Regional Colloquium for Ombudsman Institutions in Africa Welcoming Remarks by Ms. Nardos Bekele-Thomas UN Resident Coordinator UNDP Resident Representative

Abstract

The Ombudsman offices have an important mandate to engage with citizens and to listen to their issues by receiving complaints from them on issues relating to human rights as well as public service delivery or lack of thereof, depending on each Ombudsman’s specific mandate. The complaints that the institutions receive shed light onto problems that people face each day. Every complaint matters because every individual behind a complaint matters. These complaints should not only be an opportunity to address individual challenges but to carefully assess structural or institutional matters that need targeted and multidisciplinary intervention.