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2007 Assessment

Colombia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Colombia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: National Ombudsman
Indicators		Score
52	In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?	100
53	Is the national ombudsman effective?	70
54	Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?	83

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

52: In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution (art. 275, 276, 277), the General Attorney (Procurador) is the head of the Public Ministry and has, among other responsibilities, the disciplinary control of public servants, the oversight of the observance of the Constitution, the protection of human rights and the defense of the society´s interests. To protect human rights the Attorney has the assistance of the Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo) who has the constitutional responsibility of protecting the promotion, exercise and divulgation of human rights. According to the Constitution the Attorney and the Ombudsman can request from public servants and particulars all the information considered relevant. The Attorney also has powers of judicial police.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. Art. 275, 276, 277

Is the national ombudsman effective?

53a: In law, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to Decree 262 of 2000, the Public Ministry headed by the General Attorney has fiscal, administrative and budgetary autonomy, and has its own staffing system separated from the general regime of civil service.

References: Presidencia de la República. DECRETO NUMERO 262 DE 2000 (febrero 22). por el cual se modifican la estructura y la organización de la Procuraduría General de la Nación y del Instituto de Estudios del Ministerio Público; el régimen de competencias interno de la Procuraduría General; se dictan normas para su funcionamiento; se modifica el régimen de carrera de la Procuraduría General de la Nación, el de inhabilidades e incompatibilidades de sus servidores y se regulan las diversas situaciones administrativas a las que se encuentren sujetos.

53b: In practice, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: During recent years the credibility of the Public Ministry has increased, mainly because it has been independent in initiating investigations. However, the score obtained in this indicator derives from weaknesses in selection processes for the heads of these agencies which may hinder their independence, and from the fact that at the local level, prosecutors and ombudsmen are more politically constrained.

Although the Ombudsman and the Attorney are formally independent, their selection is made by the Lower Chamber (Ombudsman-Defensor) and the Senate (Procurador-Attorney). This selection method in fact links the heads of these agencies to political commitments which then can be reflected in the personnell structure and the decisions made by them, limiting the independence from political influence.

At the local level, political pressures derived from the armed conflict make it very difficult for local Attorneys and Ombudsmen to conduct their job. However, it is important to note that the independence and importance of control organisms to protect rights and defend citizens before the State has been on the increase. According to a recent study by the Vanderbilt University about citizens´perceptions on democracy, the Ombudsman is the most trusted institution regarding the protection of human rights, and it is the first instance to which citizens complain about abuses. Within the Latin American context, Colombia presents the highest percentage of citizens who trust the institutions that protect rights.

References: Rodriguez Raga, Juan Carlos and Sellingson, Micheal. 2007. La Cultura Política de la Democracia en Colombia 2006. USAID.

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. El Sistema Nacional de Integridad: Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transparencia #. 4.

53c: In practice, the head of the ombudsman agency/entity is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the Constitution, the General Attorney and the Ombudsman are elected for fixed periods (4 years) and cannot be removed except if there is a sanction. This prescription is respected in practice.

References: Constitucion Politica de Colombia 1991. art. 276, 281

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. El Sistema Nacional de Integridad: Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transaprencia #. 4.

53d: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Ombudsman and General Attorney's offices have sufficient full time staff. Since 2005 the Ombudsman started to increase its staff, owed to the creation of the National System of Public Defense (Sistema Nacional de Defensoría Publica).

According to a recent survey on institutional performance made among employees of the Attorney´s and Ombudsman´s offices, about 37.28 percent and 34.86 percent of employees surveyed consider that the professional profiles in both institutions are not appropriate to fulfill their mandate, however in general the institutions do not face major staffing problems.

References: XIII Reporte del Defensor del Pueblo al Congreso de la República 2005.

DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño Institucional Procuraduría General del Nación 2005.

DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño Institucional Defensoría del Pueblo 2005.

Interview with Edgardo Maya Villazon. General Attorney. August 3, 2005. Bogotá.

