As we approach Tax Time 2021, the office of the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman (IGTO) is busily preparing to support and assist taxpayers and tax practitioners during this period. Reflecting on the past 12 months, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt and there are still many individuals and small businesses needing assistance.

El Defensor del Pueblo (e.f.), Francisco Fernández Marugán, ha realizado una visita oficial a las ciudades autónomas de Ceuta y Melilla del 1 al 4 de junio para entrevistarse con autoridades y representantes de ONG.

Fernández Marugán ha querido conocer de primera mano la situación en ambas ciudades tras la entrada a nado en Ceuta de numerosas personas extranjeras la semana del 17 de mayo. Al Defensor le preocupa especialmente la acogida de los menores extranjeros no acompañados.

The Dublin Declaration sets out the contribution Ombudsman organisations will make to the UN Agenda 2030, especially the prerequisite of leaving ‘no one behind’ and ensuring that all persons can fulfil their potential in equality. The declaration commits to working towards achieving equality of access to vaccination, urging vaccines to be treated as a global public good to be made available equally around the globe.

Será los días 10, 11 y 12 de junio de 2021 bajo el lema “Justicia Restaurativa y Derechos Humanos: Promoviendo Prácticas Restaurativas como Políticas Públicas”. Habrá 62 expositores de 12 países.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Denmark issued press releases on the access to files from the health authorities and the monitoring of Prison and Probation Service institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fire ants report: Timeliness of responses to notifications of suspected fire ant activity is a new publication from the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman on the timeliness of the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program’s responses to notifications of suspected fire ant locations made by members of the public.

During the IOI world conference, the Ombudsman of Greece, the Ararteko of the Basque Country and the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands presented their papers on asylum and migration topics. The discussion paper on integration written by the Office of the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands is now available for download.

The comparative study about refugees in Europe, which was conducted by the Ombudsman offices of the Netherlands, Greece and the Basque country, was presented during the IOI World Conference on the topic of "Giving voice to the voiceless". The respective workshop was chaired by the Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis.