OMBUDSMEN OF WESTERN BALKANS ESTABLISH COOPERATION

SARAJEVO, Jan 25 (Hina) - Ombudsmen of the Western Balkan countries will intensify cooperation and contacts in order to improve the functioning of the public administration in their respective countries, Frank Orton, Bosnia-Herzegovina's ombudsman, said in Sarajevo on Saturday. #L# Orton initiated the first meeting of ombudsmen from Bosnia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, who met in the Bosnian capital today. Croatia's representative at the meeting was ombudsman Ante Klaric. The meeting focused on ways to improve the functioning of the administration, Orton told reporters, adding that the countries had different problems with regard to the public administration. The main priority of all ombudsmen at the moment is to promote and apply laws on freedom of access to information. The ombudsmen, who believe that citizens are not adequately informed about their rights, agreed to organise a campaign the purpose of which would be to force the public administration to act more responsibly. Stressing the importance of such laws, Orton said that Bosnia- Herzegovina would follow the example of other countries in the region and establish a single ombudsman's office, instead of the current three - one on the state and two on entity levels. The ombudsmen share the view that their job is such that it enables involvement in almost any problem. However, they also believe that it is necessary to precisely define their and politicians' tasks because the overlapping of powers and tasks frequently causes unnecessary problems. (hina) rml