OSCE ORGANIZES ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN VISIT TO LITHUANIA

Panorama.am
13:35 30/10/06

The Armenian Ombudsman, Armen Harutyunyan, today wrapped up a five-day
visit to the Ombudsman institution of Lithuania’s Parliament (Seimas),
which was organized by the OSCE.

The visit aimed at strengthening the co-operation between the two
institutions. Mr Harutyunyan talked to his Lithuanian counterparts
about the investigation of individual human rights complaints, staff
selection, and public relations matters.

He also visited a penitentiary institution and met the Lithuanian
Minister of Justice Mr. Betras Baguska, the Deputy Speaker of Seimas
Mr. Ceflovas Jursenas and a representative of the Committee on
Human Rights.

"This trip was beneficial and very useful because it allowed us to
exchange our experience and approaches on the effective functioning
of Ombudsman institutions," Mr Harutyunyan said.

Lars Gerold, Rule of Law expert with the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, which together with the OSCE Office
in Yerevan organized Mr Harutyunyan’s visit, said:

"National human rights institutions play a key role in the protection
of human rights. The co-operation between these two Ombudsman
institutions is an excellent example of sharing experience and best
practices, which will no doubt benefit both."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress