I have stated several times that Ombudsmen remind me of kamikazes in many ways, and I would like to wish that Ombudsmen have a lot of courage, conviction and a clear stance. This is what first Ombudsman of Armenia Larisa Alaverdyan said during the conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the institution of the Ombudsman of Armenia today.

According to her, the operation of Ombudsmen derives from the exclusively human desire to help people and deserves universal respect. Alaverdyan stated that during her term of office, she and her team would manage to “protect themselves” and “attack”. “We were often told that we are “human rights defenders”, while others would say we are “semi-defenders”, but I would always say that I am an “attacker” since our objective was to help the institution of the Ombudsman become well-established in Armenia,” the first Ombudsman concluded.