The Human Rights Defender, as the National Preventive
Mechanism, organized a discussion on June 26 dedicated to the Day in Support of
Victims of Torture, with the participation of competent state bodies,
representatives of civil society and members of the National Assembly.
Welcoming the guests, the Human Rights Defender of the
Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit Manasyan, emphasized the importance of
organizing discussions in such a format and noted that the meetings create an
opportunity to voice existing problems, jointly analyze them and develop
effective solutions. Ms. Anahit Manasyan emphasized the active and consistent
involvement of all stakeholders in order to overcome the problems in the field
and ensure systemic changes.
"Preventing all forms of torture and ill-treatment
should be a daily issue for each of us. Despite the steps taken by the state,
we regularly receive alerts about cases of violence and ill-treatment. The work
carried out in this direction, the support provided to victims of torture, the
investigation of these cases should be the result of daily work. Having a
society free from torture is not just a legal requirement, but a civilizational
choice," said Ms. Anahit Manasyan.
According to her, the existing problems in the field should
be properly addressed and torture cases should be properly investigated, taking
into account the specific nature of the investigation of the mentioned cases.
It is extremely important that our state has proper mechanisms for supporting
torture victims. In this context, the importance of having procedural and
professional services for the realization of the right to compensation and
integration of torture victims was emphasized.
Referring to the prevention tools, Ms. Anahit Manasyan
noted that ensuring a sufficient number of cameras in penitentiary institutions
and places of arrest, as well as continuous training of response staff, can
play a significant role in increasing the effectiveness of prevention.
Thematic panel discussions were also held within the
framework of the discussion, dedicated to the existing mechanisms for
supporting torture victims, the effectiveness of preventing deaths, suicides
and self-harm.
The speakers were Ms. Nina Pirumyan, the Secretary
General of the Human Rights Defender’s Office, Ms. Anna Karapetyan, Deputy
Minister of Justice, Mr. Armen Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs,
Ms. Tsovinar Tadevosyan, Head of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of
Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Kamo Manukyan, Director of the
"Center for Penitentiary Medicine" SNCO of the Ministry of Health of
the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Sashik
Avetisyan, Prosecutor of the Department for Crimes Against State Authority of
the Prosecutor General's Office, and Mr. Lernik Stepanyan, Head of the
Department for Investigation of Crimes on Torture and Abusing or Exceeding
Authorities by Officials through Using Violence of the Investigative Committee
of the Republic of Armenia.
The discussions were moderated by Ms. Laura Gasparyan, Coordinator
of the National Preventive Mechanism Implementation - Head of Department for
Prevention of Torture and Ill-Treatment of the Human Rights Defender’s Office.
The event was implemented within the framework of the
“Promotion of Human Rights Protection and Strengthening of National
Institutions” program, funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, and
OHCHR.
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