On
April 25, the Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan presented at the special
session of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public
Affairs of the National Assembly of RA the annual report on the activities ofthe Human Rights Defender, the state of protection of human and freedoms in
2023 and the annual report on the activities of the Human Rights Defender as anational preventive mechanism in 2023.
The
Defender stated that the number of applications and positively resolved cases
increased in 2023 compared to 2022. In particular, if in 2022 there were 1282
cases with positive solutions, then in 2023 - 1922 positive cases. The Defender
emphasized that she values the work not only for people, but also with
people. That is the reason that during the year she personally participated in
many visits and got acquainted with the problems on the spot. During the whole
year, 512 visits were made to various institutions, settlements (including
border ones), places of deprivation of liberty, closed institutions, etc.
The
report referred to many problems recorded in various fields of human rights
protection: social security, property, labor, education, health care and life, environment,
protection of personal data, freedom of expression of opinion and access to
information, activities of law enforcement agencies and criminal proceedings,
freedom of assembly, business, armed forces, women, children, persons with
disabilities, equality of rights, residents of border settlements, forcibly
displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, refugees and asylum seekers,
prevention of torture and ill-treatment and many other areas.
Anahit
Manasyan addressed the prevalence of hate speech and the worrying environment
of intolerance, once again calling on public and political figures, mass media
representatives not only to refrain from such speech, but also to oppose it.
"Unfortunately,
from this viewpoint, we have many problems today: there is talk everywhere that
does not fit into any logic of human rights protection. There are public
figures who present their activities as human rights defenders, but their
activities and speech not only contain obvious discriminatory manifestations,
but also approaches that contradict the values of law," stated Anahit
Manasyan.
A
special reference was made to the cases of targeting of the staff of the
Defender, which was assessed as highly unacceptable by the Defender.
"I
would like to note that I attach great importance to the normal activity of the
Office of the Human Rights Defender. I have noticed various cases of targeting
my staff, which are not acceptable from the viewpoint of ethics or legality.
Every employee of the Office of the Human Rights Defender is dedicated, and I
want to emphasize this. My approach is that we should have and actually we have
proper attitude towards everyone: advocates, citizens, journalists, human
rights defenders, public actors, politicians, officials and other actors, and
we demand the same towards the representatives of the Defender and HRD staff.
In
this context, Anahit Manasyan stated that she does not want to address the
targeting of the Human Rights Defender, the pressures on her and similar cases,
emphasizing the fact that the activities of the Defender and the Defender's
institution are subject to special protection, including in the criminal-legal
dimension. Moreover, the above-mentioned acts may contain apparently criminal
elements. At the same time, Anahit Manasyan emphasized that the one-year study
proves that the targeting of the Defender and the Human Rights Defender's
Office, the attempts to obstruct the activities and the pressures are
organized, systematic and continuous.
During
her speech and Q&A session, the Defender Anahit Manasyan referred to the
many problems recorded in the field of human rights protection, specially
emphasizing the readiness for proper cooperation with the competent authorities
in order to implement the proposals presented for their solution.
The
Defender's annual reports summarized the results of the activities of the Human
Rights Office during the previous year, the analyzes of the existing problems,
as well as the Defender's proposals regarding their overcoming.
The
Human Rights Defender submits the annual reports to the National Assembly on
the basis of the Constitution and the constitutional law "On the Human
Rights Defender", taking into account the existing international
methodology for the reports of human rights institutions.
During
the year, on the initiative of the Defender, discussions will be held regarding
the submitted proposals with the involvement of competent bodies and civil
society.
To
watch the video of the session, go to the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RK1VVB81QA
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