On the occasion of World Ombudsman Day, the Independent Ombudsman Office of the  Kingdom of Bahrain is pleased to share the statement issued by Her Excellency Ombudswoman, Mrs. Ghada Hamid Habeeb, to mark this important occasion, reaffirming the Office’s commitment to promoting fairness, accountability, and the principles of good governance. Please click here to access the full statement.

Upon closing an inquiry related to general purpose AI models and energy consumption, European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho encouraged the European Commission to continue to improve technical solutions to better enable AI providers to estimate their models’ energy use and meet the objectives set out in the EU’s AI Act.

From 26 – 30 October 2026, the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman will host its annual Complaint Handling Forum. The 5-part virtual forum will feature speakers from a variety of backgrounds, including a complaint leaders panel discussion featuring the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Iain Anderson, with senior leaders from Australia’s social services agency, postal entity, and financial complaints authority.

The Office of the Ombudsman has published new guidance on official information and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for requesters, agencies and complainants. Chief Ombudsman John Allen says the increasing use of AI is reshaping the way information is accessed, interpreted and understood.

On 2 October 2026, the Aruba Human Rights Conference 2026 took place at the University of Aruba. As a section in the program, there was a panel discussion moderated by the Ombudsman of Aruba, Ms. Jurima Bryson, LL.M.

The Office of the Ombudsman Punjab celebrated its 30^th anniversary by hosting an international conference. The event brought together ombudsmen, human rights experts and representatives from different parts of the world to deliberate on ways to strengthen ombudsman institutions.

Citizens are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) when interacting with government services. This development creates opportunities, but it also highlights a new challenge: how can we ensure that citizens use AI in a critical and responsible way? During Digital Week, the Flemish Ombudsman Service launched a web page featuring a sample prompt that helps citizens use AI to draft a complaint.

The Third International Ombud Expo 2027 under the theme "Just Society for All: Celebrating Facilitators and Promoters in a Challenging World" will bring together over 300 ombud offices, human rights bodies, grievance handlers, integrity organisations, and other oversight and governance institutions from more than 100 countries. The Expo will serve as a global platform for exhibition and the showcasing of their roles, operations, and performance impact. The registration for this event is now open.