Twinning programme with the Ombudsman of Serbia
In September 2011 the twinning programme “Support to the strengthening of the Ombudsman Office of Serbia” was successfully completed. The project was implemented in cooperation with the Dutch Ombudsman and the European Public Law Center for the period 10.2009-9.2011. The European Ombudsman, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, the Austrian Ombudsman Board and the Catalan Ombudsman also contributed at the implementation phase.
The project aimed to support the Serbian Ombudsman in an effort to improve its operational capacity and consolidate it in Serbia as well as in the international community of Ombudsmen.
The main objectives were:
• Setting out the mission and vision of the Serbian Ombudsman.
• Improving organizational structure and workflow.
• Building public profile and increasing awareness among citizens, civil society, specific social and professional groups.
• Networking with local, regional and international Ombudsman offices.
To achieve the objectives of the project, training activities, visits, conferences, public events and workshops with experts and scientists from peer institutions from Greece, Holland, Slovenia, Austria, and Spain are carried out.
The Code for Good Administrative Behaviour in Serbia is among the most important activities of the twinning project conducted in 2010. The new Code was based on the relevant Code of the European Ombudsman, and the version for Serbia was prepared jointly by the European Ombudsman and the Serbian Ombudsman. It was presented and delivered to the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament in a public event and conference in June 2010, in which the European Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, participated as keynote speaker and the "ambassador" of the Code.
Programme “Peer To Peer II”
The Ombudsman participates in «Peer to Peer ΙΙ» programme, which is implemented by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, co-financed by the European Council and the EU. The programme aims to create an active network of independent national cooperation structures for human rights, with particular emphasis on EU non-member states. The main tool of the programme is the organization of seminars, bringing together scientists specialized in national institutions for human rights, in order to exchange information on legal principles and practices used in Europe in the field of human rights. Greek Ombudsman investigators participated in:
• Ombudsman participated in seminars held in Padua (June 2010) and Bilbao (November 2010).
• A representative of the Ombudsman participated in the annual meeting of the Contact Group of the programme, which took place (3 December 2010) in Strasbourg.
• Seminar co-organised by the Ombudsman of Ukraine «The Role of National Human Rights Structures in Protecting and Promoting the Rights of Persons with Physical Disabilities» in Kiev (24-25 May 2011).
• Seminar co-organised by the Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina «5th Thematic Workshop: The Role of National Human Rights Structures in Protecting Against all Forms of Discrimination» in Sarajevo (28-29 September 2011).
The Greek Ombudsman was a partner in the support programme for the Ombudsman of Georgia
In 2008 following an international competition, the Greek Ombudsman was selected by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Georgia as part of a team to implement a programme of technical support for strengthening this peer institution. The Greek Ombudsman's Office provided assistance in strategic planning, working with government departments and agencies to improve compliance of services, and communication. This partnership involved the European Public Law Organization (Greece), Raoul Wallenberg Institute (Sweden), the Civic Development Institute (Georgia) and Human Dynamics (Austria).