• Wafaqi Mohtasib presides over the General Assembly meeting of Asian Ombudsman Association at Nanjing – China
• Addresses International Workshop on ‘Effective Ombudsmanship for People’s Livelihood
• Calls for greater sharing of experiences and best practices amongst ombudsman institutions

Nanjing (China): September 10, 2025 – The Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi has said that the ombudsman institutions working across the globe are striving to promote good governance, rule of law and efficient public administration. He was addressing the 26^th Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors and the 18^th General Assembly meeting of the Asian Ombudsman Association at Nanjing, China here today.

Mr. Qureshi, who is also the current President of the 47-member strong Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) called for greater sharing of experiences and best practices amongst the ombudsman institutions. He added that ombudsman institutions are playing a critical role in providing free and expeditious redressal of grievances and streamlining the systems and procedures for efficient service delivery by state institutions.

The AOA Board of Directors, which besides Pakistan, includes heads of Ombudsman institutions from Azerbaijan, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Korea, Tatarstan and Türkiye took stock of the activities of the Association in the outgoing year. It reviewed activities undertaken by the member countries at the national level for the promotion of ombudsmanship and considered measures for upgrading facilities at the Association’s Resource Centre established within the AOA Secretariat in Islamabad.

The General Assembly meeting was followed by an International Workshop on ‘Effective Ombudsmanship for People’s Livelihood’ which was attended by a large number of delegations from the Asian region and beyond. In his keynote address, Mr. Qureshi, stated that ombudsmanship plays a pivotal role in fostering healthy environment where citizen’s rights are fully safeguarded. He also highlighted the role of ombudsman institutions in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and stated that human progress remains the corner stone of all developmental efforts. Any movement forward in this direction, therefore, required regular exchange of views, sharing of experiences and best practices amongst the global ombuds fraternity and other stakeholders.

Syed Jamal-Ud-Din Shah concluded his tenure as Provincial Mohtasib Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after completing a four-year term. On August 4, 2025, Mr. Mutaher Zeb officially assumed the office, with an oath administered by the Governor at a ceremony in the Governor’s House. In his address, he pledged to uphold justice, fairness, and transparency in public administration. A seasoned public servant with 33 years of experience, Mr. Zeb has held key positions across various provincial departments and served as Political Agent in tribal regions. He holds a Master’s in English Literature.

Public Defender of Georgia Levan Ioseliani participated in the International Symposium of Ombudsmen, which was held in Baku on June 18, 2025, organized by the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva. The theme of the symposium was “Strengthening the Rule of Law: The Role of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions”.

At the high-level meeting, ombudsmen from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, members of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), discussed the issues of realizing constitutional rights and ensuring equal rights for all; they also discussed the challenges and best practices of international cooperation and protection of refugee rights.

The Provincial Ombudsman Sindh. Mr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, inaugurated one-of-its-kind Climate & Disaster Justice Unit (CDJU), a pioneering initiative to ensure expeditious and justifiable redressal of complaints stemming from climate-related and man-made disasters.

The unit will be a fast-paced mechanism resolving issues of delay, corruption, or neglect in relief, rehabilitation, and public service delivery. It will be working on safeguarding vulnerable groups, inclusive governance, and coordination with UN agencies, NGOs, and civil society

This initiative complements the actions already been taken for advocacy for human dignity, equity, and the rule of law, solidifying the institution as an equitable, accessible, and people-centered watchdog, particularly in a region being battered more and more by climate uncertainty.

“In the event of a disaster, justice delayed is not just justice denied, it’s denial of dignity. The CDJU brings justice to the frontlines of climate crisis” Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Ombudsman Sindh.

On 5 May 2025, Chief Ombudsman of Turkiye and President of OICOA Mr. Mehmet Akarca received the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan Ms. Yazdursun Gurbannazarova. The meeting, organized within the scope of the Turkmenistan Ombudsman Institution’s study visit to protect and monitor children’s rights in cooperation with UNICEF, was also attended by Ms. Fatma Benli Yalçın, Ombudsman Responsible for Children’s Rights.

In his remarks, Chief Ombudsman Mr. Mehmet Akarca emphasized that Ombudsman Institutions play a key role in protecting human rights, upholding the rule of law, promoting good governance in administrations, and fostering a culture of seeking legal remedies.