53e: In practice, agency appointments support the independence of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

Comments: According to the 2005 Institutional Performance Survey made within public servants in the General Attorney´s and the Ombudsman´s office, political criteria are significant in hiring decisions (36.30 percent for the Attorney and 40.48 percent for the Ombudsman) but not so much in procurement decisions. About half of the respondents in the Ombudsman agency (48.35) and General Attorney´s Office (43.45) consider that appointments are made on the base of professional qualifications and merit.

References: DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño Institucional Procuraduria General de la Nación 2005.

DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño Institucional Defensoría del Pueblo 2005.

53f: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: Funding sources are reliable and consistent from year to year, however according to the 2005 Institutional Performance Survey made within public servants, employees in the Ombudsman´s office and General Attorney´s Office feel that resources are the weakest component of institutional performance and that resources are not enough to fulfill the mandate of the institution. This is the response of 37.40% of respondents in the General Attorneys Office and 67.80% respondents in the Ombudsman agency. Funding restrictions are specially noted in local offices of both institutions where employees sometimes don´t have basic resources to conduct their work, such as enough computers

References: DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y desempeño Institucional Procuraduría General de la Nación 2005.

DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y desempeño Institucional Defensoría del Pueblo 2005.

Interview with Edgardo Maya Villazón. General Attorney. August 3, 2005. Bogotá.

53g: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) makes publicly available reports.

Score:

100

Comments: The General Attorney and the Ombudsman must make a yearly report of activities to the Congress. These reports are available at the agencies' web sites. Although reports are usually comprehensive, statistics are not very detailed. According to the most recent institutional performance survey made by DANE among public servants, about 83.05 percent of employees at the Attorney´s Office and 79.30 percent at the Ombudsman agency believe that managers make their decisions public. According to the Transparency Index of Transparency from Colombia, both the Defensoria and the Procuraduria are located in a medium level in what refers to the visibility of their decisions.

References: DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño institucional Procuraduria General de la Nación 2005.

DANE. 2006. Encuesta Ambiente y Desempeño institucional Defensoría del Pueblo 2005.

Organización de Estados Americanos. 2004. Informe del Comité de Expertos de la organización de Estados Americanos: Implementación en Colombia de las disposiciones la Convención Interamericana contra la corrupción.

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Indice de Transaprencia Nacional Entidades Públicas Nacionales. Bogotá.

53h: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The agency is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the agency is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: The General Attorney has the mandate and initiates investigates aggressively. The Ombudsman does not have power to initiate investigations but can start popular actions to protect human rights and make demands to the proper judicial agency on behalf of citizens. According to the most recent report of the General Attorney, in 2006 the agency received 41,568 new processes and acted on 48,212 from a total of 76,066 files. These results show that the number of processes has increased over the past five years and there has been an effort in reducing the unsolved cases, which, at 28,007, is still a high number. Most of these processes refer to territorial institutions and on managerial levels.

The most recent report of the Ombudsman shows that in 2005 the office received 41,820 requests classified as advice (15,728), petitions (13,285) and complaints for violations or threats to human rights (12,807). The office acts immediately on all the cases, and it concluded its action on 93.25 percent of petitions. The Ombudsman can act as Council of the Defense in judicial processes about human rights violations. In this sense it received 14,564 and initiated a judicial action in 13.46 percent of petitions (all those that were relevant), from which 65.67 percent got a favorable decision. In the other types of requests, advice is given to the petitioner. The Ombudsman statistics report that 7,4443,113 individuals benefited from its actions.

The score presented on this indicator shows the effectiveness of both the General Attorney´s and Ombudsman´s offices in protecting rights, but also the limitations that their functions face at local levels of government, many of them related to the armed conflict.

References: Procuraduria General de la Nación. 2006. Balance Social de la Procuraduria.

XIII Reporte del Defensor del Pueblo al Congreso de la República 2005.

