The IOI Board of Directors held its annual meeting from 27 to 29 October 2014 in Vienna, Austria. The IOI General Secretariat and the Austrian Ombudsman Board welcomed 18 of the 21 Directors of the Board in Vienna to discuss projects and priorities for the upcoming membership year.

Concerted legal and practical efforts are needed from the EU and its Member States to help combat forced marriage, finds a new paper by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). While it is difficult to calculate how many people are victims, this paper outlines different actions to address this particular form of gender-based violence.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has published 161 summaries of investigations it carried out between April and June this year. The Ombudsman Service investigates complaints about the NHS in England and UK government departments and their agencies, such as the Child Maintenance Service and the DVLA. The published summaries include 35 governmental cases and 126 are healthcare.

On the occasion of the annual meeting of the IOI Board of Directors in Vienna in October 2014, IOI President Dame Beverley Wakem and the President of the Institute of Latin-American Ombudsman, Dr. Carlos Constenla, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.

The Office of The Ombudsman is holding a series of exhibitions in different government offices and shopping malls in various districts from late October to December to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of the work of the Office.

Ombudsman Sindh orders Karachi Water & Sewerage Board to ensure the completion of the work of laying of a new water pipe line to the residents of Liaquatabad, after complainant approached Ombudsman for supply of potable water.  

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin called on the province to take urgent action to protect children in unlicensed daycares, after his latest investigation revealed systemic government ineptitude that has put them at risk for years.

A 41-year-old mother with terminal breast cancer was let down by her hospital who failed to detect and treat her cancer an investigation by The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found.