Saturday, October 18 2014

VivaCell-MTS hosted RA Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan, who conducted a meeting-seminar workshop on "Human Rights in Businesses" for the Company's employees. The seminar was aimed at increasing the awareness of VivaCell-MTS staff on issues connected to Human Rights and their exercise in the relationships between the Company and its stakeholders, including employees, clients, suppliers, and wider society. 

In his lecture, Armenia's Human Rights Defender particularly focused on the state's obligation to protect human rights from third parties, including from business violations, the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights, and on the need to create and maintain effective means and mechanisms aimed at protecting the rights and restoring infringed rights. 

Commercial organizations should understand the threats and challenges of violating human rights, assess their activities in the context of human rights warranties, and constantly monitor the relationships with external as well as internal audiences. The potential areas of the violation of human rights include violations of consumers' rights, as well as such aspects as the right to equal work, discrimination, social security rights, and the freedom of speech and expression. 

As part of its commitment to implementing ISO 26000 guidelines, VivaCell-MTS has also assumed full compliance to the institutionalization and enforcement of Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility principles in all operations of the Company, as defined by ISO 26000. In order to ensure stakeholder engagement, the Company has put in place self-aligning mechanisms based on ISO 26000 guidelines and human rights, ensuring that at all business-related processes undertaken and final results obtained, do not harm, contradict and even more, are acceptable and take into account the needs of the society, and its diverse groups. Those mechanisms help identify potential areas of discrepancy between the expectations and interests of the society and the Company's actions and plans through constantly tracking attitudes, perceptions and expectations of the society even if not articulated clearly. 
"At VivaCell-MTS abiding to the laws of the country has been a fundamental value from the very beginning, as reflected in the company's behavior and daily practices. This is one of the pillars of the Company's high reputation. First and foremost, this is our respect toward our consumers, and the society in general. At the same time, we highly value commitment to Human Rights as prescribed by ISO 26000 guidelines, a continuous self-improving mechanism of institutionalizing positive changes, that we are following strictly with no compromise", VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian noted.  
The lecture-seminar was followed by a question-answer session.  

VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is Armenia's leading mobile operator, having the widest 2G/3.75G/4G network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on 1st July 2005 and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base.  VivaCell-MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile communications market.  The company follows the guidance provided by ISO 26000 (International Standard of Social Responsibility).  For more information, visit www.mts.am 

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world's fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Group has been awarded GSM licenses in Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at www.mtsgsm.com