Is Organisational Ombudspersons The Future? Guest: Giuseppe De Palo

My guest Giuseppe DePalo was the Ombudsperson for United Nations Funds and Programmes. He describes what the UN’s ombuds office does to prevent and resolve work-related disputes (i.e sexual harassment) and why this is needed outside the court system. He talks about the importance of considering mediation to resolve conflict and describes his unique role as an ombuds in detail. He talks about this drive towards informal justice mechanisms spreading into various organisations and expanding into more professional sectors. He also describes the easy opt out system in mandatory mediation in Italy. Throughout this podcast, we hear how Giuseppe promotes mediation as the natural first step in dealing with conflict and how it could work positively in more cases around the world. He makes the point that ‘conflict is going to rise no matter what’.