Who is the Human Rights Defender?

The Human Rights Defender is an independent and autonomous public official who implements the rules and procedures for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms which are being, or have been, violated by state and local governmental bodies, as well as their officials, elected or otherwise.

Who can apply to the Human Rights Defender?
 
Any individual, regardless of ethnic origin, sex, citizenship, residence, race, age, political or other affiliation and activity can apply.

People who have been arrested and detained can apply.  People who are currently standing trial, convicted persons and persons in other places of detention can apply to the Human Rights Defender.

Military servicemen can apply to the Human Rights Defender.

Public officials can apply to the Human Rights Defender in case of violations of their human rights, but only as individuals and not in their official capacity.

Only authorized representatives of those persons whose rights have been violated can apply to the Human Rights Defender. The members of a deceased person’s family and his/her heirs can also apply.

Filing a complaint with the Human Rights Defender, or the Defender’s actual intervention, cannot result in criminal, administrative or other punitive measures being imposed, nor any discrimination, with respect to the complainant.

What powers does the Human Rights Defender have?

After accepting the complaint for investigation, the Human Rights Defender has the following powers:

a) to visit without restriction
* any public institution or organization,
* military units,
* places of detention, including pre-trial detention and penitentiary facilities,

b) to demand any and all necessary materials, documents and explanations in connection with the complaint, from any state or local governmental institution, as well as from their officials, elected or otherwise,

c) to become acquainted with, among others, criminal, civil, administrative, disciplinary and  economic and other cases where the court’s decisions and verdicts have entered into force.  The Human Rights Defender also has access to materials which a judicial or administrative body used to reject a case, and to initiate other actions, as prescribed by law.

How does the Human Right’s Defender restore violated human rights?

After investigating the complaint and identifying violations of human rights and freedoms, the Human Rights Defender, after determining that a violation occurred, recommends to the state and local governmental institutions, and their officials who committed the violation, to eliminate that course of action which brought about the complaint.

The Human Rights Defender also proposes possible arrangements which will restore the violated party’s human rights and fundamental freedoms.  

The Human Rights Defender has the power to recommend to the various authorized state bodies to levy disciplinary or administrative sanctions or to file criminal charges against the public official for his/her decisions, actions or lack of action which resulted in a violation.  The Defender has various other means of restoration as prescribed by law.

Is it possible to influence the Human Rights Defender’s decisions or interfere with his/her activity?

Interference with the Human Rights Defender’s activity, intimidating the Human Rights Defender, and, among others, insulting the Human Rights Defender is prohibited.

Does the Human Rights Defender enjoy immunity?
 
Immunity is enjoyed by the Defender during the entire term in office. Immunity is also extended to all documents in his/her possession as well as all communications, either via mail, telephone or otherwise.

Are the decisions of the Human Rights Defender enforceable?

Suggestions of the Human Rights Defender are advisory.  The Human Rights Defender can publish and disseminate to the public, through the mass media, information about agencies or public officials who did not respond to his/her directive, or who failed to implement the requirements of the motion, or implemented the directive in an insufficient manner. 

The Human Rights Defender can also publish and disseminate the responses of the state and local governmental institutions and their officials, with regard to the directive, if all reasonable means have been exhausted by the Human Rights Defender to solve the problem in a public forum.

Are the services of the Human Rights Defender free of charge?

The services of the Human Rights Defender, from initial application through completion of the case, are free of charge.

If you apply to the Human Rights Defender will you lose the possibility of pursing other means of protecting your rights?

No, because the Human Rights Defender’s activities supplement the existing means for the protection of the citizen's rights and freedoms.  Further, it does not eliminate, nor does it review, the powers and decisions, respectively, of the state bodies responsible for the protection and restoration of human rights.

What are the national and international mechanisms for protecting human rights?

The national mechanisms for protecting human rights are derived from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, the Human Rights Defender, and non-governmental organizations which focus on the protection of human rights.

The international mechanisms for the protection of human rights are of two types – international and regional.

Organizations such as the United Nations and its various agencies work on the international level to protect human rights.

Protection of human rights on the regional level is implemented by organizations such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and others, as well as their various agencies (e.g. the European Court, etc.).

Source: www.ombuds.am