71st E-News Letter of Asian Ombudsman Association July 2023
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PAKISTAN WAFAQI MOHTASIB ADDRESSES INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON THE ROLE OF OMBUDSMAN IN PROMOTING FAIR ADMINISTRATION, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND THE RULE OF LAW (11 JULY 2023 BANGKOK).Wafaqi Mohtasib(Federal Ombudsman) Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi addressed an international seminar on the role of the Asian Ombudsman as a mechanism for promoting fair administration, good governance and the rule of law on 11 July 2023 at Bangkok. |
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HONG KONG OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF DIRECT INVESTIGATION INTO HOUSING DEPARTMENT’S ARRANGEMENTS FOR HOUSING FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND CONVERTED ONE-PERSON UNITS.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (13 July) announced at a press conference the completion of a direct investigation into the arrangements for Housing for Senior Citizens (“HSC”) and converted one-person (“C1P”) units by the Housing Department (“HD”), and made eight recommendations for improvement to HD. In the 1980s, HD introduced HSC to provide hostel-type public rental housing (“PRH”) for elderly tenants aged 60 or above. According to the design of units, there are three types of HSC, namely Type 1 (“HS1”), Type 2 (“HS2”) and Type 3 (“HS3”). |
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KOREA HOLDING A MEETING ON “INTEGRITY AND ETHICAL MANAGEMENT FOR BUSINESS,” INVITING EXPERTS FROM LEGAL AND BUSINESS CIRCLES.On June 21, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) held a policy advisory council meeting, which is comprised of experts from legal and business circles, with the aim of enhancing the responsiveness of businesses to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management and international anti-corruption standards, such as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. |
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THAILAND IOI ASIAN REGIONAL PRESIDENT HOSTS 2023 IOI ASIAN REGIONAL MEETING IN BANGKOK.The Chief Ombudsman of Thailand, Mr. Somsak Suwansujarit, as Asian Regional President of the IOI hosted the IOI Asian Regional Meeting 2023 on July 10th, 2023 at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, Thailand. The annual meeting took place in the vibrant city of Bangkok, uniting Ombudsman institutions across the Asian region with a shared goal to fortify their role and significance. |
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JAPAN DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE EVALUATION BUREAU (AEB), OMBUDSMAN OF JAPAN ASSUMES OFFICE ON 07 JULY 2023.Mr. SUGAWARA Nozomu is the Director General of the Administrative Evaluation Bureau (AEB) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.The AEB provides the ombudsman function through its Administrative Inspection and Administrative Counseling Service. Around 120,000 complaints from citizen are received a year by the AEB and 5,000 administrative counselors who are commissioned volunteer citizens. AEB’s Administrative Counseling Service is reinforced its independence and neutrality by the Administrative Grievance Resolution Promotion Council, which is advisory committee of specialist from various fields. |
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PROVINCIAL OMBUDSMAN SINDH HONOURABLE WAFAQI MOHTASIB MR. EJAZ AHMAD QURESHI VISITED OFFICE OF PROVINCIAL OMBUDSMAN SINDH.The Honourable Wafaqi Mohtasib Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, visited the office of Provincial Ombudsman today, discussed issues of mutual interest and the way forward to improve the working of their respective offices in providing more relief and assistance to the masses in redressal of their grievances. |
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MACAU COMMISSIONER AGAINST CORRUPTION CHAN TSZ KING ATTENDED IOI ASIAN REGIONAL MEETING IN THAILAND.The Commissioner Against Corruption Chan Tsz King earlier led a delegation of the CCAC to Bangkok (Thailand) to attend the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) Asian Regional Meeting and International Seminar.The meeting was hosted by the Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand. Participants included representatives from Asia, such as Pakistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and East Timor. |
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THAILAND IOI ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR 2023 HELD IN BANGKOK.On July 11th, 2023, the International Seminar under the theme, “Asian Ombudsman as a Mechanism for Promoting Fair Administration, Good Governance and the Rule of Law” was held in conjunction with the IOI Asian Regional Meeting 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Seminar commenced with an opening ceremony, featuring warm welcome remarks from the IOI Asian Regional President and Chief Ombudsman of Thailand, Mr. Somsak Suwansujarit. Afterward, the distinguished participants were privileged to receive special lectures from notable speakers. |
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BANKING MOHTASIB PAKISTAN MR. SIRAJUDDIN AZIZ TAKES OATH AS BANKING MOHTASIB PAKISTAN.The President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi administered the Oath of Office of Banking Mohtasib Pakistan to Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz at a simple and impressive ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad. The appointment of Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz as Banking Mohtasib for a period of four years was notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 4th July, 2023. He has replaced Mr. Muhammad Kamran Shehzad, who has completed his four-year tenure as Banking Ombudsman. |
