OSCE Office marks the International Human Rights Day in Armenia

armradio.am
08.12.2007 11:29

An art exhibition, the opening of a renovated legal library, and a
human rights discussion are among the activities the OSCE Office in
Yerevan is supporting to mark International Human Rights Day on 10
December.

The exhibition of handicrafts by imprisoned Armenian women and
juveniles is the result of a six-month project at the Abovian
institution, which offered wood-carving courses for incarcerated women
and juveniles.

`The courses helped prepare prisoners for some of the challenges they
will face in their future,’ said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the
OSCE Office.

The cultural non-governmental organization Trtu offered the course with
the support of the Armenian Justice Ministry and the OSCE Office in
Yerevan. The exhibition will be open to the public from 7 to 17
December.

The Office also supported the re-opening of the renovated library of
the Chamber of Advocates on 6 December, which contains books and other
printed materials from the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights and other sources. The library targets legal
specialists, advocates and public defenders.

`I do believe the library will be a useful tool upgrading skills of
lawyers, raising efficiency of their daily work, which in its turn will
contribute to the overall system of protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, the importance of which can never be
overestimated,’ added Ambassador Sergey Kapinos.

In addition, the Office together with the Armenian Ombudsman
Institution plans to organize a discussion on 10 December to assess
activities in the field of protection and promotion of human rights in
the country. Representatives of governmental, non-governmental and
international organizations as well as human rights activists are
invited to take part.

On 11 December, a ceremony will be held to mark the laying of the
foundation of a new human rights school in Vanadzor, Lori province and
the start of a fund-raising campaign for the school. The Armenian
Constitutional Right Protection Centre NGO will operate the school.
Local authorities and the United Nations Department for Public
Information will also participate in the event.