International activities European Ombudsman Conference in Tallinn In September 2014, the Estonian ombudsman institution organised the Ombudsman Conference of the European Region of the IOI, which takes place every two years. The motto of the conference, which brought representatives of ombudsman institutions from all over Europe to Tallinn to share ideas and experience, was “The role of ombudsman institutions in a democracy”. In her opening address, European Ombudswoman Emily O’Reilly highlighted the cooperation between ombudsman institutions in Europe that is continuously growing closer and more supportive. The subsequent discussions addressed practice-oriented questions, such as the increasingly comprehensive activity of ombudsman institutions within the framework of European and international guidelines and standards. IOI General Secretary Günther Kräuter and Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek attended this conference. Ombudsman institution in Turkey In his function as the IOI Secretary General, Ombudsman Günther Kräuter attended the second International Symposium of Ombudsman Institutions, which took place in October in Ankara. Two years after the establishment of the Turkish Ombudsman Institution, the attendees from the international community were able to see the progress made by the still young institution for themselves. In his speech, IOI Secretary General Günther Kräuter expressed the importance of international cooperation and his satisfaction that the Turkish ombudsman institution had applied for membership in the IOI, which was confirmed at the end of October. 4.2 International cooperation 4.2.1 United Nations / UN conventions Coordinating Committee of NHRIs As a national human rights institution, the AOB has observer status in the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC of NHRIs). In March 2014, Ombudsman Günther Kräuter took part in the ICC annual meeting in Geneva both as Chairperson of the AOB and in his function as IOI Secretary General. The overarching theme of the meeting was “The Role of Prevention in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights”. NHRIs from all over the world discussed numerous topics, including their experiences with the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations and the importance of National Action Plans for Human Rights. This international networking has a high priority for the AOB’s work as national human rights institution, as it enables intensive dialogue that furthers worldwide protection of human rights. Debate on legal protection in the UN Human Rights Council There was a debate at the 27th meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on legal protection of persons who are imprisoned. Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek spoke about the experience of the Austrian National Preventive Mechanism 20