Organization

The Ombudsman is supported in the execution of her duties by the staff of the Office of the Ombudsman Aruba.

The staff is directly employed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman and the office staff are not subordinate to any entity in the performance of their duties, which secures and guarantees their independent and impartial position.

The functional management of the Office of the Ombudsman is in the hands of the Secretary (‘Secretaris’ in Dutch), who carries out this task in close consultation with and under the instructions of the Ombudsman.

The Deputy Secretary (‘Adjunct Secretaris’ in Dutch) supports the Ombudsman for the Children and the Secretary in their work.

The Office of the Ombudsman consists further of:

• 2 (Legal) Policy officers – in Dutch called ‘(Juridisch) Beleidsmedewerkers’,
• 2 Complaints handler and investigators – in Dutch called ‘Klachtbehandelaars en onderzoekers’,
• 1 Customer service officer – in Dutch called ‘Medewerker klantenservice’,
• 1 Technical support staf – in Dutch called ‘Medewerker technische ondersteuning’,
• 1 Operational and financial officer – in Dutch called ‘Operationeel en financieel medewerker’ and,
• 1 Medewerker communicatie – in Dutch called ‘Communication officer’.

The office is led by the Ombudsman, ms. Jurima Bryson, LLM. She was sworn in on October 1, 2024 as the first Ombudsman of Aruba.

The appointment of an Ombudsman is made by the Parliament for a 6-year term.

The Ombudsman has the task, in a broad sense, of promoting that citizens are treated properly by institutions, and of promoting that human rights are respected.

The Ombudsman has the task, in a general sense, of promoting that citizens are treated properly by institutions, and that human rights are respected.

Ombudsman for the Children

According to Aruba’s legislation, the Office of the Ombudsman also has an Ombudsman for the Children. The Ombudsman for the Children provides an important addition to the protection of the rights of the child and the youth. Among other things, the Ombudsman for the Children must be accessible to children. Namely, children cannot, due to their position in society, go to court themselves and are less able to come up for their rights. It can also be the case that a child cannot turn to a trusted adult. In comparison to the Ombudsman, the authority of the Ombudsman for the Children is limited to persons who have not yet reached the age of eighteen.