On
November 28, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the
representatives of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development
(BMZ) and Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Welcoming
the guests, Ms. Manasyan highly valued the cooperation with colleagues from Germany
in the field of human rights protection.
Ms.
Manasyan presented the important directions of the Human Rights Defender's
activities in the sphere of equality, referring to the rights of women,
children, national minorities, persons with disabilities, and the fight against
hate speech, intolerance, and discrimination.
During
the meeting, inter alia, the Defender addressed the planned amendments of the
legislation in the field of equality, the prevention of domestic and
gender-based violence, the need to ratify the Istanbul Convention, and the
importance of working towards the protection and promotion of women's rights.
Ms.
Manasyan referred to the issue of participation of women living in the
provinces in various spheres and processes of public life, and the steps being
taken in Armenia to protect and promote women's rights. She emphasized the
importance of overcoming various stereotypes for the successful implementation
of the process. In this context, the Defender emphasized that it is necessary
to carry out work towards reforming the educational system, since stereotypical
approaches, which do not correspond to modern tendencies related to human
rights are very often transmitted through the educational system.
Various
issues related to the protection of the rights of the child were discussed:
manifestations of violence against children, the right to be heard and to
express their opinions freely, etc.
In
their turn, the guests expressed their gratitude to the Defender for the
reception and the effective discussion.