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HONG KONG COMPLAINTS TO OMBUDSMAN RISE AMID FIFTH-WAVE PANDEMIC IN 2022-23.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, presented the 2022-23 Annual Report of the Office of The Ombudsman to the public. The Office received 766 pandemic-related complaints in the year of 2022-23, accounting for about 14% of the total number of complaints, a hike from 206 last year. |
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AZERBAIJAN THE OMBUDSMAN AND THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL ORGANIZED AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS.A conference on “Ensuring Transparency in the Context of Business and Human Rights” was organized jointly by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The event has brought together the representatives of the Ombudsman Office, the Office of the Prosecutor-General, international organizations, business entities, and non-governmental organizations. |
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MACAU CCAC UNVEILED A CASE WHERE CUSTOMS OFFICERS OF A CHECKPOINT ALLEGEDLY FABRICATED ATTENDANCE RECORDS TOGETHER FOR REMUNERATION FRAUD.The CCAC has detected a case where the chief of the customs station at a checkpoint allegedly colluded with his subordinates to fabricate attendance records in order to defraud the Government over supplementary remuneration amounting to over MOP130,000. In 2022, the CCAC received a report alleging that the chief of the customs station at a checkpoint copied his attendance card secretly and instructed his co-workers to punch in and out on his behalf. After receiving the report, the CCAC commenced an investigation. |
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KOREA REPORTS ON IMPROPER SOLICITATIONS SAW GREAT REDUCTION FROM 3,330 CASES IN 2018 TO 369 CASES IN 2022.ACRC revealed that 1,404 cases of reports on violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act were received by public institutions of various levels, and 416 public officials faced sanctions including criminal punishment last year. In particular, violations of the Act reported last year amounted to 369 cases, a huge reduction compared to 3,330 cases reported in 2018. |
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HONG KONG OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF DIRECT INVESTIGATION INTO HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS INVOLVING TREES ON GOVERNMENT LAND.The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, announced at a press conference today (13 July) the completion of a direct investigation into the handling of complaints involving trees on government land, and made eight recommendations for improvement to the Tree Management Office (“TMO”) under the Development Bureau (“DEVB”). The Government adopts an integrated approach for managing trees on government land, under which the department responsible for maintaining a Government facility or site takes care of the trees within the area. |
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GEORGIA TURKISH DELEGATION PAYS WORKING VISIT TO PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE.A Turkish delegation has paid a working visit to the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. At the meeting held on July 25, representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism of the Public Defender’s Office and members of the Turkish delegation discussed issues of cooperation between the National Preventive Mechanisms, spoke about their professional activities and exchanged information about their work practices. |
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AZERBAIJAN THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ON THE COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OMBUDSMAN) OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN HAVE BEEN APPROVED.The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, has approved the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amending the Constitutional Law on the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. |
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KOREA VULNERABLE SOCIAL GROUPS IN THE WELFARE AND LABOR SECTORS—MARRIED IMMIGRANTS AND MIGRANT WORKERS—GATHERING TOGETHER.The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) is visiting Asan today to organize a place where the Commission can meet with married immigrants, migrant workers, and local residents who are experiencing grievances in the welfare and labor sectors to listen to their difficulties and provide resolutions. |
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ARMENIA THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER PARTICIPATED IN THE SOLEMN OPENING CEREMONY OF THE LORI REGIONAL SUBDIVISION.TThere is no other method to build a stable and democratic society than the guarantee of rule of law and establishment of available structures for the protection of rights: The Human Rights Defender’s Office has been supplemented with another regional subdivision. On 4 July 2023, the solemn opening ceremony of the Lori regional subdivision of the Human Rights Defender’s Office took place in Vanadzor. |
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GEORGIA PRESENTATION OF REPORT ON THE ROLE OF GUARDIANSHIP AND CARE AUTHORITY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF CAPACITY REFORM.On July 19, 2023, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia held a presentation of the Report on the Role of the Guardianship and Care Authority in the Implementation of the Capacity Reform. Deputy Public Defender Natia Julakidze and USAID programme manager Rusudan Tabatadze delivered welcome speeches at the event. Expert Nana Gochiashvili spoke about the research findings and challenges. |