On 6 December 2017, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published its “Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II): main results” report. Nearly a decade since FRA carried out a similar survey, the findings underline the need for specific and stronger measures to provide legal protection against discrimination coupled with effective sanctions.

IOI Secretary General Günther Kräuter congratulated Polish Ombudsman Adam Bodnar in Warsaw for the 30th anniversary of his institution. He furthermore stressed the importance of independence of Ombudsman institutions. IOI Europe president Rafael Ribo also expressed his concern about the human rights situation in Poland and other European countries.

 

The Asian Region of the IOI held an electronic ballot to fill the vacant position of one Asian Director on the IOI Board of Directors. Ms Un-Jong Pak, Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission in Korea, received the highest number of votes and was therefore declared elected as new Asian Director.

IOI Secretary General and Austrian Ombudsman Günther Kräuter attended the OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference 2017 in Vienna on 5 December, in order to discuss the results of the OSCE self-evaluation process.

British Columbia’s Ombudsperson Jay Chalke released his 2016-2017 Annual Report on 7 November 2017. The Report details a year’s work upholding administrative fairness across B.C.’s more than 2,800 provincial and local public authorities.

On behalf of IOI community, IOI President Peter Tyndall and IOI Secretary General Kräuter issued a statement of solidarity with the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia.

On 5 December 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia presented a report on the situation of human rights and freedoms in 2017 to representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations and civil society.

Doctor of Laws Petri Jääskeläinen has been re-elected to serve as Parliamentary Ombudsman for a term of four years. His term will begin on 1 January 2018 and end on 31 December 2021. The election of Dr. Jääskeläinen was confirmed at the plenary session on 21 November 2017. Dr. Jääskeläinen was the only person who had submitted his candidature for the post.