
The Ombudsperson and the Auditor General of the Republic of Kosovo, held a virtual meeting with the Ombudsman and State Comptroller of the State of Israel
Prishtina, 17 January 2022 – The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj and the Auditor General Mrs. Vlora Spanca, accomplished a virtual informative meeting with Mr. Matanyahu Engelman, Ombudsman and the State Comptroller of the state of Israel as well as with Mrs. Dr. Esther Ben-Haim, Chief of the Ombudsman Office in Israel.
The Ombudsperson Mr. Qelaj and the Auditor General Mrs. Spanca, informed their homologues on the role, the mandate and constitutional as well as legal basis on which their mission is carried out, but at the same time they informed on the challenges faced as well as their opportunities and vision to address these challenges in the future.
On the other hand, Mr. Matanyahu and Mrs. Ben-Haim, disclosed their mandate as well as their work and at the same time provided information concerning the unique organization of this institution in Israel, in which the Ombudsman Institution and the State Comptroller operate under the same umbrella, separated into two distinct departments, one in terms of auditing and the other for handling complaints with the emphases on human rights. They informed that the Institution has been established in 1949, which on an annual basis audits 1,500 state authorities, issues 120 audit reports and admits 18,000 complaints. Further, they expressed that they would highly appreciate staff exchange initiatives through organization of roundtables on human rights issues which are in the common interest.
The Ombudsperson of Republic of Kosovo expressed his gratitude to Israeli counterpart for the meeting and appreciated highly his willingness for future cooperation. As countries with very strong historical ties as well as with similar fates, initiation of new opportunities for cooperation is very important for experience and best practices exchanging in order to contribute and influence on advancement of respect of human rights and freedoms, in both states.