The Ombudsman Office for the Ministry Interior and the National Institution for Human Rights were jointly awarded the Chaillot Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights in the GCC region in 2014.

In its efforts to further increase the regional impact of the IOI, the members of the IOI Board of Directors decided at the Annual Board Meeting in Vienna to continue the regional subsidy programme for the membership year 2014/2015.

The Complaints Commissioner, Nicola Williams, has tendered her resignation and has accepted the appointment as the UK Service Complaints Commissioner – the Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces, based domestically and worldwide. She will leave office in early January 2015.

The end-of-year period is one of reporting and the Québec Ombudsman looks back at its most note-worthy interventions regarding departments and agencies of the Government of Québec and the health and social services network.

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today welcomed the historic passage of a new law that will allow his office to investigate complaints about municipalities, universities and school boards for the first time.

The Portuguese Ombudsman released its fifth newsletter informing about the office's activities in November.

Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall reminded the public that his office can examine complaints about the HSE and all HSE-run centres, including nursing homes. This follows the shocking scenes in the RTE report on Áras Attracta in County Mayo.  

Registration is filling up fast for the next session of Ontario Ombudsman André Marin's training course "Sharpening Your Teeth: Advanced Investigative Training for Administrative Watchdogs." The course, which is tailored for oversight agencies and investigators, will be held from 19 January to 21 January 2015 in Toronto, Ontario.