Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan on Thursday delivered a special speech at the high-level discussion held by the UN on the implementation of the sustainable development goals. At the meeting held in Geneva, the Armenian Human Rights Defender briefed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, high-level UN Children’s Fund representatives, ombudsmen of other countries and international experts on the work carried out in Armenia in the sphere of human rights defense.

He also presented the legislative changes which took effect since 1 March 2017, under which the function of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been delegated to the Human Rights Defender. Special reference was made to the fact that a separate article stipulates the opportunity of unhampered visits to the institutions providing care and defense of children, as well as general educational institutions.

Tatoyan also touched on the existing challenges in the sphere of guaranteeing the rights of children at the level of the region and country, as well as the ways of overcoming them. Apart from this, attention was attached to the joint work with the civil society and journalists in all the aforementioned issues.

The discussion participants not only lauded the changes taking place in the activity of the Human Rights Defender, but also underscored the importance of the activity carried out by the Human Rights Defender in defending the rights of those children. The representatives of different countries expressed a wish to study the Armenian experience and introduce it in their countries.