The Office of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) published the October edition of its quarterly bulletin. The bulletin contains news of the upcoming conference on own initiative investigations to be held in Belfast next week, a link to NIPSO’s new animated video for members of the public and a selection of the Office’s latest investigation reports.

IOI Secretary General Günther Kräuter welcomes Chinese law professors. On October 17th, the renowned Chinese Professor and lawyer Xigen Wang visited the headquarters of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) and the Austrian Ombudsman Board.

More than 260 NHRI representatives from around the globe met from 10 to 12 October in Marrakech, Morocco, to explore the roles and contributions NHRIs can have in expanding civic space and promoting and protecting human rights defenders, with a particular attention to women human rights defenders.

Tabling her investigation into the imprisonment of a woman found unfit to stand trial in the Victorian Parliament today, Ms Glass found the woman’s treatment breached Victoria’s human rights laws and international standards on the rights of people with disabilities. Ms Glass said: “we need to ask ourselves how a humane society can justify such treatment”.

La delegación de la Agencia Tributaria en Las Palmas alega que solo las madres pueden beneficiarse de la rebaja fiscal. Uno de los padres ha denunciado ante el Diputado del Común la discriminación a la que se ve sometido. Ya ha ganado en los tribunales la prestación por nacimiento y tiene reclamado el descuento.

In the interest of maintaining legal certainty, Ombudsman for future generations Gyula Bándi requests the Government and the Parliament to take immediate measures to reasonably extend the deadlines for the penalty-free approval of wells drilled without a permit.

On the 6-7 October a special training regarding functions of the Human Rights Defender in fight against domestic violence was organized with the participation of international and local experts.

The Greek Ombudsman released a special report on return of third country nationals. While improvements in applying means of restraint in the return and readmission to Turkey procedures were noted, other problems remain.