During the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsman (AOM), the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights of Cyprus, Maria Stylianou-Lottides, was elected Vice President of the AOM. She succeeds the Ombudsman of Slovenia, Mr. Peter Svetina, who has now been elected as President of the AOM.

The Extraordinary General Meeting also voted on the expulsion of Russia from the AOM. The decision to expel Russia was primarily based on concerns that the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation had not acted independently from the Russian administration. The AOM Governing Board found that the Russian Commissioner’s public statements and actions were aligned with the Russian government’s narrative, particularly in relation to the war in Ukraine. This raised doubts about the Commissioner’s ability to impartially safeguard human rights, a fundamental principle of the AOM. The Governing Board concluded that the Russian Commissioner’s actions breached the association’s statutes, leading to her expulsion.

Following the meeting, the Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, congratulated Ms. Stylianou-Lottides on her election and expressed his anticipation for further collaboration within the AOM.

The programme of events in Cyprus will continue on Thursday, 26th September, with a conference on Protecting Human Rights in the Digital Age and on Social Media.