Staff members of the Ombudsman Institution participated in EU-hosted virtual meeting

The staff members of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, Deputy-Chief of Staff, Mr. Rashid Rumzada, and Head of the Unit for the Protection of PWDs, Ms. Ayten Tarverdiyeva participated at the 9^th Meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom, Security, Human Rights, and Democracy held on April 26-27.

The representatives of the Ombudsman spoke in the panel discussions “National framework for the protection of human rights”, “National human rights institutions”, “Functioning of the detention system, including the fight against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, “Social and cultural rights, people with disabilities, gender equality and protection of women's rights”.

At the meeting, the experts from the Office have briefed the work of the Institution in the field of NPM, organization of preventive visits, holding awareness-raising events, protection and social inclusion of the PWDs, protection, and promotion of women’s rights, ensuring gender equality at the national level.

Besides, according to the agenda topics about the rights to freedom of expression, press, media, and information, it was noted that at the initiative of the Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva and in order to ease the process of handling of applications on the violation of the right to information by the information holding state authorities, self-employment bodies and officials, there has been established a separate Department for the Protection of the Right to Information, stemming from the Law on Access to Information.

On the next day of the meeting, a number of issues of justice, freedom, and security, including the rule of law, the judiciary and cooperation in the field of justice, migration, asylum, and border management, as well as the issues of fighting against organized crime and other illegal activity, the return of IDPs to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan were exchanged.