Office of the Ombudsman (Antigua and Barbuda)
Encyclopedia
The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent officer of Parliament appointed under Section 66 of the Antigua and Barbuda
Constitution. It is accredited as a national human rights institution (NHRI) but with the lowest ('C') status accorded by the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs
(ICC). It has only limited participation in the regional NHRI network, the Network of National Institutions in the Americas
. Like most ombudsman
offices it is primarily concerned with addressing maladministration
in public bodies, rather than human rights violations.
The current Ombudsman is Dr Hayden Thomas, who was appointed Antigua and Barbuda's first Ombudsman in 1995 and was later elected President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association, member of the Board of Directors of the International Ombudsman Institute
(IOI) and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Special Fund for Ombudsman and other National Human Rights Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
Constitution. It is accredited as a national human rights institution (NHRI) but with the lowest ('C') status accorded by the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs
International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions
The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, sometimes shortened to the International Coordinating Committee , is a global network of national human rights institutions - administrative bodies set up to promote, protect and monitor human rights in a given country...
(ICC). It has only limited participation in the regional NHRI network, the Network of National Institutions in the Americas
Network of National Institutions in the Americas
The Network of National Institutions in the Americas is one of four regional groups of national human rights institutions within the global network, the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs...
. Like most ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
offices it is primarily concerned with addressing maladministration
Maladministration
Maladministration is a political term which describes the actions of a government body which can be seen as causing an injustice.The law in the United Kingdom says Ombudsman must investigate ‘maladministration’...
in public bodies, rather than human rights violations.
The current Ombudsman is Dr Hayden Thomas, who was appointed Antigua and Barbuda's first Ombudsman in 1995 and was later elected President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association, member of the Board of Directors of the International Ombudsman Institute
International Ombudsman Institute
The International Ombudsman Institute was established in 1978 as an independent global organisation to help more than 150 independent local, regional and national Ombudsman institutions to cooperate...
(IOI) and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Special Fund for Ombudsman and other National Human Rights Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
External links
- Office of the Ombudsman (official site)
- Antigua and Barbuda, Office of the Ombudsman (BASESwiki)