AUSTRIA | Ombudsman Amon meets Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia

Austrian Ombudsman and IOI Secretary General Werner Amon met Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter in Zagreb. Ombudswoman Einwalter, has taken office in 2021 and is responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) and the Ombudswoman of Croatia are both entrusted with the task of controlling public administration as well as the mandate of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). “This is why a regular bilateral exchange between our two organizations is especially important for me,” said Ombudsman Amon.

In this meeting, Ombudsman Amon and Ombudswoman Einwalter spoke about the challenges faced by multi-mandated institutions; a quite common situation in the Ombudsman community, where offices often hold more than the traditional Ombudsman mandate. The mandate of the AOB is specifically wide-ranged: on the one hand, the AOB investigates possible cases of maladministration by public authorities; on the other hand, it also holds the mandate of preventive human rights monitoring. In addition to this, the AOB is also the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI). In this role, the AOB monitors if international human rights standards are implemented and upheld in Austria.

Mr Amon and Ms Einwalter also took the opportunity of this meeting to talk about the challenges, which Ombudsman institutions face in the on-going pandemic. Making sure that citizens have unhindered access to public services during the pandemic, has become one of the key objectives and biggest challenges Ombudsman institutions had to deal with in these past two years. It is the most vulnerable groups in our societies, which need particular attention, assistance and protection. In many countries, however, governments used the pandemic as an excuse to further weaken control mechanisms such as the Ombudsman. Especially, if they voiced criticism in matters related to human rights. “Due to the pandemic, Ombudsman institutions will need to face considerable challenges in the months to come. International exchange and cooperation are essential to overcome this burden,” underlined Ombudsman Amon.

Source: Austrian Ombudsman Board, Austria