One of the most important directions of the Human Rights Defender's activities is to ensure access to information for people. The issues with regard to responding to the applications, complaints and requests of people by the state and local self-governing bodies are under the direct attention of the Defender. This direction of work also includes the ensuring of the responses to journalistic requests.
This important direction aims at continuous strengthening of the relationship between the state and citizens, to foster the guarantee of the human right to receive information through the professional work of journalists.
The Human Rights Defender’s Office runs separate statistics on written and oral complaints with regard to freedom of information in order to submit recommendations if needed. This direction of work is already under the primary attention of the Defender.
For example, in 2016 38 complaints were received on not responding to citizens’ applications, in 2017 – 46, in 2018 the number of complaints has been increased more than two times, reaching 109. This up growth is related to the heady increase of the number of applications and complaints of people after the 2018 April – May events.
If in 2016 most of the complaints were against the Ministry of Defense, the Government Office and Investigative Committee, then in 2017 – against the Police, Prosecutor’s Office, Investigative Committee, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Healthcare.
From January to May 2018 the most of 45 complaints were against the Police, Ministry of Defense, National Archives of Armenia, Government Office. From June to December of the same year the main part of 64 complaints were against the Ministry of Healthcare, Yerevan Municipality, Police, Ministry of Justice, including Penitentiary Service.
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