The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Kristinne Grigoryan, on Tuesday met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the Defender’s office informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

During the meeting, the Human Rights Defender presented the recorded information regarding the damages caused to the Armenian civilian population and infrastructure, the environment, and other acts prohibited by International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law as a result of the Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia that was launched on September 13.

Also, Grigoryan discussed the crimes committed by Azerbaijani servicemen against Armenian prisoners of war and the bodies of killed servicemen, and referred to the cause of these crimes: the systematic policy of Armenophobia and of ethnic hatred of Armenians conducted by the Azerbaijani state.

The aforementioned facts are summarized in the ad hoc report of the Human Rights Defender published on September 16, and which was personally presented to the CoE Secretary General.

The CoE Secretary General, for her part, highly valued the work of the Defender, and thanked her for the effective collaboration and the ad hoc report. Also, Pejcinovic Buric pointed to the necessity of the return of Armenian POWs and civilians who are still detained in Azerbaijan, and reiterated her commitment to continue efforts in this regard.

The CoE Secretary General reflected also on their programs being implemented with Armenia, and emphasized the readiness of the Council of Europe to provide continuous support, including within the framework of Armenia-CoE Action Plan.

In addition, Marija Pejcinovic Buric underlined her support to the implementation of the mandate of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, and the interlocutors agreed to continue the effective and reliable cooperation.