The Government attaches great importance to the reports of the Commissioner for Administration, said the President of the Republic. Mrs. Lottides emphasized that the reports record an increase in citizens’ complaints regarding allowance issues.
President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis, received today, at the Presidential Palace, the annual reports for 2021 and 2022 from the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights, Mrs. Maria Stylianou Lottides.
Delivering her reports, Mrs. Lottides said, among other things, that “on the cover of the annual report for 2022, we have our evaluation from the United Nations with an A status, something that was facilitated by the change in the Commissioner’s appointment process.”
She added that she also submits separate reports from the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Body and the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, which fall under the Commissioner’s responsibilities.
Mrs. Lottides pointed out that the reports highlight an increase in citizens’ complaints about allowances, adding that personnel issues are somewhat overshadowed compared to disability issues, while regarding discrimination, there are not many cases except for issues related to disabilities.
On his part, the President of the Republic said that the Government attaches great importance to both the Commissioner’s reports and the responsibilities of her office as they concern one of the most important issues, human rights.
He added, “It is very natural for the majority of complaints to relate to allowances, generally social policies that are of particular importance to us. And that is why I often say that a responsible fiscal policy is one that will allow us to respond to the demands of society, the complaints of which I fully understand.”
And it is for this reason that I often say that a responsible fiscal policy is the one that will allow us to respond to the demands of society, to the complaints that are made, most of which I completely understand”.
He added that the Government sees non-governmental organizations as collaborators, considering that in many cases, the requests they submit are entirely justified.
The President of the Republic pointed out, as an example, that “recently, for example, I had a meeting with organized groups of disabled people, and one of the issues we discussed, and I even decided to proceed immediately with a public consultation starting on January 15, so that we can immediately promote legislation in the Parliament, concerns the allowance policy, as well as the fact that there is no unified legislation for the disabled.
You understand that this is a distortion, and for this reason, the issues you deal with are of particular importance to us, and in this context, we will study the reports with the due significance.”
