We would like to thank the Federal Ministries and other federal, regional and municipal bodies for their willingness to cooperate during the past year. Our particular thanks go to the employees of the Austrian Ombudsman Board, the Commissions and the Human Rights Advisory Council, who formed an integral part of this process of change to which they all contributed actively and significantly and embraced their new competences with a great deal of commitment. Gertrude Brinek Vienna, June 2012 Terezija Stoisits Peter Kostelka