On
the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Defender’s Office of
Armenia, the two-day high-level international conference titled "Ombuds
Institutions and NHRIs amid Turbulent Times: Resilience and Challenges,"
which is taking place on October 21-22, continues.
Panel
Discussions – Day 2:
Prior
to the panel discussions, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan greeted
the participants. She emphasized the significance of such discussions, stating
that only through joint dialogue and experience sharing can the challenges
facing the human rights protection system today be overcome.
The
event was also attended by Simon Babayan, President of the Chamber of
Advocates. Reflecting on the cooperation between the Human Rights Defender and
the Chamber of Advocates, Simon Babayan highlighted that it has continued to
expand. Congratulating the HRDO on its 20th anniversary, the President of the
Chamber of Advocates presented the Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan with a
congratulatory certificate.
The
first panel discussion of Day 2 was titled "The Role of Ombuds
Institutions/NHRIs (Equality Bodies) in Building Inclusive Society".
Speakers included Nina Pirumyan, Secretary General of the Human Rights Defender's
Office of Armenia, Zaruhi Batoyan, Member of the Standing Committee on Labor
and Social Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ian Feldman, President
of the Moldovan Equality Council, and Milla Vidina, Senior Policy Officer of
the European Network of Equality Bodies (participating online). The discussion
was moderated by Ian Feldman the president of Moldovan Equality Council,
The
second panel discussion was on "Protecting Vulnerable Groups: Strategies
for Advancing Rights of Women, Children, LGBT persons and national
minorities". Speakers included Rustam Bakoyan, Acting chair of the
Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly
of Armenia and a representative of the Yezidi community in the National
Assembly of RA, Nerma Dobardzic ECRI
member in respect of Montenegro, Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms
of Montenegro, Robert Gajda, Commissioner
for Protection from Discrimination Albania, Taiia Avram, Human rights expert,
Project Officer at International Charitable Organisation “Roma Women Fund
“Chiricli” and Anush Aslanyan, the head
of Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities NGO. The discussion was moderated by Nerma
Dobardzic, ECRI member in respect of Montenegro, Deputy Protector of Human Rights
and Freedoms of Montenegro.
The
final panel discussion of the two-day conference was on "Finding partners
in civil society: Ensuring dialogue and contributing to improvement of victims’
protection". Speakers included Tatevik Khachatryan, Senior Program Manager
of the Democracy Development Foundation, Igor Jadrovski, President of the
Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination of North
Macedonia, and Hripsime Kizogyan, Executive Director of the “Pink” Armenia NGO.
Following the panel discussions, the closing ceremony of the two-day high-level
international conference titled " Ombuds Institutions and NHRIs amid
Turbulent Times: Resilience and Challenges" was held. During the ceremony,
closing remarks were delivered by the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan
and Lilit Daneghian, Deputy Head of the Division of Cooperation Programmes on
Justice and Human Rights, Council of Europe
This
high-level conference is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment
of the Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia, which is the only national
human rights and ombuds institution in the country. Representatives from over
15 member states of the Council of Europe, heads, and representatives of Human
Rights Defender institutions and equality bodies participated in the event.
This
event was organised by the HRDO of Armenia in cooperation with the Council of
Europe, it is implemented by the CoE’s Division of Cooperation Programmes under
the project “Strengthening human rights safeguards for the displaced population
in Armenia” and by the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme
“Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the
Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework
of the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination in Armenia”.
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