On June 20, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan held a meeting with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Ms. Teresa Ribeiro, within the context of her visit to Vienna.
The Human Rights Defender presented the priorities of the Defender's Office, emphasizing the importance of the activities and projects implemented in the direction of exclusion of hate speech.
The intercoluters also discussed issues related to the guaranteeing the freedom of speech of the media, the guaranteeing of the security of journalists, and the importance of mass media in the strengthening of a democratic society. The importance of the preservation of ethical standards from the perspective of guaranteeing of professional journalistic work was emphasized.
Ms. Teresa Ribeiro, in her turn, congratulated Ms. Anahit Manasyan on assuming the important mission of the Human Rights Defender, emphasizing the role of national human rights institutions in realizing the right to freedom of speech and media.
Within the framework of the meeting, the Defender specifically referred to the state-sponsored Armenophobic policy of Azerbaijan, which is manifested at all levels of society.
"The Defender's office monitors the Azerbaijani media and social platforms on a daily basis. Hate speech towards Armenians is voiced at all levels of society, including high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan," the Defender noted.
