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Québec City hosts francophone ombudsman convention

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Francophonie

Mediators and ombudsmen from 25 francophone countries converged on Québec City from September 7 to 9. Some 75 officials took part in the sixth convention of the Association des ombudsman et médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF), held around the theme “Mediators, politics and justice: Toward equitable access to rights.”

Loupe

Front: Jean-Paul Delevoye, French Republic Mediator and AOMF Secretary General; Bernard Richard, New Brunswick Ombudsman and Child & Youth Advocate and AOMF President; Fatima Houda-Pepin, Senior Deputy Speaker of the Québec National Assembly; Raymonde Saint-Germain, Québec Ombudsman and convention host; the Honourable Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada; and Marc Fishbach, Mediator of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Photo: Christian Chevalier, Québec National Assembly

The program featured roundtables, lectures and discussions about the role and challenges of ombudsmen in francophone countries. The event was held in the Legislative Council room of the National Assembly. The participants also looked at initiatives deployed by francophone countries with respect to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, launched 20 years ago.

The participants included former Canadian Supreme Court Judge Claire L’Heureux-Dubé, French Republic Mediator Jean-Paul Delevoye and Hugo Sada, Delegate for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights at the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

Created in 1998, the AOMF groups together 50-odd institution members around the world. Supported by the OIF, it promotes the role of ombudsmen and mediators in francophone countries and favours training, studies and research in this area. The sixth AOMF convention was co-organized by the Québec Ombudsman, in collaboration with the Québec National Assembly, the OIF and the Ministère des Relations internationales.

Association des ombudsmans et médiateurs de la Francophonie (in French)