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Panel discussion moderated by the IOI General Secretary
On 22 June, the IOI invited to a panel discussion on “Ombudsmen under Pressure – Political, Democratic, Constitutional Restrictions and Limited Financial Conditions in our Neighbouring Countries”, which was organised jointly with the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) and the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB).
Due to dramatic international developments such as the financial and economic crisis since 2008, current global terrorist attacks as well as the mostly negatively connoted refugee and migration flows to Europe, Ombudsman institutions face problematic financial and political limitations and restrictions in protecting basic human rights of the most disadvantaged.
Therefore, the panel discussion scrutinized the conditions, challenges and future prospects Ombudsperson have to face in the Danube Region. Central questions on the topics of human rights, rule of law and the currently contested EU integration and enlargement processes were discussed in the course of the panel discussion which was moderated by the IOI Secretary General Günther Kräuter and the Austrian Ombudswomen Gertrude Brinek. Moreover, the role of the media, alternatives to the classical Ombudsman concept and the great importance of civil society for the protection and promotion of human rights were touched upon.
The event, which was supported by the Austrian ministry of justice, received a high number of international guests as well as high-ranking speakers. Besides two members of the AOB, the Chairman of IDM Erhard Busek and the General Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice Georg Stawa were represented at the panel. The keynote speaker, Ivan Vejvoda, gave an overview of the main challenges human rights institutions are facing. Finally, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Poland, Adam Bodnar, the Ombudswoman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jasminka Džumhur, and the presidential candidate and former Ombudsman of Serbia, Saša Janković, gave an interesting insight into the practical aspects of their work.
