In the framework of the regional subsidy programme of the IOI, the Ararteko - Ombudsman of the Basque Country is hosting a workshop on “The Right of the People to Good Environmental Governance”, which will take place from 16 - 17 May 2018 in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country).

In a recently published report, the Ombudsman for Children presents the case of Molly (Names have been changed to protect anonymity), who was born with Down Syndrome and severe autism and has grown up with her foster family after being placed there when she was a baby. Molly’s foster carer made a complaint to the Ombudsman about the level of supports and services being provided and the Ombudsman’s investigation found that there was a lack of co-ordination between the two agencies which meant that services and supports provided by both organisations were insufficient.

The Office of the Ombudsman Malawi will host a Training on the Role of Ombudsman institutions in promoting and entrenching/enforcing ethics, transparency and accountability in the public sector in Lilongwe, Malawi at the Bingu International Conference Centre on 5 - 7 February 2018. The Training will be financially supported by the IOI regional subsidy programme 2017/2018.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Thai Ombudsman and the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman).

 

On 1 January 2018, amendments to the Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen came into force, providing new functions for the Seimas Ombudsmen, among which are the dissemination and monitoring of human rights in the country. The new functions include presenting the assessment of the human rights situation to international organisations and providing them with information regarding the obligations established in the international treaties of Lithuania.

The City of Toronto’s Ombudsman, Susan Opler, has begun an Enquiry into communication, capacity planning and quality of the winter programs offered to Toronto’s homeless.

The Czech ombudsman has taken up the case of around 70 Chinese Christians who applied for asylum in the Czech Republic on the grounds that they fear persecution at home.

Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya led Control Yuan members on a visit to the Executive Yuan for an annual review of the executive branch of government on 26 December 2017. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of the Interior and their subordinate agencies received the most corrective measures at 13 each, followed by the Ministry of Education and its subordinate agencies at 12 corrective measures.