PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, May 22nd 2015, the Ombudsman, Dr. Nilda Arduin left for Curacao to attend the 8th Caribbean Ombudsman Membership Conference.
The theme of the conference is "Human rights –the measuring rod for Good Governance."
Renown speakers will be will be making presentations on the topic. Dr. Arduin will be speaking on "Human Rights an Intrinsic element of Good Administration"; other speakers will be addressing other areas of human rights in relation to the role of the Ombudsman.
Another topic that will be presented is "Corporate Governance and State-Owned Enterprises".
A highlight of the conference is a two day Anti-Corruption Training sponsored by the International Ombudsman Institute (I.O.I.).
"Following the very successful anti-corruption training program conducted by the International anti-corruption Academy (IACA) at its seat in Austria in 2013, the I.O.I. decided to make this training available to its members and open it to members of the CAROA."
"The high profile training event is directed towards investigative staff of Ombudsman Institutions with an anti-corruption mandate. Participants will benefit from sharing best practices with their international co-participants as well as the lecturers in order to promote transparency, accountability and good governance in the public administration on a regional, national and international level."
The Ombudsman, Dr. Arduin as member of the Board of the I.O.I. was instrumental in bringing the Anti-corruption training to the region to allow for non-Ombudsmen to attend. Considering the importance of the topic and training for our country, Dr .Arduin has sought and received permission to extend an invitation to stakeholders in her jurisdiction beyond the Bureau of the Ombudsman. An invitation was sent to His Excellency Lloyd Richardson, President of Parliament, His Excellency Marcel Gumbs, Prime Minister of Sint Maarten and the Honorable Dennis Richardson, Minister of Justice to send a representative of their respective bodies to this vital training. As the host country, the Minister of Justice of Curacao and entourage, the President of the joint Court of Appeal among others will be attending.
The Ombudsman urged government to make use of this unique opportunity to be enlightened and trained on the topic, which touches on Integrity within government. Information reaching the Ombudsman prior to her departure is that persons from the other High Councils of State and within some of the ministries will be attending the training. Ms. Gwendolien Mossel, the new Legal Advisor of the Ombudsman Sint Maarten together with the Ombudsman will be attending the training.
