News - Vassilis Maragos: Armenia makes great achievements in the field of human rights protection

Armenia has achieved great success in the field of human rights protection, but it does not mean that the work in this direction is fully completed, it is necessary to make Armenia's institutions meet the requirements of the citizens. Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, expressed this opinion at the presentation of the program “Supporting Human Rights Protection and Strengthening National Institutions” implemented jointly by the UN Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF and UN Population Fund, Armenpress reports."Human rights concerns everyone, human rights is a partnership. It should be a process that brings us together,” said Vassilis Maragos, expressing that it is necessary to realize how important it is to work together on human rights issues, and at the same time to be sure that Armenia's institutions are committed to democracy, to further developing the capacity of these institutions, and to meeting the needs of citizens. He noted that the above-mentioned observations are requirements for a partnership with the European Union. According to him, the European Union supports the protection of human rights not only in many partner countries but also all over the world. This sphere is also at the center of Armenia-EU partnership. "Armenia has made many achievements in these spheres, but it does not mean that the work is finished. That is why we continue to work together,” Maragos emphasized, adding that it is very important that all relevant institutions and professional circles of Armenia are involved in this process. He emphasized that the goal of these joint works is to share with Armenia the experience the EU has in order to help and support all the reforms implemented by the relevant institutions of Armenia. In this context, the Head of the EU Delegation emphasized the importance of civil society participation. "I would also like to welcome the presence of the representative of the Chamber of Lawyers. I want to mention the participation of lawyers, because they play a very important role in protecting human rights, they are also important actors between the society and state institutions,” Vassilis Maragos said. He said that the launch of the project will last three years and expressed the hope that over time it will bring a certain set of sustainable results. "I would like to emphasize the importance of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU. I would like to emphasize that Armenia is fulfilling its numerous commitments, which are defined by the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the European Union. I would like to especially stress Armenia's commitment to the UN Convention on the Death Penalty, the commitments undertaken before the Council of Europe and the ratification of the Rome Statute, which took place a few months ago, and we are actively working on its implementation,” Maragos said, stressing that the EU-Armenia relations will now develop and deepen based on the new partnership program. The head of the EU delegation thanked the Armenian authorities and the Armenian civil society for the continuous dialog on human rights, which brings many concrete elements to the RA-EU bilateral cooperation. "Apart from the human rights field, the European Union has also invested in the justice reforms in Armenia. This is also, if you want, another angle related to human rights, because the justice that is provided for the citizens is a human rights institution. I would also like to emphasize the importance of the work on the fight against corruption. Yesterday we had a very important political dialog on justice and the fight against corruption. Again, there are many achievements, but there are also many challenges. There is room for improvement in all these areas,” Maragos said, expressing the view that inclusiveness of all social sectors is very important in the implementation of human rights reforms.