Attorney Arpine Yeghikyan does not believe that the Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan’s resignation is related to the criticism of his activities. She thinks the resignation has personal reasons, and since nothing is said explicitly, to prophesy reasons is senseless. However the lawyer thinks this is unexpected and ungrounded decision.
According to her the scope of the Ombudsman’s powers is problematic. “This institute, in fact, is an additional supporting mean, and has nearly the same range of powers in almost all countries. Why supporting, because it lacks the obligation function. In our country there is a problem that the common systematic approaches to the Human Rights Defender are not those that should actually be, and this hinders his activities to be more efficient. That is unless the ombudsman hase obligatory function, his every statement and report should be the subject of study of appropriate authorities,” our interlocutor said.
What problems should resolved the new Ombudsman? Arpine Yeghikian believes that the effectiveness of this institute depends on the person holding the office. “If the person has sufficient authority among other officials, he can perform operations more efficiently. And this authority should be achieved through consistent work and complete application of his powers and shaping due attention towards the reports,” Mrs. Yeghikyan concluded.
