Elected for the first time as a Cypriot Commissioner to the Board of Directors of the European Region of the International Institute of Mediators
The Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottidis, was elected to the Board of Directors as one of the Directors of the European Region of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI Europe) and as the only woman on the Board.
As stated in an announcement by the Commissioner's Office, in a recent election process for the selection, by secret ballot, of the seven directors of the Board of Directors of the IOI European Region, in which more than 90 Ombudsmen/Commissioners of Management and Human Rights Institutes that fall under the European Region participated Region of the IOI, Ms. Lottidi was elected as one of the Directors of the Board of Directors of the IOI European Region.
The election for the first time of a Cypriot Commissioner to the Board of Directors of the European Region of the International Institute of Mediators, is an important moment for the institution of the Commissioner of Administration for the country which in this way increases its influence in European affairs and the imprint of Cyprus as a European state of law, states the Office, adding that this also demonstrates "the international recognition of the work carried out by the institution of the Administrative Commissioner and his dedication to the defense of human rights in the Republic of Cyprus and the defense of good administration and the principles of the rule of law". .
According to the announcement, the International Institute of Ombudsmen (IOI) was founded in 1978 and is the pre-eminent global cooperation organization of more than 200 independent institutions of Ombudsmen/Commissioners from more than 100 countries worldwide.
The IOI (International Ombudsman Institute) is organized into six Regions (Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, and North America).
Each Region of the IOI aims, among other things, to promote regional participation in the activities of the IOI, to decentralize the work and actions of the IOI,
The main objective of the Regions of the IOI is to promote and ensure by the Directors of the region (Board of Directors) the protection of human rights, and good governance, as well as the basic principles of the IOI, that is, independence, objectivity and justice.
Furthermore, the IOI promotes cooperation with international partner organizations, capacity building through conferences, trainings and exchange of good practices among its members, providing practical support to Ombudsmen/Commissioners who are under threat or operating under adverse conditions, as well as providing expertise in matters of good governance and the rule of law.