The Commission participated in the first Regional Conference for Ombudsmen of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states in Djibouti City, Djibouti, from 10th to 11thDecember, 2017.
The Conference, whose theme was ‘Migration, Public Protection and Human Security’, was organised by IGAD for experience sharing and development of a regional approach to addressing the challenges related to migration, public protection and human security in the IGAD region.
All the IGAD member states were represented at the Conference (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti). The Conference hailed the role of the Ombudsmen of Kenya and Ethiopia in promoting good governance in Africa through their leadership in the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association.
While noting the governance challenges facing the Region, the Ombudsmen/ Mediators signed a declaration, known as the Djibouti Declaration, to provide a platform for future engagement with IGAD. The Declaration called upon IGAD Secretariat to draft and submit an IGAD Regional Charter for Ombudspersons and Mediators to be presented for consideration and adoption in the next IGAD-Ombudsmen/Mediators Platform in 2018 for adoption.
