As part of her working visit to Strasbourg, on March 11, Armenian Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan met with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dr. Michael O’Flaherty, her office reported.
During the meeting, the parties discussed several human rights issues, including activities implemented towards overcoming discrimination, hate speech, the environment of intolerance, and efforts to protect rights in places of deprivation of liberty. They also addressed the importance of ensuring a safe environment for the activities of National Human Rights Institutions and human rights defenders.
“The Defender specifically raised the problematic nature of the processes implemented against ethnic Armenians arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan from a human rights perspective,” the ombudsperson’s office said in a statement.
Anahit Manasyan also emphasized the importance of cooperation between the Human Rights Defender’s Office and civil society organizations.
“Among other things, issues related to the possibilities of expanding cooperation in the field of human rights protection and promotion were discussed,” the statement added.