OSCE Skopje Mission supports Ombudsman staff training

SKOPJE, 15 December 2005 - A training course for Ombudsman deputies and investigators on professional and standardised case handling procedures, and good governance ended today in Skopje.

The four-day event, aimed at improving the overall efficiency of the Ombudsman Institution, was the first of its kind to be conducted within the framework of the Ombudsman Support Project, implemented by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.

The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency.

"The expansion of the Ombudsman from one central to six regional offices requires developing the skills of the current and newly-recruited personnel," said Andrew Palmer, Programme Director for Institution Building in the OSCE Mission to Skopje Rule of Law Unit.

Maja Spasovksa, investigator from the Tetovo Regional Ombudsman Office, said: "I will share with my colleagues the newly-obtained skills on how to better manage the cases of citizens who come to our office with complaints. It has been very helpful to learn from experts the most effective operational procedures to create an efficiently functioning Ombudsman institution."

Efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ombudsman are integral to the OSCE's ongoing work in the area of rule of law.

A second training course for 15 newly-hired staff members will take place in early 2006.