ArmInfo.Acting Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Vahram Dumanyan, at a meeting with a delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross headed by Thierry Ribaux , touched upon the issue of Armenian prisoners of war held by Azerbaijan after the last war in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone last autumn.
As reported by the press service of the RA ESCS, Dumanyan also noted that Armenia expects support from the International Committee of the Red Cross on the issue of their repatriation.
He stated that the holding of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians by Azerbaijan does not fit into the framework of international norms in the field of human rights in the modern world. "In the end, there are rules that in the 21st century must operate on the entire planet. Unfortunately, life today proves the opposite. We count on the effective intervention of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is a pioneer in this struggle," Dumanyan said.
In turn, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Thierry Ribaux stressed that the meeting is an opportunity to present the activities of the organization in Armenia, to discuss possible cooperation with the ICRC.
Referring to the issue of prisoners of war, he noted that the staff of the committee regularly visit the detainees, and also help their families in the exchange of information. Thierry Ribaux assured that ICRC staff are monitoring the conditions of detention of prisoners of war.
He also informed that the ICRC is implementing a number of programs in Tavush, Gegharkunik and Syunik regions of the Republic of Armenia aimed at mitigating the direct impact of hostilities on residents of border settlements.
In this context, he stressed that the ICRC office in Armenia, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science, launched a " Help the helpers " pilot program with the Republican Pedagogical Center, within which 12 psychologists from regional centers of pedagogical and psychological support are undergoing retraining. Qualified psychologists, in turn, will train teachers of border schools (Syunik and Tavush regions) so that they, first of all, can provide adequate psychological support to children so that they can cope with the stress caused by the war.
The interlocutors discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation, and also discussed the issue of ensuring the safety of schools.