Judge (ret) Joseph Shapira has been elected by Israeli Parliament to serve as State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel. During the ceremony President Shimon Peres emphasized the importance of the institution: ”Bureaucracy cannot exist without review. The independence of review is of enormous importance."

A conference recently organized by the Albanian Ombudsman and the National Council of Disabled People concluded with the resolution concerning rights of people with disabilities.

As of 23 July 2012, Soledad Becerril Bustamante is the new national Ombudswoman of Spain. Her appointment was approved by both Congress and Senate on 17 and 18 July 2012. Becerril is the first woman to take over this position. She has longstanding experience in the political field. In 1981 she became the first female Minister by assuming the department of culture.

As a national human rights institution (NHRI) the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) takes the opportunity to submit its comments regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Austria.

New-born babies should be allowed to stay with their convicted mother – amendment of the relevant rule of law at the initiative of the Ombudsman.

Throughout 2011, the Síndic de Greuges’s (Catalan Ombudsman’s) activities were especially marked by the financial downturn and budget cutbacks derived from it. The Catalan Ombudsman’s Office has worked throughout 2011 to achieve greater efficiency, while still vying to be more effective

The Office of the Ombudsman, Botswana is delighted to introduce, the newly appointed Ombudsman, Mrs. Festina Shale Bakwena, the former Director of Public Service Management. Mrs. Bakwena’s appointment will go down in the history of this country as a landmark, in view of the fact that she is the first woman to ever ascend to this highest position in the country since the inception of the Office in 1997.

Jacqueline Liu, the diplomat who was arrested by the FBI last November on charges of violating a US federal labor law was recently suspended from her duties for two years by the Judicial Yuan’s disciplinary commission.