15 February 2016 – Deputy Ombudsmen Tone Dolčič and Ivan Šelih attended the European conference, ‘Children’s rights behind bars, Human Rights of Children deprived of liberty: Improving Monitoring Mechanisms’, which was held in Brussels (Belgium). The participants spoke about the definition of children’s rights in the policies of the Council of Europe and the European Union, particularly of children deprived of their liberty, and the mechanisms for supervising locations where children deprived of liberty are accommodated. 19 February 2016 – Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih attended a conference entitled ‘Refugee/migrant crisis and human rights’ in Thessaloniki (Greece). At the conference, ombudsmen or representatives of national institutions for human rights from Albania, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey adopted the Regional joint action plan of Ombudsman institutions. The action plan focused particularly on joint activities of Ombudsman institutions regarding protection and promotion of rights of refugees/migrants. 22 February 2016 – Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih attended training organised by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna (Austria). The purpose of the training was to disseminate knowledge on the observance of human rights upon the forced removal of aliens and the development of control mechanisms. 11 March 2016 – In Dom Lukavci Special Social Care Institution near Ljutomer, Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih and mag. Jure Markič examined the conditions in secure wards, particularly regarding overcrowding at these wards and thus related accommodation of certain residents in joint premises of a secured ward. 16 March 2016 – At a special press conference held in Dom Lukavci near Ljutomer and in cooperation with representatives of social care institutions and Tanja Dolar Božič, local court judge from Celje Local Court, the Ombudsman, her Deputy and Head of the National Preventive Mechanism in Slovenia, Ivan Šelih, and mag. Jure Markič spoke about the problems of placing persons with mental disorders in secure wards of special social care institutions. 24 March 2016 – Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih attended a working meeting at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, which was convened after a public warning by the Ombudsman and social care institutions at the press conference in Lukavci. Participants at the meeting addressed the problem of placing people in secure wards of social care institutions on the basis of the Mental Health Act (ZDZdr) and discussed possible solutions. 30 March 2016 – The Ombudsman and her new Deputy, Miha Horvat, held a lecture at the Ombudsman’s premises for students of the Faculty of Social Sciences on the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia and on the functioning of the National Preventive Mechanism as part of the students’ subject, Policy of human rights. 7 April 2016 – At the Ombudsman’s premises, Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih, Martina Ocepek, Director of the Expert Service, and Ombudsman’s adviser Robert Gačnik welcomed a delegation from Macedonia to a study visit. They informed the guests about the establishment and functioning of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, detailed work of the National Preventive Mechanism and procedures when dealing with complaints about the work of the police. 11 April 2016 – Ombudsman’s advisers mag. Jure Markič and Lili Jazbec attended an international conference on the rights of older people, entitled ‘Ageing: Rights for Empowerment’ at Brdo pri Kranju. The conference discussed the issues of older people, their role in society and problems (e.g. discrimination of the elderly), including the search for potential solutions. 13 April 2016 – The Ombudsman, her deputy Tone Dolčič and Ombudsman’s advisers, mag. Jure Markič and Nataša Kuzmič, received at their premises Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, UN Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons. 21–22 April 2016 – Deputy Ombudsman Ivan Šelih and Ombudsman’s adviser mag. Jure Markič attended an international conference in Salzburg (Austria) entitled ‘Homes for the elderly/care institutions and dementia – standards in health care and medication-based deprivation of liberty’. The event was organised by the Austrian Ombudsman in cooperation with the Austrian Human Rights Institute in Salzburg within the framework of the presidency of the SEE NPM Network. 22 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE NPM IN 2016 NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM UNDER THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT