Yesterday, 10 October 2019, was the World Ombudsman´s Day. On this occasion, IOI Regional President of Europe, Rafael Ribó, shared some thoughts and highlighted an initiative by the Council of Europe.

The Secretariat of the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) has accepted the request submitted by the Catalan Ombudsman to join this organization. Membership at the ICIC represents an opportunity to connect with other authorities around the world to identify trends, good practices and strategic priorities.

The Ombudsman of Portugal, acting as head of the National Mechanism for the Prevention (MNP) of Torture and Mistreatment, addressed a recommendation to the Portuguese Immigrants and Borders Service (SEF) to avoid situations of excessive isolation of persons detained in temporary installation facilities in airports, while awaiting the decision to enter the country.

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) has just released its Bulletin for October 2019 to inform about a number of recently published investigation reports in the health, local government and central government sectors.

Many Victorian councils are understating the number of complaints they receive, raising concerns they are failing to deal with dissatisfaction from their communities, Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has found.

With the proclamation of Fairness Week in the province of British Columbia, Canada, the Ombudsperson, British Columbia´s “Independent Voice for Fairness” is reminding the public of their right to fair treatment from public sector organizations.

Irish Ombudsman and IOI President Peter Tyndall spoke at the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Open Meeting on 2 October 2019 to highlight the importance of following-up on implementation of recommendations, the benefits of own-initiative powers, and the significant improvements in the PHSO in recent years.

In order to identify best practices on protection services for unaccompanied minors in Europe, the Ombudsman for the Basque Country needs the support and cooperation of other European Ombudsman institutions. The Basque Ombudsman has prepared a questionnaire which can be answered in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. The Basque Ombudsman kindly asks the European Ombudsman institutions to answer this questionnaire by 8 November 2019.