The Ombudsman of Sint Maarten, Dr. Nilda Arduin, along with the Secretary General of the Bureau, Mr. Randolf Duggins, will be attending the 11th IOI World Conference in Bangkok Thailand, from the 14 – 19 November, 2016. The theme of the Conference is: Evolution of Ombudsmanship.
The World Conference for Ombudsmen organized by the International Ombudsman Institute, is held every four years.
Dr. Arduin is a Director representing the Latin America and Caribbean region on the IOI board since November 2012. The World Conference will be attended by representatives from all continents among others: Argentina, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Korea, China, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, United Kingdom, USA, New Zealand. Dr. Arduin is one of the featured speakers at the World Conference and will be giving a presentation on the topic: Ombudsmen in times of crises under threat – Caribbean situation. For this a regional query was performed in collaboration with various Ombudsmen of the region.
Prior to the start of the Conference regional meetings are scheduled to discuss issues prevalent to the various regions, and to elect the Directors of the Board for the period 2016 to 2020. These meetings will be followed by the annual IOI Board meeting.
As the current President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association (CAROA), Dr. Arduin is pleased to note that the Caribbean region will be properly represented at the World Conference with a considerable contingent of IOI members and support staff. This includes the Ombudsmen / Complaint Commissioners from: Curaçao, British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda, Trinidad & Tobago and the BES-islands.