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On May 21, the Delegation of the RA NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, composed of the Committee Chair Elinar Vardanyan, the Deputy Chair Margarit Yesayan, committee members Stepan Demirchyan and Karen Shakhmuradyan left for Stepanakert on a working visit.

The deputies had meetings with the members of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the NKR National Assembly, the NKR newly appointed Human Rights Defender (HRD) Ruben Melikyan and the employees of the HRD Office.

The Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs Elinar Vardanyan and the Deputy Chair Margarit Yesayan noted that the goal of the meeting was the revision of the joint working programmes. Margarit Yesayan, particularly, noted: “We have come to express our support to the newly appointed Human Rights Defender and make a decision together in what works to be useful. The main emphasis was laid on the record of the facts on the violation of human rights during the April war, on collection of those facts, and we, the RA NA deputies, expressed our support, which was gladly accepted by the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh.”

The RA NA deputies highlighted the fact that the programmes being implemented in Armenia by them could become reality also in Artsakh. “I think that during several years we have had omission: it is for the first time our Committee has such joint working meeting with its colleagues of the NK National Assembly. But I am sure that though we began late, nevertheless the joint work will be continuous and effective. And we will try to direct the work of the international organizations functioning in Armenia to Artsakh. It is evident that during the April war not only military crimes have been committed, but also crimes that directly also relate to the civilians, the civilians’ rights have also been violated. And we, the deputies of two republics, together with the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, also the RA Ombudsman Institute should try to raise thoroughly all those problems and submit to all relevant international structure,” Margarit Yesayan noted.