On
September 4, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit
Manasyan delivered an opening speech at the presentation of the collection of
stories of women deprived of their liberty “So, Mom…how does it feel in
Paradise?”.
Welcoming
the attendees, Ms. Anahit Manasyan noted that the collection is an important
initiative that provides an opportunity to make the stories of women deprived
of their liberty heard, to change public perceptions of these individuals.
“We
often see statistics, numbers and legal facts, but behind them stand real
people with their feelings, experiences, emotions and destinies.
Being
deprived of liberty should not be perceived as a stigma, and the perceptions of
individuals deprived of liberty in our society must be transformed. The
enforcement of responsibility resulting from the commission of a crime must
also entail the implementation of proper mechanisms for the protection of the
rights of persons deprived of liberty. Our institution will continue its
activity aimed at raising the issues of persons deprived of liberty and
presenting recommendations to the state for their solution. Only through our
joint efforts can we overcome the problems in this field,” the Defender noted.
The
opening remarks were also made by the Deputy Minister of Justice of the
Republic of Armenia Mr. Gevorg Kocharyan, the Ambassadors Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and
Canada to Armenia, and the Deputy Head of the Political and Information Section
of the European Union Delegation to Armenia.
The
event was attended by representatives of state institutions, diplomatic
missions in Armenia, local and international organizations, stakeholder groups
and other interested parties.
The
history of the creation of the collection of stories of “So, Mom…how does it
feel in Paradise?” was presented by Ms. Nare Hovhannisyan, President of the
“Center for Legal Initiatives” NGO.
It
should be noted that the collection also includes an introductory speech by
Human Rights Defender Ms. Defender Anahit Manasyan.
The
collection “So, Mom…how does it feel in Paradise?” was published within the
framework of the “Voices of Resistance: Chronicles of Women Behind Bars”
project, which is implemented by the "Center for Legal Initiatives"
NGO with the support from the Transition Promotion Program of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
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