Current events: news and press releases
The Catalan deputy for children, newly elected president of the ENOC Bureau
23/09/2025
Next year, the deputy will assume the presidency of the Bureau and Catalonia will organise and host the 30th ENOC General Assembly.
The Catalan deputy for the defence of children's and adolescents' rights, Aida C. Rodríguez, has been elected president-elect of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) for the 2025/2026 term. The election took place during the 29th ENOC General Assembly, held in Bucharest on 17 and 18 September. This assembly focused on the right to physical health of children and adolescents.
Young advisers from Catalonia, Andalusia, the Basque Country, Croatia, Cyprus, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia and Ukraine attended this year's edition. They all met in early July in Croatia to draw up a series of recommendations on the right to physical health, which they have now presented to ENOC members.
What is ENOC?ENOC is a network of independent institutions that defend children's rights. Its main tasks are:
- promoting the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- supporting groups that work to defend children's rights;
- sharing information and strategies among its member states; and
- promoting the development of ombudsman offices for children.
Founded in 1997, it currently has 43 member institutions from 34 states.
ENOC organises an annual meeting, attended by all its members as well as guest observers, such as ombudsman offices, organisations like UNICEF, and institutions such as the European Union and the Council of Europe.
It is urgent to stop the violations of children's rights in the Gaza Strip
22/08/2025
Alarmed by the serious violations of children's rights in Gaza, the Catalan Ombudsman office (Síndic de Greuges), endorses the institutional statement by the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) and calls for the protection of these children's rights.
As a member of the ENOC board, the Catalan Ombudsman office shares the points set out in the statement and urges national governments, the European Union, the United Nations and the relevant international bodies to take immediate, coordinated and decisive action to promote a ceasefire in the region and enforce international law. This is necessary to protect the lives, integrity and rights of children and adolescents in Gaza. ENOC recalls that the protection of children is an inescapable legal and moral obligation, not a subject for political debate.
The dramatic and ongoing situation in Gaza constitutes an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, the international community's insufficient response and the lack of protection for the most vulnerable call the validity of human rights as a fundamental universal value into serious question.
Children in the Gaza region are victims of violations of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including rights to life, survival and development, access to healthcare, protection from violence, freedom from inhuman treatment, and the rights to education and play.
For these reasons, the ombudswoman, as defender of the rights of children and adolescents, supports this statement and calls for an urgent and forceful international response to put an end to this serious humanitarian catastrophe.
We have participated in the Athens Democracy Forum to discuss the challenges of democracy in the age of artificial intelligence
03/10/2024
Two young advisors from the Catalan Ombudsman took part in the Forum, accompanied by Anna Piferrer, advisor of the Children and Adolescents Area
Young people from eleven European regions shared their views on the impact of images, social networks and artificial intelligence on our lives
The institution of the Catalan Ombudsman participated in the Athens Democracy Forum, a space for debate that this year reflects on the role of democracy in the age of artificial intelligence, fake news and social networks. The aim was to bring together leaders, intellectuals and experts from around the world to address the key challenges facing democracy today.
Anna Piferrer, from the Catalan Ombudsman’s Area for Children and Adolescents, accompanied Giada and Ferran, young advisers and students from two secondary schools in Catalonia, the Josep Lladonosa secondary school, in Lleida, and the Maristes Anna Ravell secondary school, in Barcelona. In total, young advisors from eleven European regions, including Catalonia, the Basque Country and Andalusia, participated in the Forum.
The Forum, now in its 12th year, was held in Athens, the capital of Greece and the birthplace of democracy. The event took place from 1 to 3 October and was organized by The Democracy & Culture Foundation, in collaboration with the New York Times.
The Catalan ombudswoman argues that restorative amnesty is important to resolve the Catalan conflict
26/10/2023
She has taken part in a round table discussion in Luxembourg on the role of ombudsperson institutions in national conflicts
The Catalan ombudswoman, Esther Giménez-Salinas, has travelled to Luxembourg to participate in the seminar “Crisis management: what is the role of the ombudsperson?”, organised by the Association of Ombudsmen and Mediators of the Francophonie (AOMF), which has taken place on 24 and 25 October.
The main mission of the AOMF is to promote the role of ombudsperson institutions in French-speaking countries in Europe, America and Africa, and to encourage the development and consolidation of independent mediation institutions.
The seminar was organised around the role of ombudsperson institutions in three specific situations: a health crisis, a national crisis and a climate crisis.
During the round table on national crises, which also included the ombudswomen of Burkina Faso and the Principality of Monaco, Esther Giménez-Salinas has spoken about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain, which intensified after the referendum of 1 October 2017. This referendum had a number of consequences, such as the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution to the Catalan government and administration (which started the process of suspending the region’s self-government), and the imprisonment and exile of those accused of organising it.
The Catalan ombudswoman has given a historical overview of the conflict, which in her opinion began with the amendment of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia in 2006. She also wanted to denounce the criminal dimension that this conflict has taken on, despite it being an eminently political crisis: "The judicialisation of political conflicts is not a good option, not even for justice itself", she said.
She has also stressed the importance of the granting of pardons, which were a first step towards normalisation, but she has pointed out that "there is still a long way to go and many open wounds". She has also welcomed the removal of the crime of sedition from the Penal Code, as "it was an outdated crime, not in line with European legislation and with excessively high penalties".
She has concluded her speech by saying that the amnesty route may sometimes seem unfair, but it is necessary. For it to be possible, it must incorporate the principles of restorative justice and meet three conditions: it must bring social peace, it must have positive consequences that outweigh the harm, and it must be supported by a broad majority.
The Catalan ombudswoman argues that restorative amnesty is important to resolve the Catalan conflict
25/10/2023
She has taken part in a round table discussion in Luxembourg on the role of ombudsperson institutions in national conflicts
The Catalan ombudswoman, Esther Giménez-Salinas, has travelled to Luxembourg to participate in the seminar “Crisis management: what is the role of the ombudsperson?”, organised by the Association of Ombudsmen and Mediators of the Francophonie (AOMF), which has taken place on 24 and 25 October.
The main mission of the AOMF is to promote the role of ombudsperson institutions in French-speaking countries in Europe, America and Africa, and to encourage the development and consolidation of independent mediation institutions.
The seminar was organised around the role of ombudsperson institutions in three specific situations: a health crisis, a national crisis and a climate crisis.
During the round table on national crises, which also included the ombudswomen of Burkina Faso and the Principality of Monaco, Esther Giménez-Salinas has spoken about the conflict between Catalonia and Spain, which intensified after the referendum of 1 October 2017. This referendum had a number of consequences, such as the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution to the Catalan government and administration (which started the process of suspending the region’s self-government), and the imprisonment and exile of those accused of organising it.
The Catalan ombudswoman has given a historical overview of the conflict, which in her opinion began with the amendment of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia in 2006. She also wanted to denounce the criminal dimension that this conflict has taken on, despite it being an eminently political crisis: "The judicialisation of political conflicts is not a good option, not even for justice itself", she said.
She has also stressed the importance of the granting of pardons, which were a first step towards normalisation, but she has pointed out that "there is still a long way to go and many open wounds". She has also welcomed the removal of the crime of sedition from the Penal Code, as "it was an outdated crime, not in line with European legislation and with excessively high penalties".
She has concluded her speech by saying that the amnesty route may sometimes seem unfair, but it is necessary. For it to be possible, it must incorporate the principles of restorative justice and meet three conditions: it must bring social peace, it must have positive consequences that outweigh the harm, and it must be supported by a broad majority.
