Ombudsman Mr. Ertunç Erkan Balta participated as a speaker at the International Ombudsman Conference held in Rome on 27-29 May 2026, hosted by Mr. Marino Fardelli, Ombudsman of Lazio and President of the Italian National Coordination of Ombudsmen.

In his speech on “New Global Challenges: Complex Administrative Structures, Digitalization and Citizens’ Rights,” Mr. Balta emphasized that digital transformation is fundamentally changing not only the daily lives of individuals but also the functioning of public administration, and that Ombudsman institutions should not remain outside this digital transformation. He also shared the experiences of the Ombudsman Institution of Türkiye in this framework.

The Office of the Ombudsperson Punjab achieved another milestone by ensuring payment of over Rs51.1 million in pending dues to 28 citizens across the province, reflecting its commitment to prompt and effective grievance redressal.

It may be added that the citizens had approached the Honourable Ombudsman Punjab after facing delays and non-payment of their dues by various government departments. Taking swift notice of the complaints, the Honourable Ombudsman Punjab issued directives to the authorities concerned and closely pursued the cases, resulting in the successful disbursement of the pending amounts.

This timely intervention not only provided much-needed financial relief to the citizens but also underscored the institution’s proactive approach in safeguarding public rights and ensuring administrative accountability.

The Office of the Ombudsman Punjab reiterates its resolve to continue such efforts without interruption, aiming to deliver swift and hassle-free justice to the people and address their grievances efficiently.

An international round table entitled “Human Rights, Freedom of Expression and Gender Equality: National Reforms, International Standards and Cooperation”, was held at the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Republic of Poland, on 1^st June 2026, on the initiative of Uzbekistan and in collaboration with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The event was attended by the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Poland, representatives of the OSCE ODIHR, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Poland, representatives of relevant state bodies of the Republic of Poland, human rights institutions, representatives of civil society, public organizations, non-governmental non-profit organizations, human rights organizations, independent experts, scholars, researchers, students and members of the wider public.

The round table discussed national experience and international standards in the fields of human rights, freedom of expression and gender equality, as well as issues related to developing cooperation between state institutions and civil society in these areas.

During the event, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) spoke about the ongoing changes in the field of ensuring human rights and freedoms, emphasizing that the protection of women’s rights, freedom of expression and support for open dialogue with civil society institutions are important areas of ensuring human rights.

Policy consultation for central administrative agencies via telephone will now be available not only through each agency’s representative number, but also by calling 110.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jung Il Yeon) is formally advancing the integration of central administrative agencies’ representative numbers into 110, beginning from May 26 with the simultaneous display of agencies’ representative numbers and 110 on relevant websites.

The number 110 is the dedicated contact number for the Government Call Center, established in 2007 to provide consultation services related to civil affairs and government petitions. This year, the service marks its 19th anniversary of operation.

The ACRC has been formally pursuing the project to integrate central administrative agencies’ representative phone numbers into 110 since September of last year, and reported the “Execution Plan for Integrating Non-emergency Consultation Number into 110” at the cabinet meeting chaired by the President on May 6. The current pilot program is being implemented as part of this initiative, in collaboration with 15 central administrative agencies.

Provincial Ombudsman Sindh, Dr. Sohail Rajput, called on Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, to present him the institution’s Annual Performance Report for the year 2025. The report highlights a massive surge in public trust, with total complaints skyrocketing by 236% compared to previous years, reaching a record 25,217 grievances in 2025.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister was briefed that the Ombudsman institution successfully provided financial relief worth PKR 4.29 billion to aggrieved citizens, deciding 12,591 cases and providing direct, immediate resolution in 2,660 matters. Out of the total complaints, the highest number exceeding 10,000 case was registered against Local Government institutions, followed by the Revenue, Education, and Police departments.

The report also underscored significant institutional reforms and global recognition, noting Dr. Sohail Rajput’s recent election to the Board of Directors of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) and his appointment as Vice Chair of the United Nations Ombudsman Working Group. Furthermore, the establishment of a specialized Climate and Disaster Justice Unit (CDJU) was highlighted to ensure rapid redressal for disaster-affected citizens, along with the formation of two permanent committees dedicated to enforcing the 5% employment quota and inclusive education for persons with disabilities.

