YEREVAN. – The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsperson) of Armenia, Kristinne Grigoryan, on Thursday met in Paris with the representatives of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA), Ambassador of Armenia to France Hasmik Tolmajian, as well as with the representatives of the French Association of Armenian Lawyers and Jurists (AFAJA).

During the meetings with the representatives of the International Federation for Human Rights and the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, the Defender presented the manifestations of the consistent policy of Armenophobia conducted by Azerbaijan at the state level, which were present both during and after the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the Human Rights Defender’s office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The manifestations of the policy of hatred towards the Armenians of Artsakh were presented, among other things, the intimidation of and use of force against the village population in the vicinity of the border line. References were made to the manifestations of state policy conditioned by ethnic and religious hatred, such as the “Trophy Park” of killed Armenian soldiers and chained prisoners of war in Baku, the concrete actions of the Baku administration to eliminate samples of Armenian heritage and traces of Armenian nature, as well as the statements of the President of Azerbaijan, which incite hatred and are a confession of Armenophobia.

The representatives of the International Federation for Human Rights were interested in the reasons for the Azerbaijani approach to the non-returning of Armenian prisoners of war and captives, as well as international legal processes. The representatives of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism considered it unacceptable and condemned the practices of opening the trophy park and teaching hatred to the young generation, emphasizing that the policy of hatred with such level of organization can cause new crimes.

A cooperation agreement was reached with the Defender's Office in the field of human rights protection and promotion.

A working discussion was held with Ambassador of Armenia to France Hasmik Tolmajian, and the representatives of the French Association of Armenian Lawyers and Jurists on the ongoing and planned actions, as well as the need to combine the efforts to achieve results.