Las defensorías del pueblo y la implementación de los derechos sociales: déficits y retos de un enfoque integral del derecho

Abstract

Among the functions to be performed by ombudsmen is the implementation of all human rights, including social rights. In coherence with this mission, there is an international treaty, the European Social Charter, complemented by the case law issued by the European Committee of Social Rights, which should be the framework for any action it takes around them. The present study, firstly, proves this assertion through two expressly recognized rights of a transversal nature, the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion and the right to housing. Secondly, it constructively highlights their lack of consideration for national human rights institutions, and concludes, in the third place, by providing lines of action aimed at correcting the deficits detected and strengthening these bodies in a period in which their existence is questioned at certain levels.