Cooperation with the Asian Ombudsman Association
The Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) is an International Non-Governmental Organization that brings together ombudsman institutions in the Asia region. The Association was founded in 1996, with the primary aim of enhancing cooperation among member organizations and promoting and advocating for the protection of human rights.
The main activities of the Association include organizing conferences, seminars, research projects, and awareness-raising events related to human rights protection. AOA also collaborates with the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) and other regional ombudsman networks.
The members of AOA include ombudsman institutions from various Asian countries, and the Secretariat of the organization operates under the Federal Ombudsman Institution of Pakistan.
Since its establishment, the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institution has been cooperating with AOA. The Ombudsman was first accepted as an associate member of the Association in 2003. On August 25, 2010, the Ombudsman applied for institutional membership. During the 12th conference of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA), held in Tokyo and Numazu, Japan, from December 2-8, 2011, the proposals of the Ombudsman regarding future cooperation were heard and discussed. Following the decision of the General Assembly of the Association, the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institution was accepted as an institutional (full) member.
The Ombudsman Institution has also actively participated in the Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) project launched by AOA with the support of the Asian Development Bank since 2010. Under this project, employees of member institutions of AOA have had the opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience by closely familiarizing themselves with the work of other institutions. A staff member of the Office participated in a seminar organized within the RETA project in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur on 12-17 July 2010. Within the framework of this project, the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institution was represented at the international conference held in Manila, Philippines, from August 22-26, 2010, organized jointly by AOA and the Philippine Ombudsman. From February 6-13, 2010, two employees of the institution participated in a training seminar organized by the Thailand Ombudsman Institution. On March 6-14, 2010, another event of the project was held in Manila, where staff from the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institution participated in an experience exchange format at the Philippine Ombudsman Institution. From March 2-14, 2010, one more employee of the Ombudsman’s office participated in another experience exchange event at the Pakistan Federal Ombudsman Institution. In total, in 2010, five employees of the institution participated in various experience exchange programs organized by the AOA, gaining knowledge and enhancing their skills in the field of human rights.
On 24 November 2015, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan was elected the Vice-President at the 14th meeting of the AOA General Assembly in Islamabad, Pakistan. On 11 September 2023, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan was elected the Vice-President for the next time at the 24th annual meeting of the AOA Board of Directors in Kazan, Tatarstan.
Within the framework of international cooperation, the Azerbaijan Ombudsman’s Office organized the 14th meeting of the AOA Board of Directors on June 19, 2012, the 21st meeting on October 2, 2018, and the 23rd meeting on October 18, 2022, in Baku.
Upon the initiative of the Ombudsman, a session on business and human rights was included in the 25th Meeting of the AOA Board of Directors which was held in Istanbul, Türkiye. The Ombudsman provided information about the activities carried out in the country on business and human rights during the session in which the ombudspersons of Pakistan, Türkiye, Iran, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Tatarstan participated.
The Ombudsman’s proposal for establishing a regional cooperation platform within the AOA to learn relevant good practices and to advance the undertaken activities as well as to choose focal points from each institution was positively assessed by the participants. Considering this proposal, organizing an awareness-raising event to strengthen the activity of national human rights mechanisms in the field of business and human rights was reflected in the 2024 Actional Plan of the Association, and in December, the Ombudsman Office organized an online event on business and human rights for the member institutions. The Ombudsman briefed the participants from the ombudsman and national human rights institutions of Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Tatarstan, and China, as well as of other countries of the Asian region about the educational activities carried out about business and human rights and the national baseline assessment document prepared in cooperation with UNDP.
