of an independent body, such as an ombudsperson, be given further consideration by the Government..." (Panama IRCO, Add.68, paras. 5 and 24).

The Committee has stressed the importance of independence from government:

"...The Committee also encourages the State Party to consider the establishment of an independent mechanism, such as an Ombudsperson or a human rights commission, to monitor the realisation of the rights of the child and to deal with individual complaints relating thereto" (Nepal IRCO, Add.57, para. 29. See also Hong Kong IRCO, Add.63, para. 20; Mauritius IRCO, Add.64, para. 25).

And the Committee proposed to New Zealand:

When the Committee examined Sweden’s second report in 1999, it commented:

"While the Committee welcomes the establishment in 1993 of an ombudsman for children, in accordance with the Committee’s recommendation, it is concerned about a number of issues raised during the dialogue with the State party concerning the role, autonomy and structural position of the ombudsman for children. The Committee welcomes the launching of an inquiry into the effectiveness of the ombudsman, carried out by a one-man committee, and encourages the State party to examine carefully its results and consider reviewing the role and autonomy of the ombudsman for children" (Concluding Observations on the Second Report of Sweden...).

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These Guidelines, adopted in 1990, propose that "Consideration should be given to the establishment of an office of ombudsman or similar independent organ, which would ensure that the status, rights and interests of young persons are upheld and that proper referral to available services is made..." (para. 57)

The appointment of independent offices has been strongly promoted by the Council of Europe, whose "European Strategy for Children" (1996) proposes the appointment of "a commissioner (ombudsman) for children or another structure offering guarantees of independence, and the responsibilities required to improve children’s lives, and accessible to the public through such means as local offices". The Strategy puts all its recommendations in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (Recommendation 1286 on a European Strategy for Children, adopted by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, January 24 1996).

Last edited by Barneombudet September 02, 2003
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