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In 2023, the Staff of the Human Rights Defender (HRD) had 1 programme and 5 measures. It had planned measures in the amount of 612mln AMD, the sum with a specified plan was reduced to 603mln AMD and 557mln AMD was factually spent. The performance for the specified budget is 92.3%: The RA Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan said this at May 30 joint sitting of the RA NA Standing Committees on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs and on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs. The debate of the annual report on Execution of the RA State Budget for 2023 was on the agenda.

According to the Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan, the main measure is the rendering of the services of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, which was financed by the financial budget means. “Our plan indicators of 2023 were mainly overdone within the framework of this programme,” Anahit Manasyan recorded. In 2023, there were about 513 visits, the number of the applications – 15.889, which increased compared with the previous year. The number of the positively solved cases were 1922.

In the history of the RA HRD for the first time, Anahit Manasyan was elected Member of the Council of European Network Administration of the National Human Rights Institutions.

Touching upon the training programmes of the HRD Staff state servants, the key rapporteur recorded that in cooperation with the international organizations they could carry out measures aimed at the improvement and development of the Staff capacities.

The Human Rights Defender highlighted the implementation of the project Boosting the Improvement of Child and Youth Protection and Participation, underlining that the Public Council adjunct to the HRD on Children and Youth also functions.

Speaking about the project to Promote gender equality in the law enforcement system of Armenia implemented by the international financing, the key rapporteur stressed that several important events were held especially from the viewpoint of the women’s engagement in the legal system.

The Chair of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Tsovinar Vardanyan informed that the opposition MPs did not take part in the debate of the joint sitting.

Anahit Manasyan answered the deputies’ questions, regarding the exclusion of the hate speech, the mechanisms of combating hate speech, child custody problems, the adoption institute and the fight against bullying in the general-educational institutions.