The Human Rights Defender’s Office organized a discussion dedicated to the International Day of Support for Victims of Torture. The purpose of the discussion was to raise issues related to the investigation of torture and ill-treatment in the criminal justice system, and the torture and inhuman treatment of servicemen and civilians (including captives) during and after the war.
The opening remarks were given by the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Her Excellency Ms. Andrea Wiktorin, the UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Natia Natsvlishvili. The event was attended by representatives of state institutions, international organizations, civil society, human rights lawyers, and independent experts.
Ms. Anahit Manasyan noted that the discussion organized on the occasion of the day is a worthy platform for raising issues related to support for victims of torture, and finding relevant solutions.
According to the Human Rights Defender, the cases of torture continue to remain a challenge for the international legal system and the collective effort of states to prevent and punish crimes against humanity.
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“Unfortunately, this crime is widespread in several countries. I would like to make a specific reference to cases of torture and inhuman treatment of Armenian Prisoners of War and civilian captives by the Azerbaijani authorities. This circumstance should be adequately addressed”: noted Ms. Anahit Manasyan in her opening remarks.
At the same time, the Defender informed the participants of the discussion that notwithstanding the steps taken to improve the sector, the Human Rights Defender’s Office continues to receive complaints and alarming-calls about the apparent cases of torture committed in the penitentiary institutions, the Police stations, and investigative bodies. This implies that the state still has significant work to do in the direction of prevention of the mentioned cases, the operative investigation of the cases and bringing those responsible to justice.
In their turn, Her Excellency Ms. Andrea Wiktorin, and Ms. Natia Natsvlishvili also highlighted the importance of discussions in this format, which provide an opportunity to identify existing limitations and problems in the sphere.
They underlined that any case of torture or ill-treatment is unacceptable in modern civilization, and emphasized their readiness, within the context of their mission, to implement efforts, in cooperation with the Human Rights Defender to protect the public from this phenomenon.
The event is organized with the support of the “Accountable Institutions and Human Rights Protection in Armenia” Project funded by the @EU and implemented jointly by UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and OSCE.
Human Rights Defender of Armenia
