On August 24, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to a letter handed during her visit to Armenia by the member organizations of the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders. Below is the full text.

“Dear Sirs,

Thank you for the July 5th letter that you and your colleagues from the Armenian member organizations of the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders wrote to me, citing your concerns about critical importance of human rights and democratic reform in Armenia. Armenia is fortunate to have vibrant civil society that is willing to engage on these fundamental issues and to work diligently to improve the civic environment for all Armenians, regardless of political opinion, profession, or circumstances.

The United States remains committed to working with the Armenian Government and its people to advance shared objectives in the region, including peace, stability, democracy, and economic prosperity. I applaud your focus on how a state’s protections of free speech, democratic expression, and human rights help to promote regional peace and security. The greater those protections, the more stable and secure any nation will be in taking on broader challenges.

The United States believes that the same values that gave birth to our nation – open and vibrant democracy and unwavering respect for human rights, including a firm commitment to media freedom – are the bedrock of a free, prosperous society, and critical to Armenia’s future. We stand by these values and will continue to voice our support for them in Armenia and around the world.”

In the letter addressed to Hillary Clinton the Armenian human right defenders drew State Secretary’s attention to the internal political situation, stressing that all political prisoners should be released and an impartial investigation into the March 1 killings should be conducted. They also emphasized that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on A1+ TV channel should be implemented.