IOI | Annual Report 2015/2016

As usual, the IOI reviews another operational year and is pleased to inform its members about far-reaching developments and achievements in 2015/2016.

It has been another busy year that saw the realization of many ambitious projects. Unfortunately, the year was also marked by several cases in which Ombudsman reported that they faced hard conditions, operated under difficult circumstances or even came under threat in their respective countries. Giving support to “Ombudsman under threat” therefore became one of the IOI’s key concerns in the past membership year.

The IOI also continued its path of strengthening Ombudsman institutions worldwide by offering free training seminars in the different regions. Among those was the first training held in Spanish for members of the Latin American continent, but also training on systematic complaints handling in Japan and a follow-up NPM workshop in Lithuania. 

The IOI further continued to reach out to its regional counterparts and signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Ombudsman associations in Australia and New Zealand, Britain and Ireland and Latin-America. By signing these MoUs the respective organizations recognize their shared objectives to strengthen the concept of ombudsmanship, to encourage Ombudsman institutions in their work and to share expertise and knowledge for that purpose.

The IOI Annual Report 2015/2016 is available in the three official languages of the IOI and can be accessed free of charge on the IOI website.