BackOn 18 May 2026 from 3pm to 6pm (GMT-4), the President of the UN General Assembly (PGA) will convene a high-level panel at the UN Headquarters in New York on “The importance of complying with the Venice Principles for Ombudsman institutions to strengthen the institutions’ independence and autonomy and create an enabling environment to perform their mandate nationally and internationally” in accordance with General Assembly resolution 79/177.
The high-level panel will provide an opportunity to discuss and share best practices on how the Venice Principles can strengthen Ombudsman institutions and help them respond to challenges affecting their independence and autonomy. It will also explore how these principles can support the creation of an enabling environment in which Ombudsman institutions can effectively carry out their mandate, including their role as national human rights institutions, in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as good governance and the rule of law.
The IOI will be represented by its President Nadine Mailloux at the panel discussion. The exact programme incl. further speakers will be announced in due course. For further information, kindly consult the concept note in the download section, which has been released by the Office of the PGA for UN member states attending the meeting on site.
The event will be live streamed in all 6 official UN languages on the UN Web TV website at https://webtv.un.org/ and a recorded video will be available in English and original language after the event.
Source: The IOI General Secretariat