53i: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: On corruption cases, the General Attorney reported that it sanctioned 3,802 cases in 2006. 40 percent of those sanctions refer to corruption cases and to very serious offenses, and ended with separation of public servants from duty.

The Ombudsman does not have the power to impose penalties, but it reports that from all the petitions to act received in 2005, it acted on 93.25 percent, leaving a very small backlog.

References: Procuraduria General de la Nación. 2006. Balance Social de la Procuraduria.

XIII Reporte del Defensor del Pueblo al Congreso de la República 2005.

53j: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are taken seriously, with negative findings drawing prompt corrective action. <p>50 Score Criteria: In most cases, ombudsman\'s reports are acted on, though some exceptions may occur for politicalally sensitive issues, or particularly resistant agencies. <p>0 Score Criteria: Ombudsman reports are often ignored, or given superficial attention. Ombudsman reports do not lead to policy changes.$

Comments: The concepts of the Attorney are influential even though they may find resistance within the government. Both the Attorney and the Ombudsman can present law projects on the matters of their interest.

The current General Attorney has been on the post for three consecutive periods and during this time the credibility and influence of the institution has increased. Although there have been important advances in collaborations with other branches of power, coordination is still one of the major problems for the the Ombudsman and the General Attorney´s Office.

References: Procuraduria General de la Nación. 2006. Balance Social de la Procuraduria.

Interview with Edgardo Maya Villazon. General Attorney. August 3, 2005. Bogotá.

53k: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) acts on citizen complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The General Attorney´s Office (Procuraduria) has relieved the congestion of processes over the past five years, which means that it is more efficient in acting on complaints. However it is important to note that available statistics do not show the average time that a process takes, the type of offence or how many processes denounced by civil servants became effectively investigated. The number of files under process went from 63,688 in 2000 to 34,498 in 2006. The General Attorney´s office reported that in 2006 it received 500,000 documents reporting irregularities or offenses. From that universe, 31 percent were directed for disciplinary processes and 22 percent for preventive processes. The General Attorney´s office has been more aggressive on the follow up of offenses at the managerial level. On its side, the Ombudsman is the most trusted institution for complaining about human rights as reflected in a recent survey made among citizens about perceptions on democracy, and has invested resources on training and personnel to strengthen the responses to claims and complains made by citizens.

References: Procuraduria General de la Nación. 2006. Balance Social de la Procuraduria.

XIII Reporte del Defensor del Pueblo al Congreso de la República 2005

Rodriguez Raga, Juan Carlos and Sellingson, Mitchelll. 2007. La Cultura Política de la Democracia en Colombia 2006. Vanderbilt University. .

Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?

54a: In law, citizens can access reports of the ombudsman(s).

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution, the Ombudsman and the General Attorney should present yearly reports to Congress, and even though it is not specified that these reports are public, they are usually published on the Web page of the respective entities.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991.art. 277 and 282

54b: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Most general information on the decisions of the Ombudsman and the General Attorney can be found online or directly at the offices, but more detailed information can be difficult to obtain for most citizens. The General Attorney´s office has created a system through which any citizen can find online information on the concepts issued by the Attorney to the Constitutional Court and the all disciplinary sanctions made by the office. On the Defensoría del Pueblo (Ombudsman) Web page, citizens can access a list a of popular actions taken to protect human rights.

References: Procuradu´ria General de la Nación. www.procuraduria.gov.co

Defensoría del Pueblo. www.defensoria.org.co

54c: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: All records available online are easiliy accessible at no cost, however it may be difficult for citizens to understand and properly use the information systems, which are not user friendly.

According to the Transparency Index of Transparency from Colombia, the Defensoria has lower scores than the Procuraduria in what refers to the availability of information for citizens.

References: Procuraduría General de la Nación. www.procuraduria.gov.co

Defensoría del Pueblo. www.defensoria.org.co

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Indice de Transparencia Nacional Entidades Públicas Nacionales. Bogotá.