The Ombudsman of Portugal carried out a training session for the Mozambican Ombudsman, who sent a team of five persons to Lisbon from 7 to 11 October.

On 16-18 of October, a three-day training for trainers on the governance and oversight mechanisms in the security sector was conducted for the Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia.

The Ombudsman Nova Scotia, Canada, has just published its Annual Report for the period 2018-2019. The Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman handled 2,278 complaints, inquiries, and youth contacts in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

From 9 to 11 October, ENNHRI’s Asylum and Migration Working Group met in Madrid, where representatives of 17 National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) reaffirmed the importance of collective work on migrants’ rights.

Public sector agencies are increasingly making use of advice and resources from the Ombudsman. In the Chief Ombudsman’s latest Annual Report, contacts for advice increased by 29%, while more use was being made of guidance material, including the 23 new or updated guides that were published in the 2018/19 year. 

Complaints to the Victorian Ombudsman increased by 14% over the past year, while the number of protected disclosure (whistleblower) matters looked into has tripled since 2015.

In 2019 the Ombudsman Gwendolien Mossel and her team embarked on an initiative with the objective of reaching out to the general public, in particular the most vulnerable in the society.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities are increasingly being failed by the system designed to support them, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.