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.

Provincial Ombudsman Sindh Mr. Asad Ashraf Malik presented the Annual Report of his institution for the year 2012 to the Governor Sindh, informing that 5,414 applications relating to different departments including Police, Agriculture and Education were received in 2012.

The Greek Ombudsman calls for immediate and drastic measures against racist violence. The pronounced surge in racist violence, the impunity the perpetrators enjoy, and the overall negligence of the state authorities in charge of such matters undermine social cohesion and the foundations of the rule of law.

The English Summary of the Annual report 2012 by the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Finland has been published, compiling the most important observations concerning implementation of fundamental and human rights that were made in oversight of legality during the year.

The NSW Child Death Review Team’s Annual Report for 2012 was tabled in Parliament today by the Team’s Convenor, the NSW Ombudsman. The report examines the deaths of 493 children registered in NSW in 2012. ‘The rate of child deaths is the lowest since the Team began in 1996,’ said the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour.