The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit Manasyan, received a delegation led by Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Mr. Vassilis Maragos.
On June 4, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit Manasyan, received a delegation led by Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Mr. Vassilis Maragos, which included the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Armenia, H.E. Mr. Olivier Decottignies, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Armenia, H.E. Ms. Marieke Harriet Monroy-Winter, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium to Armenia, H.E. Mr. Eric De Muynck and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia, H.E. Ms. Eva Sundquist.
Welcoming the guests, the Human Rights Defender presented the functions of the Institution’s mandate in electoral processes, as well as the main areas of activity and working methodology of the Human Rights Defender’s Office.
During the meeting, issues related to the protection of human rights in electoral processes were discussed.
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Ms. Anahit Manasyan referred to the unacceptable manifestations of speech spread during the pre-election campaign, emphasizing that aggressive, discriminatory, hate-inciting, labeling and insensitive types of speech that do not meet human rights standards are constantly being recorded.
The Human Rights Defender emphasized that, in the context of electoral processes, legal accountability mechanisms must be applied in accordance with equal and consistent standards, excluding selective approaches. In this regard, the Human Rights Defender also emphasized that public communication by state bodies during the pre-election period should be more sensitive and aligned with human rights principles.
During the meeting, the discussion also referred to the problem of the large number of preventive measures in the form of deprivation of liberty. Ms. Anahit Manasyan noted that, for instance, detention is often applied based on incomprehensible and non-uniform logic and that the field requires systemic reforms.
At the end of the meeting, the members of the delegation expressed their gratitude for the reception and the productive discussion.
Future directions of cooperation in the field of human rights were outlined.
Human Rights Defender of Armenia