On October 14, Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan received the delegation led by Patrick Svensson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Republic of Armenia.
Welcoming the guests, Anahit Manasyan presented to the ambassador the important directions of the human rights defender's work, which include, among others, the rights of women, children, national minorities, persons with disabilities, human rights in the armed forces, hate speech, atmosphere of intolerance, fight against discrimination and other Within the framework of the meeting, Anahit Manasyan presented the current challenges in the field of guaranteeing equality and anti-discrimination in our country. In this context, the Defender emphasized the impermissible volumes of the climate of hate speech, discrimination, and intolerance in the Republic of Armenia today and the importance of the works being carried out within the framework of the fight against it. The defender noted that these phenomena are widespread in Armenia, which is unacceptable. Of particular concern is the use of discriminatory speech and hate speech on all grounds in the academic community, by political and public figures, as well as in the media. Anahit Manasyan specially emphasized that any manifestation of hate speech should be excluded from public speech.
Defender Anahit Manasyan also referred to the issues related to the protection of the rights of people forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, the fact-finding activities carried out by him personally and his staff. The issues related to environmental rights and citizens' right to rest were also discussed. In turn, Ambassador Patrick Svenson thanked for the reception and to highlight the role of the Defender's institution in the implementation of the mission of human rights protection.
