Armenian Ombudsperson in Copenhagen presents issues of disclosing torture cases among displaced persons

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan on November 6-8 participated in the 14th international conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in Copenhagen.

The Secretary General of the Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office Nina Pirumyan also participated in the conference entitled "Torture and other ill-treatment: the role of National Human Rights Institutions.’’

The aim of the international conference was to study and define the role and challenges of states and human rights institutions in addressing and preventing the risks and root causes of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

Anahit Manasyan presented to international partners the experience of working as a human rights defender in the Republic of Armenia as a national preventive mechanism.

The work of the Public Council attached to the Defender and the culture of cooperation with civil society organizations on issues related to torture and other forms of ill-treatment were noted.

During separate discussions, Ms. Anahit Manasyan presented issues regarding specific mechanisms for identifying, addressing and ensuring rights against torture and other forms of ill-treatment of forcibly displaced persons, emphasizing the importance of the mentioned issue in the context of recent events, in particular the forced deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

In that context, the issues raised within the framework of the fact-finding work carried out by the Human Rights Defender were emphasized.

The Human Rights Defender has reached a number of agreements on further cooperation with partners who are members of the Global Alliance of National Institutions and expressed her readiness to participate in new initiatives related to the protection of human rights.