AOMF Meeting in Monaco – Protecting the rights of future generations

Upon the invitation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a member of the Board of Directors of La Francophonie network since 2018 the Principality hosted, in a ‘hybrid’ format due to the public health emergency, a major International Meeting of the Ombudsmen and Mediators of La Francophonie (AOMF), on 12 and 13 July 2021, focusing on the theme of “Protecting the rights of future generations: what role for the Ombudsmen?”.

Thirty-four independent rights protection institutions from 25 French-speaking countries took part, alongside representatives of invited international organisations (the O.I.F. and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe) and a panel of experts consisting of researchers, academics and specialist practitioners.

This Monaco Meeting, which was opened by H.S.H. Prince Albert II, was devoted to exploring in a forward-looking manner the role that public and independent institutions to promote the protection of rights could play in defending the rights of future generations, in light of the increasingly urgent need to make their voices heard in the face of the acceleration around the world of the social and environmental crises that threaten to jeopardise their future irreversibly.

In line with the priorities of the O.I.F. related to the protection of children and youth and the commitment of the Sovereign Prince to the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, this theme - discussed on day 1 - echoed much international news in recent months, marked by unprecedented judicial decisions in Germany, Belgium and especially in France, under the impetus of citizen collectives, to force States to accelerate the implementation of measures to combat global warming.

Day 2 focused on exchanges revolving around the issues related to the protection of fundamental rights in these times of the pandemic.

A Declaration was voted on at the end of the Meeting, to take stock of the reflections undertaken and to propose possible solutions aimed at a further consideration and at the protection of future generations.