Public administration in the field of internal affairs forms the zone of public authority influence in which the conflict between the coercive powers of the state and the guarantees of individual freedom manifests itself most acutely. This article analyzes the place and role of human rights ombudsmen in this governance system — as entities providing human rights support to public administration in the area of internal affairs, with a specific competency model. Based on doctrinal analysis and empirical evidence, a typology of deficiencies limiting the institution's effectiveness — functional, institutional, and normative — is substantiated, and proposals for overcoming them are formulated.