During its meeting held on 10 December 2013 at Karachi, Pakistan, the Board of Directors of the Forum of Pakistan Ombudsman has unanimously elected its new office-bearers.

On 10 December 2013 at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw the 25^th anniversary of the Polish Ombudsman was celebrated combined with the annual celebrations of the International Human Rights Day.

At its New York meeting in September 2013, the IOI Board of Directors acknowledged that the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior of Bahrain fulfilled the criteria set out in the IOI By-laws and accept the institution as Voting member of the IOI.

People with disabilities were in the spotlight Tuesday, 3 December 2013, as a series of events was held to mark the International Day of People with Disability.

The Council of Europe organised a conference on the detention of immigrants in Europe in co-operation with the United Kingdom’s national preventive mechanism against torture. The conference was held on 21-22 November 2013 in order to establish common concerns and to develop minimum standards on the basis of a comprehensive exchange of experience and best practice.

On 25-28 November 2013, the VIIIth Congress of the Association of Ombudsmen and Mediators of la Francophonie (AOMF) took place in Dakar. On the occasion of the General Assembly, the new Bureau has been elected.

More than 80 people, representing dozens of ombudsmen, mediators and “watchdog” agencies from more than 20 countries across Africa, participated in the Ontario Ombudsman’s “Sharpening Your Teeth” training course in Lusaka, Zambia, from November 11 to 16, 2013.

The Defensora del Pueblo, Soledad Becerril, has presented in the Joint Committee for Relations with the Ombudsman the report “Economic crisis and personal insolvency: actions and propositions”.