Ensuring the right to freedom from torture for persons brought before the Military Police as suspects and witnesses in criminal proceedings on incidents recorded in the RA Armed Forces
Annual reports and communications from the Republic of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) The institution of the RA’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) has been operating since 21 October 2003, i. e. immediately following the adoption of the RA Law23 on Human Rights Defender. Following constitutional amendments in 2015, there was the need to adopt a new law on the Human Rights Defender. On 16 December 2016, the RA’s Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender24 was adopted. Article 2 of the Law stipulates that the Defender is an independent official who monitors the protection of human rights and freedoms by public and local self-government bodies and officials, and in cases prescribed by this law, also by organizations. The Defender facilitates the restoration of violated rights and freedoms and ensures improvement of normative legal acts related to rights and freedoms. The second part of the aforementioned article of the Constitutional Law entrusts the Defender with the mandate of a National Preventive Mechanism provided by the Optional Protocol (adopted on 18 December 2002) to the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. According to Article 31 of the Constitutional Law, the Defender shall present to the Republic of Armenia’s National Assembly an annual communication on its activities carried out during the previous year. It includes an update on the state of protection of human rights and freedoms, as well as an annual report on activities undertaken during the previous year as part of the National Preventive Mechanism. The Human Rights Defender may also prepare special public reports or communications. He has been publishing annual reports since 2004; it has also been publishing annual communications since 201525. PD has studied carefully the annual/special reports and communications published by the Human Rights Defender since 2010 for the purposes of this project. It should be noted that in six of them, the institution referred to the issues of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment in the MP. 23. RA Law on the Human Rights Defender, adopted on 21 October 2003 (in Armenian): https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=64341 24. RA Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender: https://www.ombuds.am/en_us/site/AboutConstitution/79 25. Annual reports and communications of the Human Rights Defender (in Armenian): https://www.ombuds.am/am/site/SpecialReports
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