The Ministry of Internal Affairs held a workshop on documentation in detention facilities, which was attended by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan and Maxim Longange, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan.
The evaluation report of the documentation by the Istanbul Protocol was presented for discussion, including the template, which became the subject of intensive discussions. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan thanked the colleagues of the Council of Europe for forming an ambitious agenda with joint efforts.
He noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should plan institutional solutions from the point of view of human rights protection, emphasizing that it is more important to give priority to institutional improvement than to situational solutions.
“On many platforms, we discuss the execution of various judgments, but I want to emphasize again, and I had to emphasize in many discussions, that our goal is not simply to execute any judgment but to come from the state’s will from the beginning, because the Republic of Armenia expressed this will not or to become a part of any international organization or to assume any responsibility, but from the beginning, the will of the state was to provide higher guarantees for the protection of human rights,” said Arpine Sargsyan.
The Deputy Minister hoped that cooperation with the Council of Europe would be expanded beyond evaluation. Particular training is expected for Police, Ambulance, and Investigative Committee personnel, and adequate logistical support will be provided.
Maxim Longange, head of the Council of Europe office in Yerevan, thanked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the cooperation and reaffirmed the Council of Europe’s commitment to supporting the process.
“Our focus is on the mechanisms of documenting the ill-treatment of detainees in detention facilities. For us, the protection of people’s rights is a priority. The lack of standard procedures for identifying and reporting cases of ill-treatment may violate the rights of persons in detention facilities,” said Maxim Longange.
An agreement was reached to finalize the documents and ensure their distribution and implementation in training. The workshop took place in an active question-and-answer format. It was organized within the framework of the Council of Europe’s “Strengthening the protection of the rights of persons deprived of liberty” program.
