Territorial Ombudsmen
By María Josefina Arce
There is a term that these days has been gaining ground in Cuba, and about which many may wonder about its meaning and scope, are the Territorial Ombudsmen, a new mechanism for the protection of the most vulnerable sectors of society.
Although it has always been a priority of the Cuban government to provide special attention to children, women and the elderly, the creation of these entities reinforces this state policy, which has been in place since January 1959.
Its implementation is based on the new Family Code, endorsed last September at the polls by the people, after an intense debate of the whole society. This modern and inclusive document is committed to safeguarding the prerogatives of all Cubans, without discrimination based on age, gender, race or religious beliefs.
It is also based on the Procedural Code, approved by the National Assembly of People's Power in 2021 and whose mission is to regulate the ways to make effective the rights and guarantees enshrined in the Constitution.
This week some 70 jurists from all provinces of the country received a training seminar on the process of creation and development of the Territorial Ombudsmen's Offices.
In declarations to the Cuban News Agency, the coordinator of the Legal Activity of the Ministry of Justice, Alejandro Rolando Ramos, pointed out that this institution will be in charge of protecting, guaranteeing and restoring the exercise of the rights of people in vulnerable situations in the civil, family, labor and mercantile environment.
But how does this instrument that will be made available to the people work? Once a person comes to the Ombudsman's Office, or his case is detected through other entities, his defender will be chosen and an analysis of his situation will be carried out with the support of consultants from different specialties.
Rolando Ramos explained that with the results of this work, a strategy will be drawn up, the best method to address the problem will be decided and, if necessary, it will be referred to other competent institutions, since the objective is to find solutions.
According to specialists, this mechanism will put Cuba at the forefront, since it is a novel issue even at international level, where there are other Ombudsman's Offices but they do not operate on the basis of private relations.
The Cuban Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera Martínez, has pointed out that it opens a path to face social problems from the legal sciences, psychology and other related knowledge.
The creation of the Territorial Ombudsmen's Offices, designed in favor of the people, is undoubtedly a new step taken by the government to guarantee the prerogatives of each Cuban and a further demonstration of its concern for these issues.
