Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino welcomed the initiative to set up a Human Rights and Equality Commission.The human rights institution planned by the government should provide optimum protection to the individual and merit a top status internationally, the Ombudsman has told Times of Malta.
Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino welcomed the initiative to set up a Human Rights and Equality Commission, saying he would be extending his cooperation for it.
He has been promoting the need for such an insitution since 2006. But when calling for its establishment the Ombudsman had proposed he would be the one to head it.
Yet this idea was sidelined in a recent interview with The Sunday Times of Malta in which Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli said the Human Rights and Equality Commission would be separate from the Ombudsman’s office. She did say, however, that it would enjoy the same level of autonomy.
The model chosen should merit and receive the maximum level of accreditation
The Ombudsman said it was the government’s prerogative to choose the right model best suited to Malta’s needs. But he stressed the need for the government to ensure its full independence, including its financial autonomy.
“In making its choice the government should endeavour not only to provide the individual with optimum protection for the enjoyment of his fundamental human rights, and this without unduly burdening the country with unnecessary additional expense, but also and more importantly, it should ensure that the model chosen would merit and receive maximum level of accreditation,” the Ombudsman said.
Dr Said Pullicino explained that the aim should be for the Human Rights and Equality Commission to acquire an “A status” with the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
The Ombudsman has so far been informally considered to be Malta’s national human rights institution by international authorities including the European Ombudsman, the EU Commissioner for Human Rights, the UNHCR and others.
The ministry and the Ombudsman do agree that the new commission should be established on the Paris Principles.
These state that human rights institutions must have a broad mandate, be independent from the government and guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Paris Principles also ensure the pluralist representation of society and demand that sufficient resources are given to enable it to fulfil its remit, among other things.
Dr Dalli gave the reassurance that the Human Rights Commission to be set up will not report to the government but to Parliament, as a guarantee of its independence. She aims to have it set up before the end of the year although the consultation process is still under way.