Ombudsman seminar (Lemos, Greek Prespa, 10-11 June 2005)

A capacity-building seminar for the promotion of Ombudsman institutions in Southeastern Europe was held at Lemos, on the Greek side of Prespa, on 10-11 June 2005. The seminar was entitled “Handling of Environmental Cases by the Ombudsman”, and aimed to utilize and transfer the knowledge and experience of the Greek Ombudsman on cases dealing with environmental protection, to their counterparts in Southeastern Europe. The seminar covered a wide range of environmental issues encountered in the Ombudsman’s work, through experience-sharing, reflection, and in-depth discussion among all participants. Particular emphasis was given to transboundary areas of ecological significance, and in this regard, three moot cases were presented by the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) and discussed among the participants, addressing specific problems of illegalities/ maladministration in each side of the Prespa basin.

The seminar was organised by the Greek Ombudsman’s office (within the frame of the Greek Ombudsman’s “Eunomia” programme operating under the auspices of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe,) in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Prespa. Participants included high-level delegations from Ombudsman institutions in Europe and international organizations, officials from the Council of Europe, academics and environmental NGO representatives.