Ombudsman met with PACE Secretary-General

The official meetings of Ms. Sabina Aliyeva, the Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan in Strasbourg are being continued.

In the course of the visit, the Ombudsperson met with Ms. Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, the Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

At the meeting, the Secretary-General of the Assembly was informed about the mandate of the Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan. Broad information was given on recent institutional developments such as creating several units and one department within the premises of the Institution dealing with the protection of the right to access to information, child rights, and rights of people with disabilities, as well as the functions of each of them.  It was also noted that the issue of gender equality and protecting women’s rights are in focus and both topics are taught in the universities as separate subjects.   

PACE Secretary-General was given detailed information on the national preventive mechanism activity of the Ombudsman. The measures, taken to eliminate the revealed shortcomings, as well as the status of implementation of the previously given recommendations.    

The Ombudsman, reiterating the human rights violations faced by our country, underlined the importance of the de-mining process in the liberated areas as soon as possible. S.Aliyeva also noted the significance of Armenia’s sharing of accurate minefield maps with Azerbaijan and reiterated that this issue was particularly emphasized in a separate report addressed to international organizations.

Meanwhile, other issues were discussed during the meeting with the Secretary General of the Assembly.