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January : Greek-Austrian Consortium, Twinning Partner with the future Turkish Ombudsman
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Between 23-25 February, the GO hosted a 3-member delegation of the FYR of Macedonia Ombudsman, which was headed by the Ombudsman himself Mr. Idzet Memeti. The visit aimed to familiarize the staff of the FYR Ombudsman with the experience of the Greek Ombudsman on matters of common interest as well as to evaluate the varied constitutional roles of the institution. The seminar sessions focused on the handling of the citizen complains. It was especially discussed the handling of cases concerning human rights, children rights and of issues concerning the welfare and the protection of natural and cultural environment. Also in the framework of the visit a meeting was organized with the Greek Minister of Justice, Mr Anastasis Papaligouras in which possibilities of bilateral cooperation on issues of common interest were discussed.

Between 21-23 April a 3-member delegation of the Greek Ombudsman’s Children Rights department, headed by the deputy Ombudsman Mr. Giorgos Moschos, visited Albania. This visit aimed to promote the communication and cooperation links between authorities in Greece and Albania and the NGOs competent in combating the problem of children trafficking and exploitation. The delegation met with the Albanian Ombudsman’s children rights department exchanging information on the handling of specific cases. They also cooperated with Albanian public authorities and the international NGO “Terre des Homme” on activities related with the reception of children trafficking victims and visited schools in the region of Fier and families of returned children who have been victims of trafficking.

Between 9-11 June a training seminar was held in the area of Lemos at Prespa Lakes, with the cooperation of the Society for the Protection of Prespa. The seminar aimed to enhance the environmental case handling capacity of SEE Ombudsman institutions staff members, capitalizing on the experience and knowledge of the Greek and other EU Ombudsmen on such issues. The seminar hosted Ombudsman representatives from Albania, Austria, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Spain, Serbia – Montenegro ( Kosovo, Montenegro, Vojvodina) and the FYR of Macedonia.

On 12 June a delegation from Greek Ombudsman comprised by the Ombudsman himself, Mr. Kaminis, the deputy Ombudsman for the Quality of Life department, Ms. Hatzi and the Eunomia project manager Mr. Christopoulos visited the seat of the Ombudsman institution of FYR of Macedonia in Skopje. The GO representatives were extensively briefed by its counterparts on their activities and commonly explored way of future cooperation between the two institutions.

On 20 June Greek Ombudsman’s senior investigator Mr. Haris Papacharalambous, joined a team of experts, set up by the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner in order to assist in the formulation of the Serbian Ombudsman draft law. The team discussed its ideas before the Committee for European Integration of the Serbian Parliament, continuing the cooperation that has been placed on tracks in 2004, throught the CoE’s and Eunomia’s activities.

Between 7 - 11 September the EUNOMIA project participated and funded a session on the role of the Ombudsman in promoting good governance in the HALKI International Seminar on “Security Sector Reform in Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean: Lessons and Challenges” organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and held at the Dodecanese island of Halki . Ms. Chryssi Hatzi, Deputy Ombudsman of the Greek Ombudsman, chaired the session in which Mr. Micha Lindenstrauss, State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel, Mr. Dagfinn Hjertenes, Ombudsman for the Armed Forces of Norway and Mr. Dimitris Christopoulos, Eunomia Project Manager delivered speeches on the role of the Ombudsman and the security reform process.
The objective of the seminar was to bring together 60 experts from Southeastern (SEE) and the Mediterranean/M. East regions to analyse the lessons learned from Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts in SEE and the Black Sea Region and whether these lessons could be applied to the Mediterranean/M. East. Participants discussed the current situation in countries of interest and what should be the next steps in both region, with the objective of preparing a final report with conclusions and policy recommendations that will be widely disseminated among policy-makers, experts and other involved individuals and institutions in the Mediterranean/M. East, SEE, the Black Sea region, Europe and the U.S.

On the 10th and 11th  of October a seminar on the topic of “Ombudsman for Children Rights in Southeastern Europe” was organised in the premises of the Lawyers Bar Association of Thessaloniki, Greece, with the cooperation of the non governmental organisation “ARSIS”. Delegations from ombudsman institutions from Albania, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Slovenia attended the seminar. Cases handled by the Ombudsman institutions of the region, involving infringements of children’s rights, were presented and the participants identified best practices. The seminar concluded with an open session in which the findings of the event were presented to the public and civic society institutions’ representatives.

In October the peer evaluation activity of the Eunomia project was initiated with a staff exchange between the Greek and Albanian Ombudsman.  During the month of October, Mrs. Ridvana Ruci, deputy ombudsman assistant at the Albanian Ombudsman, joined the everyday working procedures of the Greek Ombudsman’s Human Rights department.

From the 21st of November Mrs. Kalliopi Lykovardi, senior investigator of the Greek Ombudsman, was stationed at the Albanian Ombudsman’s office, as a follow up to Mrs. Ridvana Ruci’s visit.
An evaluation report will be prepared by the two participating staff members of the Albanian and Greek Ombudsman and submitted, within 2006, to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, under whose auspices the Eunomia project operates. 
The staff exchange activity aims at providing the participating Ombudsmen institutions with the chance to enrich and consolidate already existing links of cooperation, identify best practices and establish common means of dealing with similar issues.

From the 7th to the 10th of November, the Greek Ombudsman, in light of the imminent adoption of the relevant legislation for the establishment of an Ombudsman institution in Turkey and the launching of the Twinning Project between the Turkish and Greek as well as the Austrian Ombudsman, invited Mr. Mehmet Elkatmis, Chairman of Human Rights Inquiry Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Prof. Dr. Zehra Odyakmaz, Chairman of the Law Drafting Commission, and Mr. Kenan Ozdemir, Vice Director General of Legislation Department of the Ministry of Justice on a three-day study visit at our offices in Athens. The aim of the visit was to provide the Turkish delegation with a first hand experience of the Greek Ombudsman’s day-to-day practices and functions, an introduction to our staff and the chance to learn more about the role the ombudsman institution plays within the Greek political system.

Between 23rd and 24th  of November a delegation of the Greek Ombudsman visited the office of the newly elected ombudsman of Bulgaria. The purpose of the visit was to provide technical assistance in the process of establishing the electronic archiving system of the Bulgarian institution.