Over the past two decades, the Control Yuan ensures effective communication by developing and maintaining relations with individuals and organizations dedicated to the promotion or protection of human and citizens’ rights, such as actively participating in international ombudsman meetings, regularly inviting important members in the arena of international ombudsmen to visit, conducting communication and research with other supervisory institutions, supporting research and disseminating information about the institution of ombudsman, all of which aim to increase the world’s understanding of our mandates.
The Control Yuan became a voting member of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) in August, 1994. IOI, a worldwide non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Vienna, Austria, was founded in 1978. Its purpose is to advocate the concepts of ombudsman and human rights, to strengthen ideas in this domain and to promote popularization of the systems. Moreover, it serves as a bridge of communication for the world’s ombudsman offices.
After joining the IOI in 1994, the Control Yuan then held the international conference on “The Ombudsman Concept” in Taipei in the following month, turning over a new leaf of East-West communication in ombudsman institutions. In order to set works of various international affairs in motion, in December of 1994, in the 24th plenary meeting of the second Control Yuan, a plan to establish an international affairs committee was resolved. The next year, on January 9th, during the 26th plenary meeting of the second Control Yuan, the “Provisions for the Establishment the Control Yuan International Affairs Committee” was approved, aiming to strengthen communication and cooperation with international ombudsman organizations and the ombudsman institutions of other nations. The International Affairs Committee also exerts efforts to internationalize the implementation of control power and is in charge of the contact and general affairs between the Control Yuan and other international ombudsman organizations.
The Control Yuan began participating in the Australasian and Pacific Ombudsman Region (APOR) Conference as an observer in 1999. In the same year, the Control Yuan officially filed an application to transfer its membership from the Asian Region to APOR, and started attending regional meetings regularly since 2002.
The 31st APOR Conference was held in September 2019. It was the second regional international conference held in Taiwan since the Control Yuan became an official member of APOR. The theme of the conference was “The Ombudsman’s Role in Human Rights Protection.” The Control Yuan wished, through holding this conference, to fulfill its obligation as a voting member thoroughly as well as playing the role of host country well. The Control Yuan aimed to enhance understanding between regional members and international leaders on the social and economic development of our nation as well as how we practice our ombudsman powers. At the same time, the Control Yuan seeks to expand its international engagements with ombudsman groups for human rights at home and abroad. The above-mentioned aspects are both crucial and meaningful.
The Control Yuan has valued international exchange and maintained friendly relations with IOI leaders over the years. To date, six IOI presidents, two vice-presidents and five secretary-generals have visited Taiwan.
The Control Yuan also attends IOI meeting regularly. In October 2022, a Control Yuan delegation attended 34th APOR Conference and the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Ombudsman in Wellington, NZ. The theme of the conference was remaining relevant and getting government to listen.