The 4^th IOI Workshop for NPMs took place in Copenhagen from 7 – 9 November 2018. The training event was generously hosted by the Office of the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman and facilitated by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT). It brought 35 participants from 23 different countries together to discuss the topic of an effective follow-up process to NPM recommendations.

The Waka Tangata E-News includes news and views from integrity organisations in the Pacific and Australasian Region. Outreach, training, and the treatment of vulnerable people are clear themes in Issue 2 of Waka Tangata, which is now available online.

The Office of the Ombudsman, in line with its mandate to receive complaints from prisoners and detainees, started visiting prisons, police cells and other places of detention.

Rafael Ribó, síndic de greuges de Cataluña y presidente europeo del Instituto International del Ombudsman, se reunió el pasado 30 y 31 de octubre con las autoridades del Consejo de Europa para abordar criterios de protección de los derechos humanos, el papel de los ombudsmans europeos, así como para informar de la situación en Cataluña.

El Procurador Penitenciario, Francisco Mugnolo, participó junto a directivos de nuestra institución de la Audiencia Pública para la elaboración del Informe Anual de Derechos Humanos de la Comisión de Ciudadanía y DDHH del Parlamento del Mercosur.

The National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), part of the Office of the Ombudsman of Samoa, has completed its public inquiry into family violence, its first national inquiry. Headed by Samoan Ombudsman Maiava Iulai Toma, the inquiry commissioners began work on the report in late 2016, and it was publicly released in September 2018.

The Seimas Ombudsman Augustinas Normantas and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova conducted a joint humanitarian monitoring mission to Donetsk and Luhansk regions on 8-9 November 2018 with an aim to observe and assess the human rights situation therein.

Provincial Ombudsman Sindh being the custodian of public interests has took a Suo Moto action on news published in Daily Newspapers regarding alleged corporal punishment and torture with sticks upon a student of class V by the Principal of SM Grammar School Korangi Karachi.

La Defensoría de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes de la Provincia de Santa Fe manifiesta su preocupación y disidencia con el Proyecto de Ley “Código Procesal Penal Juvenil” aprobado recientemente por el Senado Provincial.

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has expressed his disappointment that the HSE has not fully implemented the recommendations made in his 2015 investigation into the health care system. 

El consejero de Sanidad del Gobierno de Canarias, José Manuel Baltar, y el Diputado del Común, Rafael Yanes, mantuvieron el pasado martes, 13 de noviembre, una reunión en Santa Cruz de Tenerife en la que abordaron la situación de los pacientes que reclaman la dispensación en Canarias del fármaco Orkambi para el tratamiento de la fibrosis quística.

The Ombudsman, Ms Connie Lau, announced last Wednesday, 14th of November, the completion of a direct investigation into the regulation of illegal burials outside permitted burial grounds (burials outside PBGs) by the Home Affairs Department and the Lands Department.

Earlier this year the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) commissioned an independent panel to carry out a peer review assessment of its value for money, led by Peter Tyndall, Ombudsman for the Republic of Ireland and President of the International Ombudsman Institute. The panel has now published their report, which concluded that following the PHSO’s organisational reforms and the service it offers beyond investigating complaints, the Office offers good value for money for taxpayers.