The Ombudsman Office held the Outcomes of the 2023 Annual Meeting

Sabina Aliyeva, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held an annual meeting on the outcomes of the 2023 in the field of protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms at the Ombudsman Office.

During the meeting, which was attended by the heads and members of various structural divisions of the Ombudsman Office, the measures carried out in 2023, including activities for protection of human rights and freedoms, incoming complaints and applications, ensuring the rights of various population groups, and the Ombudsman's National Preventive Mechanism activities to prevent torture and ill-treatment were discussed, and reports were also listened to.

Discussions were held on the issues of strengthening the Ombudsman's activities to fulfill new functions based on the amendments to the Constitutional Law on the Ombudsman, fulfiling the monitoring and promotion of an independent monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the CRPD and CRC, ensuring equality, and preventing discrimination.

During the post-war period, activities for effective protection of human rights and freedoms in the context of new realities emerging in the region during the post-war period, the work of the Ombudsman with the purpose of taking measures, within the framework of international cooperation, to put an end the Armenia’s ethnic cleansing and hatred policies pursued against Azerbaijanis for many years were given detailed information. The Ombudsman also provided information about reports and statements addressed to international human rights institutions. It was noted that landmines buried in our territories during the Armenian occupation remain a serious threat to the lives and health of people. It was also underlined that the call for condemnation of Armenia's grave actions, including violations of international law on international platforms, remained a priority in the past period.

During the meeting, the forthcoming tasks were discussed, and structural units were given relevant assignments, as well as measures to ensure citizens' electoral rights due to the upcoming early presidential elections in the country.

At the end, the Ombudsman gave her recommendations on how to more effectively protect human rights, develop National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) activities, and other priority areas, as well as further develop and improve international cooperation and other areas for the current year.