Right to life, prohibition of torture, freedom of assembly. Under the leadership of Deputy Minister Karen Karapetyan, the draft of the 2023-2025 action plan arising from the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights was discussed.

The draft of the 2023-2025 Action Plan arising from the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights was discussed under the leadership of Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Karapetyan.

Representatives of state agencies, international and non-governmental organizations participated in the public discussion.

At the event, the following chapters of the 2023-2025 Action Plan arising from the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights were discussed: right to life, prohibition of torture, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, right to a fair trial.

Deputy Minister Karen Karapetyan welcomed the attendees and noted that the measures included in the Draft are aimed at reforms in the field of human rights, in the context of which it will be possible to implement the effective protection and guarantee of human rights, the improvement of structures for the protection of civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as emphasized the importance of raising public awareness about Human Rights and the means of their protection.

According to Karen Karapetyan, the discussion is also aimed at strengthening the civil society-state dialogue and aims to increase the influence of public opinion on the development of policies in various fields. The latter expressed hope that through the new action plan arising from the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights, it will be possible to provide solutions to the institutional issues arising in the field of human rights protection.

During the public discussion, the participants presented their observations and recommendations regarding the measures included in the project. The representatives of non-governmental organizations positively evaluated the whole process aimed at the development of the Draft in terms of transparency and accountability, as well as emphasized the format of the strategy in terms of the inclusion of baseline data. In this context, the improvement of monitoring evaluation systems was also highlighted.

The second round of public discussion dedicated to the Draft Action Plan is planned to be held on March 30. Based on the opinions and suggestions collected as a result of public discussions, the action plan will be updated and presented to the Office of the Prime Minister.

This event was organized within the framework of the "Accountable Institutions and Human Rights Protection in Armenia" project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented through the collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF, the UN Population Fund and the OSCE.