Deputy Northern Ireland Ombudsman Marie Anderson together with the Director of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Ms Virginia McVea, presented the results of a joint project on a “Human Rights-based approach to the Ombudsman work” to staff members from the Austrian Ombudsman Board in Vienna.

During the third quarter of the year, the Seimas Ombudsman Augustinas Normantas visited almost all the institutions that are responsible for the custody of aliens in Lithuania.

The IOI is pleased to inform its members about a new training cooperation established with the Association for the Prevention of Torture, which will result in a first IOI workshop with a substantive focus on the topic of National Preventive Mechanisms under the OPCAT.

The Iowa Department of Corrections' encouragement of an "open-door policy" between its prison staff and administrative law judges differs from other state agencies and violates inmates' due-process rights in disciplinary hearings, the Office of Ombudsman has concluded.

With the introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure (PID) scheme in 2014/15, the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth- and Defence Forces Ombudsman was broadened.

The Human Rights Defender addressed the Prime Minister with a request to adjust the Polish labour law to the requirements of the European Social Charter.

The Pacific Ombudsman Alliance (POA) issued its latest Newsletter for February 2015. This edition includes reports on the National Investigations Symposium in Sydney, a twinning project with the Office of the Ombudsman of Papua New Guinea and the outcome of recent board nominations.

In December 2014, Jarosław Duda, the Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People  set out a report about the implementation of resolutions of the Charter on the Fundamental Rights of Persons with Disabilities.