19 July 2016
Samoa’s Office of the Ombudsman Rated A
The Office of the Ombudsman is rated as an ‘A’ status national human rights institution.
This rating according to the Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma was awarded from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).
The awarding of an ‘A’ level grading is the highest that can be awarded and reflects not just the high calibre and work that the Office has submitted since its inception in 2013, but also the independence of the Office to carry out its mandate to promote and protect human rights in Samoa.
This award is testament to the work of the Ombudsman’s office as well as the decision by Government to establish Samoa’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI).
“I believe that we need to do more to educate the community about how human rights principles and faasamoa mutually reinforce each other, rather than conflict each other.
“The office will continue to weave together the faasamoa and human rights principles in all its work in order to advocate for a stronger and more harmonious society,” said Maiava.
The Government of Samoa was congratulated in the recent Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council for the establishment of the NHRI.
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