Armenia`s Ombudsman: The target of the Azeri armed forces is the  peaceful population of the borderline regions of Armenia

ArmInfo.To date, we have to state that in Armenia the rights of the media are not fully protected. Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan announced this on June 27 at the presentation of his annual report for 2017.

Another important issue that requires special attention, according to  Tatoyan, is the protection of prisoners' rights. The Ombudsman noted  that the number of prisoners and detainees in Armenia exceeds the  international figures by about 37.4%. "When a person is detained, he  does not have the right to see his relatives without the permission  of the investigator. The person during the preliminary investigation  may not see his relatives, and the preliminary investigation can last  2-3 years. This is unacceptable, moreover, the physic health may be  harmed. The decision should be made by the court or the prosecutor,  and not by the investigator. If there is a preliminary investigation,  this does not mean that a person should automatically be deprived of  the right to see his family" said the Ombudsman. Also, the human  rights defender noted that there are certain complaints of prisoners  related to medical care. Tatoyan noted that prisoners sometimes can  refuse to choose their own doctor, and also, if necessary, visit a  civilian medical institution. Also, according to the ombudsman, an  important role in this area is the work of lawyers. "It is important  that criminal responsibility was envisaged for imposing lawyers'  work," Tatoyan stressed.

The Ombudsman also touched upon the problems of socially unsecured  families. "It is very important that children from socially unsecured  families receive textbooks free of charge. At the moment, this issue  is not fully resolved, and the principle that free textbooks are  issued is not yet fully understood. There are cases when parents do  not raise this question because they do not want their children to be  subjected to peers' jeering. There is a point of view that in such a  case, children from socially unsecured families should also be  provided with backpacks and clothes," the human rights defender  stressed.

The human rights defender also said that in connection with the  escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azeri border, his  office's employees began to visit the border areas more often and  found out that Azeris deliberately fire at civilians in Armenian  villages. "During the visits, we fixed that the target of the Armed  Forces of Azerbaijan is the peaceful civilian population, which is a  violation of international humanitarian norms," the ombudsman said,  stressing that during the visits, social needs of borderline  population are also specified. 

Tatoyan also touched on the existing problems in the issue of  ensuring the rights of people with disabilities.  According to him,  in Armenia, people with disabilities cannot fully integrate into  society. "Parents often do not take their children to school because  they do not want other children to tease the child because they are  disabled, so a child loses one of his basic rights, the right to  education. In addition, some parents do not want their children to  study with a child with disabilities in one class, all of them are  stereotypes that must be broken," Tatoyan said.

And the last point in the Ombudsman's report was the protection of  women's rights. Arman Tatoyan said that in Armenian society there are  still stereotypes that woman should engage only in housing and  cooking.  At the same time, the ombudsman noted that there is  progress in Armenia in connection with the integration of women in  politics. "Moreover, women play a very important role in the  Ombudsman office of Armenia," Tatoyan concluded.