IOI EUROPE | Biennial conference of the European Region held in Tallinn

The European Region of the IOI held its biennial conference from 17 to 19 September 2014. The motto of the region’s 2014 conference was “The Ombudsman’s role in a democracy”. The conference was held in Tallinn and hosted by the office of the Chancellor of Justice of Estonia.

The conference of the European Region of the IOI explored the contribution that ombudsmen can make to the creation and working of a robust democracy and some of the topics discussed during the conference included the question how international and European rules impinge on the activity of ombudsmen, if ombudsmen should promote legislative reform or if they should become more involved in the oversight of state’s surveillance activities.

Participants from around 30 countries attended the conference. Speakers included European Regional President Peter Tyndall, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly and Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Morten Kjaerum as well as representatives of Estonian universities such as Prof. Rein Müllerson from Tallinn University, Prof Lauri Mälksoo from the University of Tartu and Prof Wolfgang Drechsler from Tallinn University of Technology.

The conference was preceded by a meeting of the Board of Directors of the IOI’s European Region and the Region’s General Assembly during which the Voting members present approved the amended by-laws of the region and also agreed to issue a statement of solidarity and a call for urgent support for internally displaced persons within Ukraine.