Prior to the commencement of the World Board meeting in Austria, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Austria, Dr Vasyl Khymynets, and Voices of Children co-hosted a reception and charity event at the Ukrainian Embassy. The President was honoured to speak at this event alongside Ambassador Khymynets and Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.

Following the IOI World Board meeting in Vienna, IOI President Chris Field had the pleasure of visiting Graz and a number of parts of Southern Styria at the very kind invitation of the Minister for Education, Human Resources, European and International Affairs, Mr Werner Amon MBA.

The Ararteko – Ombudsman of the Basque Country and the Basque Parliament have jointly organized the seminar “The Law of the Ararteko. Proposals for the Future. Rethinking Ombuds institutions” as part of the “Legeen geroa – The Future of Legislation” cycle, which will be held at the Basque Parliament on 12 and 13 June 2023.

Registrations for the event are possible until 2 June 2023.

El lunes, 8 de mayo 2023, Rafael Ribó, que fue síndic de greuges de Catalunya entre 2004 y 2022, fue galardonado con la Orden de Oro al Mérito del Instituto Internacional del Ombudsman (IOI) por su compromiso y trabajo con esta institución.

During the IOI World Board meeting in Vienna last week, the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands, Reinier van Zutphen, presented to the board the title and logo of the world conference that will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands in May 2024. He also announced the launch of the conference web page.

Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman Niels Fenger achieved a change in the way how foreign nationals without a valid passport can apply digitally for a residence permit at the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).

On 9 May 2023, the Commissioner for Human Rights published her report and recommendations “Human rights by design - future-proofing human rights protection in the era of AI”. She highlights 3 major obstacles and 3 priority areas of actions to ensure human rights are safeguarded in the design, development and deployment of AI. She also emphasises the key role National Human Rights Structures, including Ombudsman institutions, play in monitoring and supervising human rights in AI systems. 

Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina and his collegues offer their sincere condolences to family, relatives and friends regarding the passing of Ivan Bizjak, the first Human Rights Ombudsman in the independent Republic of Slovenia, at the age of 68.