An
extended session of the Expert Council on Military Servicemen Rights Issues
adjunct to the Human Rights Defender was held on October 11, during which the
issues of the RA Armed Forces and suggested solutions reflected in the 2017
Annual Report of the Defender were presented and discussed.
Representatives
of the Ministry of Defense, the Prosecutor General, Investigative Committee, Security
Council Secretariat and Ministry of Justice participated in the session organized
by the support of the Council of Europe project “Human rights and women in the
Armed Forces in Armenia.”
“The elevation of servicemen’s status is one
of the primary principles of my activities,”
said the Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan in his opening remarks. “The
recommendation on providing the servicemen and their family members with
non-financial benefits based on the experience of leading countries, as studied
by our Office, was presented to the competent authorities. The proposal was
welcomed by the Ministry of Defense, following which I have presented them to
the Prime Minister for their implementation,” said Arman Tatoyan.
During
the session, issues related to the strengthening of discipline and decreasing
death cases in the armed forces, protection of the health of conscripts,
involvement of women in the armed forces, enrollment to and dismissal from the
military service have been discussed. Issues related to social security of
military servicemen and members of their families were also discussed
Referring
to the issue of military servicemen who committed an offence, the representatives
of the Defender, as well as NGOs noted that the reason for committing an
infringement should be identified before subjecting them to a liability. This
may later have a preventive effect.
The
NGO representatives, who have participated in the meeting, raised a number of
issues. An agreement was reached to jointly discuss solutions for the raised
issues.
The Defender always attaches great importance to the
activities of non-governmental organizations in the field of protection of
rights of military servicemen, the Ministry of Defense, as well as other
relevant state bodies.
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