Almost 20 years are behind our work with Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia (HRDO). From training programmes, literature support, and strengthening operational procedures to its recognition as an A-status institution, this NHRI remains a strong partner of RWI. We continue to work hand in hand with HRDO, especially in strengthening and enhancing its mandate as the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), as well as providing support in advancing its work to become more systemic and strategic in addressing human rights issues.
Laura Gasparyan, HRDO’s NPM Coordinator, shares insights on our collaboration and notable results.
States parties to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture are obliged to appoint a national body as the NPM, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention. NHRIs are very commonly appointed as NPMs by states.
Two years after the establishment of the institution in 2004, RWI started supporting HRDO, assessing its main priorities and carrying out activities to strengthen its capacity and fulfil its mandate. A number of workshops and thematic seminars were delivered for the Institution’s staff, as well as training related to operational procedures.
RWI has long worked with HRDO on building capacity and knowledge on topics related to the protection of human rights of people deprived of their liberty, penitentiary system, the prevention of torture, and increasing knowledge in human rights and complaints handling.
Current cooperation efforts include the collaborative development of penitentiary institutions-monitoring checklists aligned with the UN and European standards, as well as with Armenian’s domestic penitentiary law. So far, 32 thematic checklists have been developed in diverse areas, including step-by-step visit plans. In addition, a handbook on human rights, NHRIs, international standards, and HRDO’s mandate remains a work in progress to ease the work and increase the knowledge of its staff. An online course in the Canvas LMS system was created based on the staff handbook, which will serve as an educational tool for both HRDO staff and the wider public to continuously increase their knowledge on the international, regional and Armenian human rights protection mechanisms, including the Human Rights Defender.
