Ombudsman’s Office has registered 31 cases of human rights violation by state agencies

Lusine Vasilyan
“Radiolur”

December 10 marks Human Rights Day. On this occasion Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan presented the statistics of human rights violations by state bodies.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office issued 31 decisions on human rights violation this year. According to Karen Andreasyan, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Defense violated human rights six times each. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice violated the human rights four and three times respectively.

Other state bodies, which have violated and have failed to restore human rights, include the Yerevan City Hall, the Police, the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Revenue Committee and the Department of State Property Management.

Assessing the overall human rights situation in the country, Karen Andreasyan said: “Courts must be the main guarantors of human rights protection, while in reality the judiciary is one of the most vulnerable points in Armenia.” Among other challenges the Ombudsman pointed to social-economic conditions, poverty rate, lack of free competition and mistrust in electoral processes.