The Office of the Citizens’ Representative (ORC) of Newfoundland and Labrador presented the September issue of the institution’s newsletter “OCR Insights”.

The National Investigation Symposium is a joint initiative of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, the NSW Ombudsman and the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) NSW. This is a biennial event, with the 11th symposium to be held in Sydney in November 2016.

The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) hosted a Breakout- Session in this year’s legal and political symposium of the European Forum Alpbach that took place in Tyrol/Austria from 28 – 30 August 2016.

We are all looking forward to the 11th World Conference which will soon take place in Bangkok/Thailand. Since we know that some IOI members with limited budgets find it difficult to attend this important event, we have decided to offer financial support to those who need it most. There are two funding options:

“Victorian public sector agencies should welcome complaints from members of the public as free feedback that can help them improve their service”, Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass said.

During Summer Course in Poznań Centre for Human Rights the Commissioner for Human Rights dr. Adam Bodnar gave a lecture on the refugee crisis in the context of humar rights protection.

Having assessed the human rights situation in Alytus Correction House, the Seimas Ombudsman Mr. A. Normantas noted that there is not enough space for inmates in wheelchairs to move freely within the cells. The bathrooms are too narrow, and the stairs leading to a canteen and library as well as the odontologist, family doctor and psychologist are not adjusted for the use of people with disabilities.

Irish Ombudsman Peter Tyndall shared his experience of dealing with complaints in the local authority sector with the representative body of the Chief Executives of local authorities in Ireland (the County and City Managers Association) on Tuesday 30 August.