HCA Vanadzor Statement on RA Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2013 and Its Discussions at the RA National Assembly
10:49, October 25, 2014 | Announcements, Own | Civil Control, The Resolutions And The Liabilities of Euro Council
On October 2, 2014, Karen Andreasyan, the RA Ombudsman, presented his Annual Report at the National Assembly. The Report covers the human rights situation in the Republic of Armenia, human rights violations and the systemic problems underlying them.
We value highly the significance of the RA Ombudsman’s Report and its presentation to the National Assembly, since it provides an assessment of the attitude by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia towards fulfilling their human rights commitments under the RA Constitution and international treaties.
In particular, the Ombudsman’s Report features the fact of non-disclosure of the culprits responsible for killing the 10 RA citizens on March 1, 2008, as well as the gross violations by the police of the citizens’ right to freedom of assembly and the inadequate investigation into cases of degrading treatment and ill-treatment, torture and violence.
We attach a special importance to the fact that the RA Ombudsman records the incidents of discrimination and underscore the inconsistent and inefficient practices of the authorities towards prevention of such incidents.
Instead of addressing these and all other human rights issues and primary concerns over the human rights situation raised by the Ombudsman, some deputies of the NA, especially those representing the Republican Party of Armenia facture, rather attempted to discredit the Ombudsman in their speeches.
As a result, the discussions revolved around despicable speeches distorting and disgracing the principles of human rights rather than mapping out the steps to reduce human rights violations and their underlying causes.
We hereby condemn such speeches and express our support to the Ombudsman, despite some reservations about some of his positions.
We believe that the RA National Assembly deputy should adopt a position in compliance with the principles of human rights enshrined in the RA Constitution, and only such positions can contribute to actions aimed at changing the situation.
Otherwise, the underlying causes of human rights violations will persist, and such a situation has already resulted in an atmosphere of impunity and irresponsible thinking and practices in the Republic of Armenia.
October 21, 2014, Vanadzor