Tert.am

Karabakh Ombudsman Institute in International Arena

23:37 ¢ 02.10.09

Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsman Institute has become a full
member of the European Ombudsman Institute, said Ombudsman of the
Republic of Armenia Armen Harutyunyan during a joint press conference
with his colleague Yuri Hayrapetyan today.

`From the institutional point of view, we already have one
international platform, where one of Nagorno-Karabakh’s institutes
participates with the same status as its colleagues: Germany, France,
England, and of course, Azerbaijan,’ Harutyunyan said.

The Ombudsman of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh gave thanks for
organizing today’s meeting. `This is the best way to bring this news
to public attention, to raise awareness on democratic processes and
achievements in those processes in Nagorno-Karabakh,’ Hayrapetyan
said.

The Ombudsman said establishment of Ombudsman’s office in
Nagorno-Karabakh on April 2008 was indeed a big achievement in the
sphere of democracy `particularly because we established this
institute under military conditions forced on us.`

The Ombudsman also said in a period less than a year they managed to
gain citizens’ trust, as well as to establish working relations with
all the institutions of the authority. `It was taken into
consideration when making the decision for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Ombudman
Institute to become a member of the European Ombudsman Institute,’
Hayrapetyan concluded.