On December 9-11 the delegation headed by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan visited Artsakh on the occasion of International Human Rights Day.
The delegation met with Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan. Ruben Melikyan, the Human Rights Defender of Arstakh attended the meeting as well. During the meeting, issues related to the protection of human rights and cooperation between two human rights institutions were discussed.
Within the framework of the visit, the results of the competition on "Why are human rights important?: The reality I live in and experience of Zabel Esayan" for pupils of 9-12 grades of Artsakh schools were concluded.
The chairman of the competition Arman Tatoyan highlighted the initiative of his colleague from Artsakh in holding such competition. In his welcoming speech the Defender stressed that rights should be protected regardless of the status of the territory: the civilized world should recognise Artsakh with its democratic institutions.
"This year we celebrate International Human Rights Day in Artsakh. It is symbolic in the case of Artsakh, since the 1991 independence of and 2006 Constitutional referendums were held on this day. The Human Righs Defender's institution of Artsakh should have an independent engagement in international meetings, and the visits of international partners to Artsakh should be activiely persued", Arman Tatoyan said.
Within his working visit, the Defender met with the representatives of Small And Medium Enterprise Development Association of Artsakh. The protection of entrepreneurs' interests and questions related to their issues were discussed. Agreements on the implementation of joint projects were reached.
At the end of the visit a meeting was held with the Rector of Artsakh State University Manush Minasyan and students of the newly founded legal clinic.