The Ombudsman, Mr. Jack Chan, met with the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Vice Chairman of the National Commission of Supervision (“NCS”), Mr. Fu Kui. Leading an NCS delegation to pay an official visit to Hong Kong, Mr. Fu also called on the Office of the Ombudsman and exchanged views on professional matters with Mr. Chan and officials of the Directorate.

During the meeting, Mr. Chan outlined the Office’s achievements, noting that his three strategic focuses, namely mediation, interdepartmental collaboration and cultivating a positive complaint culture, have yielded significant results. He highlighted the Office’s supervisory role over public administration in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) and its commitment to promoting good governance and improving people’s livelihood through investigations, recommendations and observations.

Chairperson Jung Il Yeon of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) of korea participated as a speaker at the International Ombudsman Conference held in Rome, Italy from
May 28 to 29, 2026 to present “Korea’s Ombudsman System: Innovations and Best Practices.”

Members of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)^* hold the International Ombudsman Conference annually to facilitate international exchanges and cooperation among ombudsman institutions. Italy is hosting the conference for the third time, following 2023 and 2025.

The conference, hosted by the Ombudsman in Italy, Lazio region as a member of the IOI European Regional Board, brings together approximately 300 participants including ombudsmen, government representatives, and experts from approximately 50 countries. As an official member of the IOI, the ACRC has received a formal invitation, with Chairperson Jung participating as a speaker.

Ms. Ayesha Hamid, Ombudsperson of the Punjab/First Vice President of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) /Asian Regional Director and her team attended the 2026 SEAOF Full Members Meeting in Manila, Philippines held on June 16-18, 2026.

She was invited to deliver a presentation on “How digital complaint tracking are standardized and ensure quality control across a large agency following its ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification on complaints management”.

She presented the amazing journey of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems QMS Certification for the Head Office, Research Development Wing & 38 Regional Offices. She said that the Ombudsman Punjab Management Information System (OPMIS), an internally developed digital Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, has fully modernized and technologically advanced the traditional process of handling complaints.

OPMIS handles all stages of complaint management for the organization via one digital process covering registration, examination, investigation, draft findings, submitted findings and final orders. This guarantees uniformity, accountability, transparency and quality assurance.

She expressed the principles of ISO 9001: 2015 QMS towards office of the Ombudsman Punjab including focus on the citizen, process-driven governance, evidence-based decision making, continuous improvement, commitment to leadership, human engagement and relationship management.

She further cited an example of how the Ombudsman Punjab has been able to maintain standardized complaint management procedures and efficient quality control in a large and geographically dispersed organization through the use of digital workflows, KPI based performance monitoring, independent user accounts, audit trails, centralized digital record keeping and real-time management dashboards.

On June 22, 2026, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani presented the annual report on the state of human rights and freedoms in Georgia in 2025 to the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia. The Public Defender spoke about the activities carried out by the Office in 2025 and briefly reviewed the issues reflected in the 428-page report.

The parliamentary report covers the rights of conflict-affected population, eco-migrants, socially vulnerable people, children and persons with disabilities, as well as persons placed in penitentiary, psychiatric and other closed institutions. It reviews the rights to life, fair trial, privacy, freedom of assembly and expression. The report also offers recommendations for the relevant agencies and solutions or ways to find solutions to the problems identified during monitoring and reflected in the report.

The Public Defender also spoke about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers during the detention of protesters, the progress of the investigation and the correctness of court decisions.

The 2025 Annual Report of the Commission Against Corruption of Macao was published in the Official Gazette of the Macao Special Administrative Region. In 2025, the CCAC placed a total of 427 cases on file, including 30 cases related to the 8^th Legislative Assembly Elections, 191 cases placed on file by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, 172 cases placed on file by the Ombudsman Bureau and 34 cases filed for mutual assistance from law-enforcement agencies outside the Macao SAR, says the Report.

As the 8^th Legislative Assembly Elections took place in the year, the CCAC set the ensuring of integrity of the elections as the priority of the year, making targeted deployment according to different phases and characteristics of election activities. The relevant actions included inspections of activities intended for granting food and beverage benefits and activities involving distribution of cash, gifts or gift vouchers held by civic associations, among others.

During the entire election period, the CCAC conducted over 16,000 inspections, received 153 complaints, placed 30 cases on file and concluded the investigations of 28 cases. Among the cases concluded, five were referred to the Public Prosecutions Office for follow-up. The CCAC points out that through the CCAC’s prompt handling of the cases and its all-out effort within the scope of its powers, the whole election process ran in an orderly and good atmosphere.