Government must prevent maltreatment of children - Anahit Manasyan 

ArmInfo. Football club "Pyunik" posted on its website photos of underage football players, with an accompanying note prohibiting the latter from entering the sports base.  

According to a message from the press service of the Ombudsman  of Armenia received by ArmInfo, monitoring conducted by the office of  the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Anahit Manasyan  indicates that such cases are ongoing.

"As a result of such actions, children become targets and become more  vulnerable. The Human Rights Defender attaches great importance to  eliminating violations of children's rights, including their right to  the protection of personal data and behavior directed against  children. Any process in which children participate must be carried  out taking into account the "best interests" of the child and the  principle of "do no harm". 

When disclosing the personal data of children or providing them to  another person in any other way, it is necessary to strictly comply  with the requirements provided for by international and national  legislation regarding the provision of access to personal data to  third parties," the message says.

In this regard, the Ombudsman emphasized that the state is obliged to  take effective steps to eliminate bad and insensitive attitudes  towards children, including cases of violation of the latter's rights  in the area of personal data protection. It is also necessary to  conduct campaigns and trainings to inform the public about each case  of protection of children's rights.