The Defensora del Pueblo, Soledad Becerril, presented the first “Institution of the Ombudsman Award” to the catholic social action organization, Cáritas, in recognition for its work all over the country.
The awarding ceremony was held in Congress with the President of the institution, Jesús Posada, in attendance. In her speech, the Defensora praised the organization for the competence of their reports, since “they point out circumstances unlikely to be detected by others”.
Accompanied by First Deputy Defensor, Francisco Fernández Marugán, Soledad Becerril emphasized “the special sensitivity” of Cáritas to detect and deal with the most pressing problems of society; “social problems which deserve the Ombudsman’s attention and, in many cases, our intervention”, she said.
The President of Cáritas Spain, Rafael del Río, expressed his gratitude for the award, which “means an incentive to continue working for those who are in the most urgent need”, and declared: “we want to leave our mark in the construction of a fairer society, we want to leave our mark with the dismissed people”.
He also revealed that the total amount of the prize will be allocated to “the migrant people, who are suffering the culture of indifference denounced by Pope Francisco”.
Jesús Posada thanked the Defensor del Pueblo “for the good initiative of this award” and congratulated Cáritas Spain for “their work and the effort made to alleviate the consequences of the economic crisis that we have endured”.
The 6.000 € Award recognizes the work of non governmental organizations and entities (NGO) who, with their work, contribute to the correct development of the task of the Defensor.
