Human Rights Day 2025: Reaffirming Dignity, Equality and Justice

Human Rights Day 2025: Reaffirming Dignity, Equality and Justice

Published December 10, 2025

Today, 10 December, the Office of the Ombudsman joins the international community in observing Human Rights Day. This year marks the first anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly in December 2024. The Declaration reinforces a simple but vital truth: the protection of human rights begins at national level, through independent institutions, transparent governance, and inclusive societies.

The Declaration recognises that those who stand up for the rights of others, whether as individuals, NGOs, national institutions or public officers, must be protected, resourced and empowered. It affirms that public authorities have a responsibility not only to refrain from violating rights, but also to enable their full enjoyment in practice. This includes access to redress mechanisms, fair and accountable decision-making, and laws that align with international obligations.

These principles resonate deeply with the work of the Office of the Ombudsman in Malta. Every complaint investigated, every recommendation issued, and every case resolved contributes to a wider culture of rights and accountability. The right to good administration, enshrined in Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights remains central to this mandate. So too does the fight against unjustified discrimination, as reflected in Protocol No. 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Malta ratified in 2015 but has yet to implement through domestic legislation.

Human Rights Day is not a symbolic observance. It is a call to action, to review where we stand, and what more must be done to protect the dignity of all persons, especially the vulnerable, marginalised and excluded.

In this spirit, the Ombudsman reiterates the urgent need for Malta to establish a National Human Rights Institution in line with the UN Paris Principles. 

In November 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman submitted to Government a new Ombudsman Bill designed to extend its remit to include the explicit promotion and protection of human rights. The proposal reflects international best practice, was drafted with expert support from ENNHRI, and builds on the existing constitutional framework. The proposal is still awaiting a formal response 

Yet the path forward remains clear: rights must be protected not only in theory, but in practice. And for that, Malta needs an independent and constitutionally protected national institution with a clear human rights mandate, grounded in the principles of dignity, equality and justice for all.