Human Rights Defender on the State of Mental Health Centers

The Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan presented the state of mental health centers in Armenia during a press conference, comparing it to the studies conducted by the Human Rights Defender's office in 2017.

“Unfortunately, the situation is largely the same, starting from incorrect state policies at the government level to the negligent attitude towards mental health issues. I must note that any positive change has either been episodic or related to the current Minister of Health, as we have not had developments at this ministry level previously. During this period alone, 12 acts have been adopted to regulate the sector,” Tatoyan stated.

The Human Rights Defender's office has conducted visits to the mental health centers in Sevan and Avan, the Lori regional psychiatric dispensary, and the Vardenis psychiatric home. The visiting groups included Human Rights Defender staff, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and lawyers. The groups recorded numerous human rights violations in the centers, including forged signatures, forced feeding of individuals, and locking people in rooms, among others.