published by Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer in 2008, a research project initiated by the IOI, which is dedicated to a comparative analysis of ombudsman institutions in the APOR Region, was concluded in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights (BIM). The next part of the series of studies will concentrate on Asia. The thematic focus is on an analysis of the legal principles, how they are embedded in the political system, as well as an analysis of the mandates of the respective ombudsman institutions. International organisations Council of Europe During his three-day visit in Vienna, the Human Rights Commissioner for the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, met with members of the AOB. He showed an interest in details regarding the expansion of the competence of the AOB and, in this context, gathered information about the basic elements of how human rights protection is implemented in Austria. ICC / OHCHR After its reaccreditation, the AOB, as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), is represented on the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of National Human Rights Institutions with a B-status. In this function, it has regularly made its expertise on areas that are relevant to human rights available, particularly to the European Group of the ICC. Furthermore, upon invitation of the OHCHR, the AOB has spoken out extensively regarding the review of the country report for Austria in respect of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). OSCE In late 2012, the Handbook for NHRIs on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality by the OSCE/ODIHR came out. The AOB actively participated in this project, contributing to information sharing in this field. FRA Every year, the European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) organises a meeting of the National Human Rights Institutions of the EU member states. The AOB was also represented at one of these annual meetings which took place in April 2012 in Vienna. Additionally, the AOB also took advantage of the opportunity to participate in a follow-up meeting of the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP). In 2012, the AOB provided input for a handbook about the accreditation of National Human Rights Institutions, which was published by FRA. 96