On December 11, Howard Sapers, Correctional Investigator of Canada, presented the 2012 Ed McIsaac Human Rights in Corrections Award to Jean-Claude Bernheim, a lecturer at Laval University.

A new report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman reveals how people are struggling to get government departments and public organisations to put right basic mistakes, causing distress, inconvenience, and, in some cases, financial hardship.

Ombudsman of Ontario, Andre Marin called for the Province of Ontario to give his office the authority to oversee institutions in the so-called MUSH sectors. They include municipalities, universities, school boards, hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, police services and children's aid societies.

Mediation and alternative dispute settlement are, without doubt, useful, effective and child-friendly methods in both child protection and criminal justice. This method is scarcely used in Hungary since its application is hindered by the absence of training of childcare specialists and legal problems, stated Ombudsman Máté Szabó.

The Deputy head of department for observance of the rights of child, non-discrimination and gender equality Mr. Sergiy Ponomariov took part in the V session of the Forum for minorities, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

On 6 December 2012, IOI Secretary General and Ombudsman Peter Kostelka welcomed a delegation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) of the Republic of Korea at the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) in Vienna.

On 6 December 2012, the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (FRA) published its new report "Access to justice in cases of discrimination in the EU – Steps to further equality". This report examines the process of seeking redress in cases of discrimination.

The Pacific Ombudsman Alliance published its Issue 29 of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance Network News.

It is a special edition reporting on the fourth Pacific Ombudsman Alliance members’ meeting and associated activities last month in Wellington, New Zealand.