Armenian Ombudsperson presents Azerbaijan’s policy of spreading ethnic and religious hatred to US Congressmen

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan met with a number of members of the US Congressional Armenian Caucus in the United States Capitol, the Ombudsperson’s Office said.

The meeting was attended by US Congressmen Frank Pallone, Jackie Speier, Judy Chu, David Valadao, Linda Sanchez, Grace Meng and John Sarbanes.

During the meeting Ombudsperson Grigoryan presented the situation of human rights in Armenia, focusing on the priorities of the Defender’s institution. She introduced the Congressmen on the actions taken by her Office with the families of prisoners of war and civilian persons held in Azerbaijan, presented the issue of the immediate repatriation of POWs and other civilian captives, which, she said, is an international obligation assumed by Azerbaijan. In the context of humanitarian problems, she presented the issues of the families of missing persons and the displaced people.

The sides also discussed the cases of discrimination based on a disability, focusing on the problems of children with disability. The US Congressmen thanked the Armenian Ombudswoman for the consistent work on key matters and expressed readiness to continue their efforts for solving the problems.

On the same day the Armenian Ombudswoman also had a discussion at the Atlantic Council think tank, presenting the Azerbaijani leadership’s policy of promoting and spreading ethnic and religious-based hatred.

The meeting sides asked the Ombudwosman about the current rallies in Armenia, and in response Kristinne Grigoryan presented the activities being carried out by her Office and the assessments to the incidents. She highlighted the importance of consistent implementation of police reforms.