On
January 14, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit
Manasyan, participated in the “Accessible Elections” workshop organized by the
CEC and delivered opening speech.
Welcoming
the participants and emphasizing the importance of organizing such a workshop
ahead of the National Assembly elections, Ms. Anahit Manasyan particularly
emphasized that discussions related to elections begin precisely with
accessibility-related issues, which are a key circumstance from a human rights
perspective: “As the Human Rights Defender, this is a circumstance of
particular importance to me. I express my gratitude to the CEC not only for its
commitment to our observations on this issue, but also for organizing this
important discussion. It is evident that there are numerous problems in the
field, however, it is equally important that sectoral stakeholders demonstrate
a constructive approach and a commitment to solving them.”
The
Defender stated that one of the important directions of the activity of the
Human Rights Defender’s Office in the field of the rights of persons with
disabilities is monitoring activities. Following her election, the Defender
initiated monitoring visits aimed at assessing the accessibility of both
educational institution buildings and polling stations. In this context, she
emphasized that discussions on accessibility are often limited solely to the
presence or absence of ramps. Whereas accessibility-related issues are far
broader. It is important that the ramps themselves comply with the established
standards, and that not only building entrances but entire buildings be
accessible. The issue should be considered more broadly, taking into account
all forms of disability. In this context, the Defender highlighted, for
example, awareness problems related to the use of Braille templates.
In
her speach, Ms. Manasyan also referred dangerous trends of hate speech during
the pre-election and election periods, particularly targeting persons with
disabilities and the fact of having a disability, emphasizing the importance of
organizing sectoral trainings and awareness-raising activities, as well as
fostering a public consensus among all stakeholders to prevent such cases.
“Through cooperation, I am confident that we will be able to resolve all these
issues. My main message is that next time we will have an opportunity to talk
not about commitments to solving problems, but about having already overcome
them correctly, professionally and efficiently within a constructive environment,”
the Defender concluded.
The
Chairman of the CEC, Mr. Vahagn Hovakimyan, the Deputy Permanent Representative
of the UNDP Mr. Konstantin Sokulsky and the Chairman of the Standing Committee
on Labor and Social Affairs of the National Assembly Ms. Heriknaz Tigranyan
also delivered welcoming speeches at the event.
A
panel discussion was also held within the framework of the workshop, with the
participation of Ms. Zhanna Hakobyan, Director of the Centre for Research,
Expertise, and Education of the Human Rights Defender’s Office, who discussed
in detail the results of the monitoring conducted by the Human Rights Defender
and the problems recorded.
The
event was organized within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation
between the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, marking the launch of the “Advancing
Reforms for Transparent and Inclusive Management of Electoral Systems in
Armenia” (ARTEMIS) project.
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