Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej RPO

On 17-18 October 2024, the annual meeting of the Ombuds of the Visegrad Group countries was held in Smolenice, Slovakia. This was the 20th meeting of representatives of ombuds institutions from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia in this format.
It was hosted by the Slovak Ombudsman Róbert Dobrovodský, and in addition to the Commissioner for Human Rights Marcin Wiącek, the meeting was attended by the Czech Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček and the Hungarian Ombudsman Ákos Kozma.
Three multi-topic panel discussions were held during the two-day conference. During the first day participants discussed the ombudsman's role in evaluating the adherence to legal regulations in social security; the right to housing and the ombudsman's role in monitoring and reviewing, as well as the state's duty to uphold it; problems of excessive noise; the legal relationships between landowners and the public sector in V4 countries; and the topic of human rights in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The second day of conference focused on current challenges and experiences of V4 countries with the mandate of the National Preventive Mechanism (OPCAT) in facilities where detention, imprisonment, detention, asylum facilities, and facilities for the detention of foreigners are carried out.
The full account of the Commissioner for Human Rights’ contributions to the discussions is available on the Polish version of the website.