BAKU: Azerbaijani Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva and US ambassador Mark Libby have held a detailed discussion of human rights protection efforts taken over the past period, Trend reports via the statement from the Ombudsman’s Office.
According to the statement, emphasizing the importance of studying positive experiences in the field of human rights, Aliyeva highlighted the existing fruitful cooperation in this direction with ombudspersons and national human rights institutions from foreign countries, as well as international organizations.
Speaking about the latest changes to the Constitutional Law “On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan”, she noted the expansion of her mandate in the areas of ensuring equality, preventing discrimination, and other directions.
Information was provided on visits within the framework of the National Preventive Mechanism to institutions that detainees cannot leave of their own will, ways to appeal to the ombudsperson, as well as her appeals to the country
‘s president with requests for pardons based on petitions from convicts and their families.
The ombudsperson also said that during Armenia’s nearly 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani lands, gross violations of international law were committed, environmental damage was inflicted, and acts of ecocide were perpetrated.
She emphasized that the mines planted on Azerbaijani lands during the occupation created serious obstacles for the safe return of former internally displaced persons to their native lands and the implementation of large-scale reconstruction and construction work.
Adding that about 4,000 compatriots went missing during the First Karabakh War, Aliyeva noted that, as a result of efforts made by Azerbaijan, the identities and remains of several missing persons have been discovered and buried, but the fate of the others remains unknown.
The meeting pointed out that on the liberated territories, fact-finding missions are being conducted on the ombudsperson’s initiative, and reports, statements, and a
ppeals are being prepared and sent to international organizations, foreign ombudspersons, and national human rights institutions.
Additionally, the meeting discussed a number of other issues of mutual interest.
Source: Trend News Agency