According to the state budget for 2021, the implementation of one program was envisaged by the Staff of the Human Rights Defender. It includes 5 events. In fact, the expenditure was 531.3 billion AMD during 2021, the performance – 97.4%.
The RA Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan informed about this at the joint sitting of the NA Standing Committees on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs and on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs held on June 2. The state budget execution for 2021 of the Staff of the RA Human Rights Defender was debated during it.
The RA Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan noted that two Grant Schemes were carried out by the Ombudsman’s Staff. The total amount was 22.9 billion AMD.
In 2021, the Staff continued its normal work, performing the functions assigned to them.
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The representatives of the Staff have conducted monitoring visits to the institutions for child care and protection, legislative proposals on the drafts of legal acts related to the field of child’s rights, participated in the discussions in different international regional formats, visited the families displaced from Artsakh and temporarily residing in Armenia. Work has been done to increase the child’s rights awareness.
More than 1200 media monitoring was conducted, systemic problems were identified, as well as monitoring of the snap elections of the Local Self-Government bodies and the National Assembly which were held during 2021 in the context of ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities. Efforts have been made to raise awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities.
In 2021, the Staff of the Human Rights Defender continued to perform its preventive function, in particular, related to laws, codes and new regulations. Observations on 185 drafts were submitted, 12 auxiliary positions were submitted to the Constitutional Court within the framework of the prevention function, the Human Rights Defender submitted 10 applications to the Constitutional Court on her own initiative.
The Staff of the Human Rights Defender received 904 applications-complaints on the issues of the protection of child’s rights.
Compared to the previous year, the number of calls received to the 24-hour hotline increased by 20% in 2021. Legal advices provided to individuals. The number of applications-complaints also increased by about 25% – up to 21.181.
The Human Rights Defender answered to the deputies’ questions. Referring to Hakob Arshakyan’s, the NA Vice President, question, Kristinne Grigoryan singled out three main, important priorities. The rapporteur spoke about the support aimed at overcoming the post-war humanitarian issues within the framework of the Defender’s mandate, referred to the work carried out against hatred and polarized speech. According to the rapporteur, the third priority is the equality agenda, which includes women’s political and economic empowerment, the mechanisms and issues for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, children, as well as the idea of non-discrimination. Krsitinne Grigoryan underlined the complete systematic legislative gap.
The NA Vice President highly assessed the work done by the Human Rights Defender on eliminating the consequences of the Artsakh war, in particular, the raising of the issues related to the protection of human rights on international platforms.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
