Armenian Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan expressed concerns over hate speech on social media and called for urgent measures to deal with the issue.

His remarks came in response to a question by opposition MP Ani Samsonyan on the level of hate speech in the country in 2019 against 2018 while presenting the 2019 Annual Report of the Human Rights Defender at the parliament on Monday.

According to the ombudsman, new legislative tools have recently been adopted to prevent hate speech, but he also highlighted public behavior in the fight, stressing citizens should not be involved in hateful online discussions.

"Public figures should behave in a way not to cause insult or hatred. This applies to everyone, indiscriminately,” the human rights defender said.

Tatoyan touched upon the recent wave of tensions between the Armenian church and authorities.

"I think we should join our efforts to prevent it, because the Armenian Apostolic Church, led by His Holiness, has played a unique role in the life of the Armenian people. This has been the case historically. We must have a special attitude towards our symbols,” Tatoyan said.