Today, June 26, the Human Rights Defender's Office organized a
discussion dedicated to the International Day of Support for Victims of
Torture. The purpose of the discussion was to raise issues related to the
investigation of torture and ill-treatment in the criminal justice system, and
the torture and inhuman treatment of servicemen and civilians (including
captives) during and after the war.
The opening remarks were given by the Human Rights Defender Ms.
Anahit Manasyan, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Her Excellency Ms.
Andrea Wiktorin, the UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Natia Natsvlishvili. The
event was attended by representatives of state institutions, international
organizations, civil society, human rights lawyers, and independent experts.
Ms. Anahit Manasyan noted that the discussion organized on the
occasion of the day is a worthy platform for raising issues related to support
for victims of torture, and finding relevant solutions. According to the Human
Rights Defender, the cases of torture continue to remain a challenge for the
international legal system and the collective effort of states to prevent and
punish crimes against humanity.
“Unfortunately, this crime is widespread in several countries. I
would like to make a specific reference to cases of torture and inhuman
treatment of Armenian Prisoners of War and civilian captives by the Azerbaijani
authorities. This circumstance should be adequately addressed”: noted Ms.
Anahit Manasyan in her opening remarks.
At the same time, the Defender informed the participants of the
discussion that notwithstanding the steps taken to improve the sector, the
Human Rights Defender’s Office continues to receive complaints and
alarming-calls about the apparent cases of torture committed in the
penitentiary institutions, the Police stations, and investigative bodies. This
implies that the state still has significant work to do in the direction of
prevention of the mentioned cases, the operative investigation of the cases and
bringing those responsible to justice.
In their turn, Her Excellency Ms. Andrea Wiktorin, and Ms. Natia
Natsvlishvili also highlighted the importance of discussions in this format,
which provide an opportunity to identify existing limitations and problems in
the sphere. They underlined that any case of torture or ill-treatment is
unacceptable in modern civilization, and emphasized their readiness, within the
context of their mission, to implement efforts, in cooperation with the Human
Rights Defender to protect the public from this phenomenon.
The event is organized with the support of the “Accountable
Institutions and Human Rights Protection in Armenia” Project funded by the EU
and implemented jointly by UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and OSCE.
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