Commissioner for Human Rights

Prof. Lipowicz new chairperson of the Board of Directors of the IOI for the Europe

Date:

In January this year the procedure of selecting a new chairperson of the Board of Directors of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) for the Europe has ended. Prof. Irena Lipowicz was elected on this position as a result of electronic voting. European IOI management already informed the IOI General Secretariat on acceptance of the nomination.
In her activities, prof. Lipowicz intends to focus mainly on supporting the cooperation between European ombudsman institutions and the creation of space to exchange experiences. As particularly significant she considered the need for empathise with those ombudsmen the actions of whom are obstructed or endangered today for many reasons.
The International Ombudsman Institute was established in 1978 as organization with purpose of contributing to the promotion and development of the ombudsman's institutions all over the world. Currently the cooperation between members of the Institute is conducted in six regions. European Region has 80 representatives. Since 2010 prof. Irena Lipowicz has been a member of the European Management.
Selection of the chairperson of the region is conducted by means of electronic voting, from among all the members of the European IOI Management. The previous head of the region was the Ombudsman of Ireland, Peter Tyndall, who in October 2014 has been selected for the second vice-chairman of the global IOI Management.
In association with the selection of a new Chairwoman, IOI Secretariat for the Europe will be transferred from Office of the Ombudsman of Ireland to the Office of the Human Rights Defender in Warsaw.