Azerbaijani Armed Forces Operations Towards Nerk'in Hand Present Real Danger: Armenian Human Rights Defender

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan, met on February 13 with Koen Pustjens, the director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Armenia office, and Hovhannes Harutyunyan, the senior leader of the NDI parliamentary program.

Welcoming her guests, Anahit Manasyan presented the directions of the Defender's activities, highlighting the protection of the rights of women, children, national minorities, persons with disabilities, the right to freedom of assembly, civil and socio-economic rights, as well as the protection of individuals' rights in the armed forces and criminal proceedings. She also addressed issues related to hate speech, the atmosphere of intolerance, and the fight against discrimination.

The Defender touched upon human rights violations resulting from the actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces towards Nerk'in Hand in the Syunik region on February 13. In this context, Anahit Manasyan stated that the operations of the Azerbaijani armed forces pose a real threat to the right to life and security of individuals, education, and the provision of other fundamental rights.

She also presented issues related to the protection of the rights of individuals forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, specifically referring to the fact-finding efforts carried out by her and her team. The documented information has been summarized in the Defender's extraordinary report, which has been presented to international organizations and stakeholders with a mandate for human rights protection, containing sections that confirm the authenticity of the information.