Armenia’s outgoing Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan summed up his six-year tenure at a news conference on Wednesday, highlighting his office had worked in extremely difficult and tense situations.
"I have always been guided by a key principle – to stay true to my oath, to always do as much as it is necessary and after that everything that has to be done," Tatoyan said.
He reflected on the events that occurred during his tenure: the April 2016 war, events related to the seizure of a police regiment in Yerevan, including rallies and detentions.
"The events of April-May 2018 took place next. We worked day and night, often spending the night at police stations, penitentiaries and the office so that we could properly carry out our duties," the ombudsman said.
Then in July 2020, Azerbaijan unleashed aggression against Tavush Province of Armenia. The HRD's office carried out fact-finding activities, providing accurate information, including on Baku's war crimes, to international organizations. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Tatoyan’s office focused on three main areas: awareness-raising, protection of human rights in specific cases, control over the state, so that the state does not use the state of emergency and commit abuses.
The ombudsman also highlighted that even after the disastrous 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020, violations continue in Armenia’s border settlements and Artsakh.
"All this time, I have had a feeling that we are still in a state of war, there is just no armed attack,” the ombudsman said.
He stressed that despite the tense situations, there has been a surge in the number of appeals and complaints received by his office.
The ombudsman’s office received 5,214 complaints and appeals in 2015, 5,113 in 2016, 14,780 in 2020 and 21,118 in 2021, he said.
The number of hotline calls has also increased, with a total of 2,086 calls recorded in 2015, 1,876 in 2016, 1,735 in 2020 and 14,124 in 2021.
"During this time, the number of ombudsman's appeals to the Constitutional Court increased five-fold, while visits to various institutions increased 11-fold," Tatoyan said.