Representative of the Ombudsman Office participated in the ENNHRI High-Level Consultation Meeting

The staff member of the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Office, Sevinj Shener took part at the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) High-Level Consultation Meeting on “Council of Europe (CoE) Recommendation on NHRIs and European Union (EU) Rule of Law Mechanism” held in Brussels, Belgium. The aim of the consultation was to update the CoE Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (97) 14 on the establishment of independent NHRIs.   

The meeting brought together over 20 national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of both regional intergovernmental organizations, as well as members of the UN, CoE and EU specialized institutions and international NGOs. 

During two-day discussions S. Shener put forward some proposals with regard to strengthening NHRIs’ activities at national and regional levels. She also gave information about the broad mandate of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan under the Constitutional Law on Ombudsman which designated the Ombudsman as both NHRI and ombudsman institution, also as national preventive mechanism. The representative of the Office informed about the close work of the Commissioner with civil society institutions, conduction of public hearings jointly with state bodies, municipalities, civil society institutions in order to control the implementation of National Program for Action to Raise Effectiveness of the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms in the Republic of Azerbaijan (2011). She added that all proposals made during those hearings have been submitted to the competent bodies, published as a book and necessary actions are taken for the implementation of that document.   

S. Shener emphasized that the Commissioner also conducts planned and ad-hoc monitoring in places of detention as a national preventive mechanism. Highlighting the cooperation of the institution with international and regional organizations, especially with the CoE, she stressed the necesity of stgrengthening mutual cooperation, besides the participation in the Twinning project and TAIEX programmes, the Azerbaijani Ombudsman just recently launched a joint training-seminar jointly with the EU and CoE on the topic “Anti-discrimination in practice for the field officers of the Ombudsman Office of Azerbaijan” in the frame of the Project on “Strengthening access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries”.