Participation of the Human Rights Defender in Government Meetings is Not an Obligation, but a Right: Response from the Human Rights Defender

The Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has issued a statement addressing the comments made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan regarding the Defender's non-participation in government meetings, as well as other issues related to the activities of the Human Rights Defender.

The response from the Office of the Human Rights Defender is as follows:

“The only topic of the Human Rights Defender's press conference today was the issue of guaranteeing the institutional independence of the Defender. Instead of discussing the substantive issues that have arisen and proposing solutions, the government has responded through the spokesperson's statement only regarding a secondary issue related to the personal participation of the Human Rights Defender in government meetings.

We specifically note that it has been a long-accepted practice for the Defender’s representative to participate in government meetings, rather than the Human Rights Defender personally. This practice has been in place during the tenure of all Human Rights Defenders throughout all periods.

For objective reasons, the Human Rights Defender has been unable to personally participate in several meetings of the government, which have resumed after the war, due to a significant increase in work and applications, as well as extended visits to the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions, and the urgent need to summarize the results of those visits and present them to international organizations.

Moreover, during this entire period, no one from the government has communicated to the Office of the Human Rights Defender, either verbally or in writing, that they expect the personal participation of the Human Rights Defender in the meetings. The participation of the Human Rights Defender in government meetings is not an obligation, but a right, and it is unclear how this issue can be discussed in light of its potential negative implications for the Defender’s institution.

We specifically note that the Constitution has not empowered officials, and especially high-ranking government representatives, with the authority to respond to the statements of the Human Rights Defender using political, let alone aggressive language; rather, they have a direct obligation to support the Defender's activities. This is a duty imposed by the Republic of Armenia’s international treaties and enshrined in Article 191 of the Constitution, as well as in Article 9 of the Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender.

The Office of the Human Rights Defender has noted that the spokesperson's statement by a senior government representative was immediately followed by a statement from a member of the ruling faction in the National Assembly. This statement, repeating the words of the government representative, has also diverted attention from the only topic of the press conference. Moreover, the statement from the parliamentarian contains obviously ironic formulations directed at the Human Rights Defender, and within that statement, there are comments filled with offensive and hateful elements directed at the Human Rights Defender and the Defender’s institution.

Furthermore, this member's statement was almost immediately posted on the official Facebook page of the