The Ombudsman of Ireland published the Winter 2020 edition of the Ombudsman’s Casebook. It contains the usual mix of cases from across the public service. It is a useful source of learning, and helps to highlight areas where possible service failures can be avoided.

The House of Representatives reappointed Reinier van Zutphen as National Ombudsman of the Netherlands on 24 November 2020.

The International Ombudsman Institute is very happy to report that the UN resolution on the role of the Ombudsman (A/RES/72/186) was adopted by consensus on 19 November 2020 and that the final version of the resolution is due to be adopted by the UN General Assembly before the end of the year.

Con el fin de comprender la implementación de asuntos laborales, tales como políticas laborales, seguro laboral, jubilación, bienestar, inspección laboral, planificación del sistema de igualdad y supervisión, el Comité de Asuntos Financieros y Económicos del Yuan de Control (YC) supervisó al Ministerio de Trabajo el 30 de octubre de 2020. Durante la visita, la delegación escuchó un informe de dicho ministerio e intercambió opiniones.

On 24 November 2020, the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel held an international Zoom Webinar under the auspices of the IOI on the topic of “Covid-19 and the Ombudsperson - Rising to the Challenge of a Pandemic”. The webinar brought together participants from 50 Ombudsman offices around the world to learn how a long-term crisis can still act as a platform for best practices and improvement.

The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, addressed a set of recommendations to the Secretary of State for Consumer Protection, with a view to protecting the rights of consumers, particularly the most vulnerable, in the context of television competitions which call for more expensive telephone calls.

On 26 November 2020 the African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC) will hold a Zoom facilitated discussion on “Dealing with the Media” to which you are warmly invited. Simultaneous interpretation into French, Portuguese, and Arabic will be available.

Western Australia Ombudsman Chris Field has tabled in Parliament the report of a major own motion investigation on “Preventing suicide by children and young people 2020”. The 2020 Investigation examines what is known about suicide and self-harm by Western Australian children and young people, current strategic frameworks, and data obtained during the Ombudsman’s investigation.