On June 16, a meeting-discussion took place in the US Capitol Building between the RA Human Rights Defender, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan and a number of members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus (CAC). The meeting was attended by members of the House of Representatives of the US Congress: Frank Pallone, Jackie Speier, David Valadao, Judy Chu, Linda Sanchez, Grace Meng and John Sarbanes.
During the meeting, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan presented the situation of human rights protection in Armenia focusing on the priorities of the Defender’s Office. The Defender presented to the Congresspersons the work carried out by the Human Rights Defender’s Office with the family members of prisoners of war and civilian captives, presented their key concern- the immediate return of the prisoners of war and other civilian captives kept in Azerbaijan, which is an international obligation undertaken by Azerbaijan. Among the humanitarian issues, the Defender Ms. Grigoryan presented the issues of the family members of missing persons, and the issues concerning displaced persons.
In response to the interlocutors' questions, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan presented the issues related to domestic violence, the combat against it, the conclusions of the institution, as well as the proposals submitted to the Government and the National Assembly. The parties also discussed issues related to discrimination based on disabilities, focusing on issues related to children with disabilities. The congresspersons thanked the Human Rights Defender for their consistent work on the key issues and expressed willingness to continue their efforts to solve the issues.
On the same day, the Human Rights Defender held a discussion at the Atlantic Council, an international analytical center. During the discussion, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan presented the policy of encouraging and spreading hatred based on ethnicity and religion by the Azerbaijani political leadership, which directly contradicts the international obligations of Azerbaijan and the norms of international law.
The interlocutors inquired about the process of the assemblies that are taking place in Armenia, in response to which the Defender Ms. Grigoryan presented the work carried out and the assessments given to the events by the Office of the Human Rights Defender. In this context, Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan stressed the importance of the consistent implementation of the planned Police reforms, as a guarantee of having a professional law enforcement system serving the democratic system.
