2. THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND HIS DEPUTIES IN HUNGARY AND ABROAD 39 with recommendations and advice, and he/she also supports the National Human Rights Institutions. Similarly to her predecessors, the new Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Ms. Dunja Mijatović received a warm welcome from our Office. During her visit to Hungary in February 2019, she focused her attention on the envisaged establishment of administrative courts. During their meeting, Ms. Dunja Mijatović and the Commissioner exchanged ideas on human rights and migration, human rights defenders and the civil society, gender equality, and the enforcement of women’s rights. The consulting body of the Council of Europe, consisting of Visit of the delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe at the Office, 19 March 2019 prestigious lawyers, academics, constitutional and international law experts, the Venice Commission elaborated the so-called Venice Principles, aimed at the strengthening and protection of Ombudsman institutions. In May 2019, the Venice Principles consisting of 25 points were also approved by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Related to this topic, on the International Human Rights Day (10 December 2019), an international conference was organised, to which the Hungarian Ombudsman was also invited. Dr. Ákos Kozma was pleased to attend the conference titled “The Role of the Venice Principles in Strengthening Ombudsman Institutions”, which was organised by the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen (AOM) and the Ombudsman institution of Cyprus. During the conference, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe Ms. Dunja Mijatović at the Office – 5 February 2019 participants reviewed the role of the Venice Principles in strengthening the independence of Ombudsman institutions, as well as the challenges that the world’s Ombudsmen are facing at present and in the future. Before and after the conference, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights established contacts with a high number of national and regional Ombudsmen, among others, with the President of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) Mr. Peter Tyndall, the Secretary General of the organisation Mr. Werner Amon, as well as the President of AOM Mr. Andreas Pottakis. During these exchanges of ideas, the Ombudsmen also reviewed possibilities of future cooperation. On behalf of the Council of Europe, the expert staff members of the department responsible for the supervision of the implementation of the decisions adopted by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, focusing on Hungarian cases, came to Budapest between 28 and 30 October 2019 primarily to hold coordination talks with the Government representatives and those of the competent ministries and authorities regarding a few specific cases. With regard to the fact that National Human Rights Institutions play a distinguished role in the system of the Convention and the implementation of the decisions of the Court, the primary objective of the visit to the Office was to establish personal contact and explore possibilities of future cooperation, on account of the taking office of the newly elected Ombudsman Dr. Ákos Kozma in September. President of the International Ombudsman Institute Mr. Peter Tyndall and Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Dr. Ákos Kozma at the IOI conference in Cyprus – 10 December 2019