Human Rights Defender Responds Publicly to Ruben Vardanyan's Message

The Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has publicly responded to the letter-message sent by Ruben Vardanyan, the former Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, who is sentenced to imprisonment in Azerbaijan.

“Ruben Vardanyan's message addressed to the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan, has been disseminated through social media and mass media. Within the framework of this message, several observations are presented regarding the mandate and powers of the Human Rights Defender's institution, which we find important to address as follows.

First, we consider it essential to emphasize that the institution of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia operates on the basis of the principle of independence, is not a part of the government, operates independently from it, and is accredited with A status by the subcommittee on accreditation of national human rights institutions of the global alliance of the United Nations. The aforementioned status of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia implies that it does not conduct negotiations or implement the external policy of the state on behalf of the state but acts exclusively within the framework of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and international standards assigned to the mandate of the Human Rights Defender.

Accordingly, the powers of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia extend exclusively to the processes of documenting alleged human rights violations by the state and local self-government bodies of the Republic of Armenia, regardless of the citizenship of the rights holder.

Furthermore, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia has the authority to carry out regular monitoring visits to places of deprivation of liberty and has unhindered access to utilize all its tools during these visits solely within the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

At the same time, we find it necessary to highlight that national human rights protection institutions can play a crucial role in the context of peace processes while strictly adhering to the international standards, ethical principles, and carrying out this role based on the principles of independence, impartiality, neutrality, multilateralism, and cooperation.

The institution of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, recognized as an independent entity by the United Nations, considers the immediate activation of all humanitarian and legal mechanisms crucial in the current situation, and has consistently applied its tools in post-conflict and peace processes, including in ensuring the rights of Armenians deprived of liberty in Azerbaijan.

In this context, information subject to publication is presented on the official platforms of the Human Rights Defender. At the same time, it is essential to consider that the activities of national human rights institutions are also based on the principles of confidentiality and ‘do no harm’, which the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia is currently observing and will continue to observe in all ongoing processes.

We are surprised by the following statement in the message: ‘During our conversation, the Azerbaijani Ombudsman indicated that the possibility of visiting Baku had already been discussed with you, and the Azerbaijani side expressed willingness to assist in organizing it.’ We find it necessary to emphasize that the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has received no official proposal regarding cooperation on the discussed issue, nor any confirmation that the Azerbaijani side is willing to assist in that cooperation.

At the same time, it should be noted that every issue concerning the protection of rights within the territory of a specific state falls within the mandate of that state's Ombudsman/human rights national institution and cannot be conditioned by communication with another state's Human Rights Defender institution.

The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia has always been and remains open to any cooperation and dialogue with partner Human Rights Defender institutions, provided that it is conducted strictly following the aforementioned standards of independence, impartiality, neutrality, and adherence to ethical principles.

Moreover, modern systems for the protection of human rights require the existence of internationally recognized independent monitoring mechanisms operating based on the principle of independence for the protection of individuals' rights during deprivation of liberty, which is also a principal priority in this context.

Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan reaffirms her previously publicly articulated position that all Armenians deprived of liberty in Azerbaijan must be released immediately. This plays a key role in both the peace process and in ensuring the values related to human rights that exist in the modern civilized world,” the statement from the Human Rights Defender reads.

It is recalled that Ruben Vardanyan's office had published Vardanyan's message, in which several questions were directed at the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan.