The meeting with the delegation of the Council of Europe was held in the Ombudsman Office

A meeting with the delegation of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, led by Christophe Poirel, was held in the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan.  

At the meeting, while greeting the delegation members, the Chief of Staff of the Ombudsman Office, Aydin Safikhanli, gave them broad information on the Ombudsman’s mandate, directions of the activity in the field of the protection of human rights and freedoms, and close collaboration with international organizations.  

It was spoken about the reception of applicants by the Ombudsman Office and its regional centers and the applications that are received through the round-clock "916" Call Center and online and social network accounts.   

A. Safikhanli said that during the nearly 30-year occupation of 20 percent of the territories of Azerbaijan, human rights and the norms of international humanitarian law have been seriously violated by Armenia. He informed the guests that Armenia continues to pursue a hate policy towards Azerbaijanis and hate crimes against Azerbaijan.    

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Rashid Rumzada, spoke in detail about the initiatives and activities carried out as part of the Ombudsman’s national preventive mechanism. He also talked about the unannounced preventive visits regularly conducted to the places of deprivation liberty where persons cannot leave at their own will, recommendations and monitoring of their status of implementation, as well as prompt reactions given with regard to the investigation of applications, along with the cooperation with the lawyers in this direction. 

R. Rumzada also provided detailed information about the amendments made to the Constitutional Law on the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and stressed their importance in terms of effective protection of human rights.

During the meeting, questions raised by the delegation members were answered in detail, and discussions were held.