Sabina Aliyeva met with the Secretary General of the European Ombudsman Institute

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva met with the Secretary General of the European Ombudsman Institute Josef Siegele within the framework of her official visit to Ankara, Turkey.

At the meeting, views were exchanged on the current state of bilateral relations and future priorities; a number of issues of mutual interest were discussed.

J. Siegele was informed about the work carried out for more effective ensuring human rights and freedoms, the expansion of cooperation with civil society, the establishment of Units for the protection of children's rights, the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and Department for protection of the Right of Access to Information in the institution.

S. Aliyeva added that according to the Constitutional Law "On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan" within the framework of the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism (MPM), regular visits are made by the Ombudsperson and her National Preventive Group in order to protect the rights of detained persons, investigate the issues of detention conditions and their treatment, and further to improve the current situation. Moreover, information was given about Ombudsperson's appeals to the President of the country with amnesty proposals upon the appeals of convicts and their family members and her active participation in the meetings of the Amnesty Commission. 

During the meeting, the Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan also informed the Secretary General of the European Ombudsman Institute about numerous crimes committed by Armenia against our country and provocations that threaten peace in the post-war period. S. Aliyeva also touched upon the fact-finding missions she carried out for investigation of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, presented to J. Siegele a collection of reports, statements and appeals published on this topic during the war and post-war period.

At the end, there was an exchange of views on the issues of mutual cooperation.