The Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan received the delegation led by Martine Schmidt, Head of the Council of Europe office in Yerevan,  the press service of the Ombudswoman reported.

Kristine Grigoryan welcomed the members of the delegation, stressing that the first official meeting with the colleagues from the CoE Office in Yerevan since she assumed the office of Ombudswoman is another evidence of the high cooperation formed in the course of many years.

Martina Schmidt thanked for the reception and noted that the Ombudswoman's Office is the key partner within the framework of the programs carried out by the CoE in the sphere of protection of human rights.

During the meeting with the members of the delegation, the programs implemented by the CoE dealing with the prevention of domestic violence, protection of the rights of servicewomen, adoption of the criminal code and criminal procedure code and their monitoring in the law enforcement, rules of bioethics, the ethics of medical workers and a number of other issues were discussed. Opportunities for upcoming programs were also discussed, including those to address the humanitarian consequences of the war.

The Ombudswoman noted internationally recognized approaches to the protection of human rights in security issues and the importance of their consistency, touching on other priorities such as the fight against hatred and disinformation, the need for comprehensive action to prevent torture and ill-treatment, and the fight against discrimination.

Kristine Grigoryan also mentioned among the priorities of the structure the goal of consistent development of the institutional capacities of the office of human rights defender, which, as she said, is a guarantee for better protection of human rights in the country.

Summing up the meeting the parties expressed readiness for deepening cooperation in the spheres and cooperation in new directions.