The appeals to the Human Rights Defender do not reflect the true situation of the violation of human rights

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The difficult and important task of defending human rights is the prerogative of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, which has always used to be an important principle for Karen Andreasyan as for a lawyer, because it is the basis of jurisprudence. Notwithstanding at the same time he is sure that it is among the most difficult issues for practice. It's much easier to become a target of criticism, than admiration. "Armenpress" represents the interview with the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Karen Andreasyan.

- Mr. Andreasyan, has the public opinion regarding the institute of the Human Rights Defender undergone any change? Does the culture of appealing to the Human Rights Defender in case of the violations of human rights develop in Armenia?

- To my opinion yes. For me that positive change is apparent. There has been a change, but at the same time it’s not enough. It’s true that the number of appeals increased from 3 thousand to 5 thousand, but I am sure that the rights of 10 thousand men are being violated, not 5. I am confident that if all the society has sufficient knowledge about our authorities, information and hot line, than we shall get all-in-all answer to a number of crucial questions. The appeals to the Ombudsman do not reflect the true situation of the violation of human rights

- The malfunctioning of what spheres does cause the violation of human rights?

- The scenery is always changing. When I took the office, I knew that the majority of problems are connected with the sphere of activity of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, but at the same time it’s this very ministry, which is successfully cooperating with us. Notwithstanding the Ministry of Defense replies to us much slower and evasive than it used to do before, but if they are really interested in the human rights defense they will not try to turn down our suggestions. This is our criteria to discover to what extent the given administration is interested in the human rights. There are problems in all administrative unites, but we criticize only those, who change their attitude, instead of trying to solve the questions.

- What measures do you take for the defense of children and servicemen? There are a lot of cases of the violation of their rights.

- The children are among the most vulnerable groups. They are not merely afraid, but also they are not conscious of protecting themselves. First and most of all we try to discover these issues and only after this to find relevant solutions. The discovery of these issues is very problematic. Presently we have many programs, that attempt to work for the militaries, women and children. These spheres are much more difficult than others. (THE FULL VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN)

The interview by Ruzanna Movsisyan