THE NECESSITY OF THE OMBUDSMAN’S INSTITUTION FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS. THE MOST APPROPRIATE MODEL
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Abstract
The ombudsman tradition originated in Sweden in 1809 and spread throughout the world in less than two hundred years. The progress of development of independent human rights institutions in the 20th century was remarkable. Since 1981, when the institution of Ombudsman for Children was established in Norway, more than 200 institutions have been created and exist today. They are of different forms, but share the same role: to ensure that governments and other state institutions, public and private bodies implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Ombudsman (ombudsperson) is the key player in promoting and protecting children’s rights and best interests. The main task of ombudsman institutions is to close the gap between the rights rhetoric and the realities of children‘s lives, ensuring that rights are translated into law, policy and practice.
The author analyses the Norwegian model of a specialised ombudsman institution, as this model was influential in western European countries and Nordic countries with democratic governance and strong individual human rights traditions. On the other hand, the author examines the advantages and disadvantages of an inclusive model, which was chosen by some eastern European countries, often in the context of democratic transition and usually integrated in general (parliamentary) ombudsman institutions or human rights bodies. Bearing in mind that the integration of children’s rights issues into a broad-based human rights institution may face particular challenges, the author concludes that every country must establish an effective independent institution for promoting and protecting children’s rights and best interests.
The author analyses the Norwegian model of a specialised ombudsman institution, as this model was influential in western European countries and Nordic countries with democratic governance and strong individual human rights traditions. On the other hand, the author examines the advantages and disadvantages of an inclusive model, which was chosen by some eastern European countries, often in the context of democratic transition and usually integrated in general (parliamentary) ombudsman institutions or human rights bodies. Bearing in mind that the integration of children’s rights issues into a broad-based human rights institution may face particular challenges, the author concludes that every country must establish an effective independent institution for promoting and protecting children’s rights and best interests.
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Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to the Association for Learning Technology.
Please see Copyright and Licence Agreement for further details.
