Trans persons, or those whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex assigned them at birth, face frequent discrimination, harassment and violence across the European Union (EU) today. A report published by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) examines issues of equal treatment and discrimination and analyses data on the experiences of trans respondents from the EU LGBT survey.

New Zealand’s National Preventive Mechanism released its annual report. This year’s report reveals concerns and highlights improvements identified during individual NPMs’ on-going monitoring visits of detention facilities.

The Federal Ombudsman of Belgium released its annual report, according to which the Ombudsman received 6,609 files in 2013, of which 5,242 were complaints and 1,367 requests for information.

What does a workday of an Ombudsman look like? The film A day in the life of an Ombudsman aims to give you an impression.

The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has been re-elected by the European Parliament with 569 votes in favour out of 678 MEPs voting. Her mandate will last for five years.

The Ombudsman Office for the Ministry Interior and the National Institution for Human Rights were jointly awarded the Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region in 2014.

In its efforts to further increase the regional impact of the IOI, the members of the IOI Board of Directors decided at the Annual Board Meeting in Vienna to continue the regional subsidy programme for the membership year 2014/2015.

The Complaints Commissioner, Nicola Williams, has tendered her resignation and has accepted the appointment as the UK Service Complaints Commissioner – the Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces, based domestically and worldwide. She will leave office in early January 2015.