A BROAD FIELD OF ACTIVITIES TO BE HELD BY THE FIDH IN THE REGION

Aysor
April 6 2010
Armenia

It is the first time that Forum of the International Federation of
Human Rights (FIDH) kicks off in Yerevan. On the Forum which will last
for 3 days representatives from around 300 countries will participate.

FIDH Chairman Souhayr Belhassen on the meeting with the journalists
mentioned that he is happy to be present in Armenia as Armenia is an
important country for FIDH.

"This region is inhabited with people who have for a long time lived
in Stalin era. In this concern a wide field of activities is opened
for FIDH. It is our duty to accompany Armenia and the whole region,"
Belhassen mentioned adding that for example in his country, in Tunis,
it is impossible to hold such kind of Forum.

According to the FIDH chairman the institute of human rights protection
is comparably stable, and the organization is aimed at making Armenia
to have a progress.

The subject of the Forum is "Justice, the new challenges" and the
main questions to be discussed at the forum are what kind of justice
and what kind of progress can be in the former Soviet countries.

"The center of all our concerns is the issue of the human rights in
this and all the Soviet countries," Belhassen said.

Artak Kirakosyan, the representative of the Civic Society Institute
noticed that the forum would be senseless if the problem of the human
rights in Armenia was not discussed.

"This was the most important issue for us, to make it heard form the
highest tribunes and the lips of the most prominent people, as the
field of justice in Armenia is one of the most crippling fields,"
he said.

On the conference will participate the first woman judge of Iran,
Shirin Ebadin, who mentioned in her opening speech holding such kind
of Forum in her country would be simply impossible, reminding the
fact that many journalists in Iran are imprisoned.