The Ombudsman is on an official visit to Latvia

Sabina Aliyeva, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid an official visit to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

As a part of her visit, Ms. Aliyeva visited the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Latvia. She laid a wreath in front of the bust of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the building of the Embassy and paid tribute to his memory.

As part of her visit to Latvia, Ms. S. Aliyeva met with Ms. Inete Lelite and Ms. Iluta Lace, civil society representatives active in the field of women's rights protection.

During the meeting, they were informed on the work done in the direction of ensuring women's rights in Azerbaijan, the proposals and recommendations made by the Ombudsman for improving the legislation.

The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan pointed out that women also suffered from the consequences of the aggressive policy of Armenia against our country for many years, and that there were women among the civilians who were killed and tortured during the Khojaly Genocide. It was also emphasized that there are many women and children among the nearly 4000 compatriots who went missing during the First Karabakh War and Armenia has not yet provided any information about them. The Ombudsman drew attention to the fact that it was revealed that 33 of the 54 captives and hostages, confirmed to be alive by the ICRC, including 6 women, who were later killed.

During the meetings, women's rights defenders of Latvia gave detailed information about their activities and support measures for women. Human rights defenders emphasized the importance of cooperation in the relevant field, both bilateral and within the framework of international organizations.

Later, the Ombudsman had a meeting with the Chairman of the Promotion of Cooperation Group between the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia and the Parliament of Azerbaijan Mr. Romans Naudinsh. At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on various issues related to the protection of human rights, the importance of effective establishment of relations between ombudsman institutions and parliaments.

Ms. S. Aliyeva held her next meeting at the Ombudsman Institution of Latvia. During the meeting, the sides shared information about the activities of their Institutions, the complaint review procedure, and discussed the future cooperation prospects.

In her speech, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan talked about the multifaceted activities of our Institution, provided information about the analysis of draft laws from the point of view of human rights, and the proposals and recommendations reflected in the Annual Reports.