Today, on 13 April, the Armenian Lawyers’ Association in cooperation with the Bureau of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the European Court of Human Rights organized a working discussion on the protection of the rights of citizens forcibly displaced from Artsakh.
Mr. Karen Zadoyan President of the ALA, the representative of the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the ECHR Yeghishe Kirakosyan, his deputy Liparit Drmoyan and about 20 representatives of the management of 7 non-governmental organizations. These are: “De-Օccupation of Shushi”, “Return to Karvachar”, “De-Օccupation of Hadrut”, “Return to Dizak”, “Return to Kashatagh”, “Kumayri” Artsakh Armenians and Harmony” Shushi Women Non-Governmental Organizationս attended the meeting.
“After the 2020 war, the forcibly displaced persons set up resistance centers sin then form of the newly established NGOs. Now it is the time to direct everyone’s efforts to the formation of a common platform of resistance aimed at the de-occupation of the occupied territories of Artsakh, the protection of the historical and cultural heritage and the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh. One of the important issues in the implementation of that agenda, as I have already mentioned, is the protection of the rights of displaced persons. In this regard, today’s discussion with the representative of the representative of the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the ECHR is aimed at discussing the possibilities of protection of the rights of displaced persons in the ECHR. This is the first working meeting in such format, but such meetings will be continuous from now on,” Karen Zadoyan said.
Mr. Yeghishe Kirakosyan noted that the Bureau of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the ECHR had long planned such a meeting with the organizations representing the interests of the population displaced from Artsakh.
“Recently we visited Artsakh. We met with representatives of state bodies and community leaders. We are working to gather evidence of human rights violations in Artsakh. Such meetings help us in this matter,” he said.
Yeghishe Kirakosyan and Liparit Drmoyan answered the questions of the representatives of the management of NGOs.
One of the participants in the meeting, Ms Armine Hayrapetyan, co-founder of the “Shushi De-Occupation” NGO, said that a platform for effective discussions is being formed and it is important in terms of dialogue with the public.
“I am full of hope that such discussions will bring us closer to our goal. Our questions were answered in one way or another. I hope that in the next stages of the process the results will be more visible,” she said.
“Return to Karvachar” NGO deals with the protection of the rights of people displaced from Shahumyan region, as well as raising their social, educational and other issues. Mr. Davit Yeghiazaryan, the executive director of the organization mentioned. According to him, such meetings are necessary․ “We try to do everything so that the displaced population feels themselves like a full member of society. We do everything with state bodies and international structures so that those people have legal and social grounds to return to Karvachar.”
At the end of the working discussion, an agreement was reached on the mechanisms of cooperation between the Bureau of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the European Court of Human Rights and non-governmental organizations dealing with the rights of persons displaced from Artsakh.
It should be noted that “De-Occupation of Shushi”, “Return to Karvachar”, “De-Occupation of Hadrut”, “Return to Dizak”, “Return to Kashatagh”, “Kumayri” Artsakh Armenians and “Harmony” Shushi Women Non-Governmental Organizations were established with the support of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association.
