• Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) will virtually attend Board of Directors’ Meeting of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) held in Vienna on November 15, at 7 pm (Vienna local time 11 am) to discuss IOI’s important agenda, such as IOI membership application assessment, budget plan, and regional subsidies.

ACRC was elected as an Asia Regional Director with unanimous votes of 13 Asia members at the election held in May 2021. This is her second time to join the IOI’s BoD meeting.

◇ International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)

The IOI is a non-profit institution established in 1987 for the purpose of advancing Ombudsman system and promoting the exchange and cooperation among ombudsmen in the world. It has 212 members from 120 countries, and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, where the executive committee is operated. The general assembly is held every four years and the board of directors’ meeting is held every year.

*Ombudsman: Ombudsman is of Swedish origin meaning mediator, arbitrator, and inspector, and the ombudsman institution was first established in Sweden in 1809 as a representative of the parliament which monitor the compliance of judges and public officials of administration.

• At the BoD meeting, Ombudsmen of 20 different countries around the world such as the US, UK, Australia, Mexico, the Republic of South Africa, and Thailand will review and discuss key agenda items, such as ▴IOI membership matters, ▴budget plan for 2022 and audit report for 2021, and ▴review on the status of applications for regional subsidies.

In particular, the BoD members will discuss approval of awarding Honorary Life Membership to Peter Tyndall, Ombudsman of Ireland and European IOI Director, according to IOI by-laws stating “Honorary Life Membership may be granted by the Board to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution or who has rendered outstanding services to the organization.”

The Honorary Life Membership is to be awarded to Tyndall in recognition of his leadership as former IOI President and long time IOI executive as well as his contribution to the Resolution on“Role of Ombudsman and Mediator Institutions in the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, Good Governance and the Rule of Law” adopted at the 75^th UN General Assembly in December last year.  

• An ACRC Official said, “The ACRC is serving as National Ombudsman Agency, actively protecting the socially underprivileged.”

An ACRC Official added, “As an IOI Director representing the Asian region, I will also actively contribute to the international community so that Asian Ombudsman institutions can be fully guaranteed their rights within the IOI.”