On
February 26, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit
Manasyan participated and delivered an opening speech at the launch conference
of the Council of Europe’s “Promoting Freedom of Expression, Media and Access
to Information in Armenia” project.
The
event brought together the representatives of state bodies, international
organizations, mass media and civil society.
In
her speech, the Defender emphasized the fundamental importance of freedom of
expression in a democratic society and the current challenges related to its
exercise, especially in the national pre-election period.
Ms.
Anahit Manasyan especially highlighted the importance of ensuring the safe
activities of journalists. “Freedom of expression is one of the most
fundamental human rights and must be guaranteed in every democratic state. This
right has clearly defined substantive standards and limitations, the observance
of which is the responsibility of every stakeholder,” stated Ms. Anahit Manasyan.
The
Defender also referred the risk of instrumentalization of human rights issues
in electoral processes, stressing that in the pre-election period the political
exploitation of sensitive human rights issues becomes more vivid.
In
this context, for instance, Ms. Anahit Manasyan referred to the
instrumentalization of issues related to domestic violence and the mechanisms
for combating it. “The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women and domestic violence is an important instrument in
combating domestic violence, including violence against women and children,
however, it is often used for political purposes, distorting public
perceptions, including with regard to issues related to domestic violence,” Ms.
Anahit Manasyan noted.
According
to the Human Rights Defender, the distorted perceptions and misinformation
formed around domestic violence problems are not only the result of political
manipulation, but also strike at the entire human rights system.
Ms.
Anahit Manasyan also drew the attention of those present to the targeting of
persons with disabilities in political discourse, emphasizing that such speech
is discriminatory and contradicts the principles of human dignity and equality.
The
Defender expressed concern regarding the dissemination of discriminatory and
hate speech based on national or ethnic identity, noting that such phenomena
become particularly active during the pre-election period and contain elements
of hate speech. Moreover, some formulations are widely spread in the political
discourse of individual political actors.
The
Human Rights Defender also highlighted the observations of the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) regarding Armenia in the field
of combating intolerance and racism, emphasizing the importance of
international cooperation.
Concluding
her speech, Ms. Anahit Manasyan expressed gratitude to the Council of Europe
for the effective and sustainable cooperation, noting that it ensures
significant results in the field of human rights protection. The Defender also
valued the joint efforts of state bodies, international organizations, and
civil society.
The
opening speeches at the event of the “Promoting Freedom of Expression, Media
and Access to Information in Armenia” project were also delivered by Mr. Maxime
Longangue, Head of the Yerevan Office of the Council of Europe, Mr. Ruben
Rubinyan, PACE Vice President and Vice President of the National Assembly of
the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anna
Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and Mr. Davit
Knyazyan, Head of the Multilateral Policy and Development Cooperation
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.
During
the conference, the objectives, activities and expected results of the program
were presented as well as the ongoing reforms and existing challenges in the
areas of media freedom and access to public information, in the context of
alignment with international standards.
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