Workshop on the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Armenia held within the framework of the Council of Europe's "Fostering Human Rights in the Armed Forces of Armenia" program

26 September, 2024

On September 26, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan made an opening speech at the interdepartmental workshop on the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Armenia held within the framework of the Council of Europe's "Fostering Human Rights in the Armed Forces of Armenia" program.

Issues related to prevention of suicides in the armed forces, and their effective investigation, and the state's obligations in this regard were discussed. The aim of the workshop is to promote the resolution of the issues raised in the Muradyan v. Armenia (Application no. 11275/07).

The Human Rights Defender emphasized the importance of significant cooperation with the Council of Europe in terms of raising issues related to the protection of human rights in the Armed Forces of Armenia to the necessary level, taking into consideration the fact that the protection of human rights in the Armed Forces is one of the priority areas of her activities, and it is very important from the viewpoint of guaranteeing the rule of law in the state.

"Unfortunately, the various issues related to the guaranteeing of the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the Armed Forces of Armenia have not yet been fully resolved. It is necessary to demonstrate a systematic approach to the solution of the issue, emphasizing the need to develop and implement a unified concept for preventing death and self-harm in the Army, as a result of which it will be possible to achieve a systematic solution to the problem through the analysis of the circumstances of each case and comparing it with other cases. Structures which have a preventive function must be highly professional. In this regard, the effective work of the officer-psychologist, officer-lawyer is also very important for solving the problems in the field. Effective and proper investigation of the mentioned cases is also of extreme importance" stated Ms. Anahit Manasyan.

The Defender registered that despite the efforts made by competent authorities, a number of problems in the sphere remain unresolved.

Addressing the audience, Ms. Manasyan specially emphasized that the participation of the Human Rights Defender in the implementation of ECtHR judgments is one of the examples of international best practice.

“We will give new momentum to that direction, actively cooperating with our partners in the state and civil society" added the Human Rights Defender.

Representatives of various competent state bodies and the representatives of the Defender’s office participated in the workshop. Mr. Maxime Longangue, the Head of Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, Mr. Hrayr Hovakimyan, the Head of the Human Rights and Integrity Building Centre of the Ministry of Defense, Mr. Tigran Karapetyan , the Head of Transversal Challenges and Multilateral Projects Task Force of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe also delivered welcoming speeches.

MFA Armenia
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications