The IOI General Secretariat would like to inform you about the latest developments regarding two regional member institutions from Spain; namely the Ombudsman of Asturias (Procuradora General de Asturias) and the Ombudsman of La Rioja (Defensoría del Pueblo Riojano).

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today announced he has appointed two prominent former police chiefs as special advisors to his ongoing investigation into the direction provided by the province to police for de-escalating conflict situations.

NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour released an issues paper today as part of his review of new consorting provisions in Division 7, Part 3A of the Crimes Act 1900. Anyone with an interest in the provisions and their use is encouraged to make a submission.

The Office of the Catalan Ombudsman published the November edition of its e-Newsletter.

The year at a glance: While statistics do not provide a full picture of the Ombudsman’s work, they do show that the office continues to deal with a large number of matters. This year, the Ombudsman received 36,765 complaints and notifications. This includes 8,724 formal matters and 28,041 informal matters.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta has published a proposal for the setting up of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in Malta, to monitor, promote and ensure the observance of human rights in the country.

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has found that the secrecy, privacy and immunity provisions of the Citizens’ Representative Act constitute an absolute bar against disclosure of information received by the Office of the Citizens’ Representative (Ombudsman).

Registration is now open for the next session of Ontario Ombudsman André Marin's training course for ombudsmen and administrative investigators, "Sharpening Your Teeth." The course, which is tailored for oversight agencies and administrative watchdogs, will be held January 20-22, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.