The Commissioner for Human Rights, Sabina Aliyeva, participated at the next meeting of the Association of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) of Turkic States (TURKOMB), which was held online.

At the meeting was also joined by ombudspersons, heads, and representatives of NHRIs of Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan said that the Association became an effective platform for exchanging experiences in the field of human rights.

The Ombudsman emphasized the importance of developing cooperation among Turkic states, continuing close collaboration among ombuds institutions in this framework, and sharing practices in the human rights area.

Sabina Aliyeva brought to the attention the fact that within the framework of the TURKOMB, the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institution organized various gatherings on current topics during the past period, which significantly contribute to the strengthening of cooperation among member states of the Association and suggested sustaining such cooperation.

During the event, the ombudspersons and NHRIs of the other TURKOMB member states made speeches about their activities over the past timeframe; the present action plan was discussed and recommendations sounded.

Sukkur, January 21, 2025 – Ten students from Sukkur IBA University have been selected as Ambassadors for Ombudsman Sindh as part of the Ambassador Program. Earlier Ten students each from Hamdard University, Sindh Madressatul Islam University and Salim Habib University were selected. The selected students aimed at fostering civic responsibility, promoting accountability and support the Ombudsman’s mission.

Ms. Rehana G. Ali Memon, Advisor to the Provincial Ombudsman Sindh, explained that the program engages students across universities in Sindh to raise awareness of the Ombudsman Office’s role in promoting good governance, transparency, and human rights. These ambassadors will serve as a bridge between the Ombudsman and the public, helping spread the message through outreach activities and social media.

Mr. Masood Ishrat, Registrar of the Ombudsman Sindh, provided an overview of the mandate of the office and complaint processes during the session followed by a Q&A session to address students’ queries.

Prof. Dr. Syed Mir Muhammad Shah, Pro Vice Chancellor of Sukkur IBA University, praised the program for encouraging youth participation in civic duties, while Prof. Dr. Asif Ahmed Shaikh, Vice Chancellor, while talking to team of Ombudsman Office highlighted the initiative as an important step in strengthening ties between Sukkur IBA University and the Ombudsman Sindh Office, focused on promoting integrity and accountability in governance across Sindh.

On 28 February 2024, the Public Defender addressed the director of one of the public schools of the Khelvachauri municipality with a general proposal relating to the case of incitement to discrimination on the basis of sex/gender and called on him to not allow discriminatory treatment on the basis of sex or other grounds at school and to implement a policy of equality, and in relation to the school uniform, to ensure students’ freedom of choice.

As the case study made it clear, according to the strict instructions of the school director, schoolgirls had to wear skirts and white blouses at school. However, the administration has not issued any directive regarding the school uniform, and the fact that schoolgirls are allowed to wear pants only during the winter is the personal decision of the school director.

The school failed to present a rational argumentation to the Public Defender that would justify the restrictions on the choice of girls and the ban on wearing pants.

Given the legal framework, any issue related to clothing must adhere to the principle of non-discrimination. Therefore, it is not allowed for the school to arbitrarily define the rules of the students’ clothing and forbid girls from wearing pants.

In the general proposal, the Public Defender also discussed the general challenges relating to gender equality, the importance of considering the issues related to the schoolchildren’s rights through the prism of equality, and the corresponding obligations of the school.

In the framework of the implementationof the 2024 Action Plan for Awareness Raising to Increase the Effectiveness of Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and Freedoms (Action Plan),the Ombudsman Office organized an awareness-raising event on the topic of the “Ombudsman’s National Preventive Activity.”

During her opening speech, Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva provided detailed information about the activities under the NPM mandate. Then, the staff of the Office made PPT presentations.

For the further information see the linkhttps://bit.ly/3VhHXJ1

Telephone hotline On the protection of families with children established in Kazan.

In this year first hotline was dedicated to the Year of the Family, announced in Russia, and was dedicated to the protection of families with children,

Questions from the citizens come in a variety of ways, but each specialist of the specialized ministries and departments, the Notarial and Lawyer’s Chambers of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Department of the Social Foundation of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Tatarstan gives an answer.

During the hotline, Tatarstan residents received questions related to placement in pre-school and general education institutions, registration of disability insurance pension, rehabilitation, etc.