On 14-15 May 2022 the Council of Europe Project “Human Rights and Women in the Armed Forces of Armenia – Phase II” (‘the Project’) in cooperation with the Delegation of the International Committee of Red Cross in Armenia (‘’ICRC’’) organised a workshop for the personnel of the Human rights Defender’s Office of Armenia on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights (HR) in armed conflict and post conflict situations. The Office of the Representative on International Legal Matters made relevant interventions during the Workshop on the subject matters related to its mandate.
The workshop provided a platform for discussing the IHL and HR in conflict and post-conflict situations, where several aspects of IHL, in particular detention, means and methods of warfare, principle of distinction between civilians and those participating in hostilities, etc. were discussed․ Questions related to European human rights law and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) were also presented and discussed. Discussions were led by Mr. Stefano PIEDIMONTE, Deputy Jurisconsult, European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe, Mr. Vaios KOUTROULIS, Professor of Public International Law International Law Centre Université libre de Bruxelles and member of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC), Mr Yutaka ARAI, Professor of Law at the University of Kent, and Mr. Ady NIV, lawyer at the International Criminal Court. The exchanges made during the evet created a solid platform for argumentation and in a long-run seek to generate – and contribute to – a wider debate about the IHL, ECtHR case law and HR in conflict and post conflict situations.
Mr Tigran KARAPETYAN, Head of Division, Transversal Challenges and Multilateral Projects Task Force, Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe highlighted the importance of the Project and expressed hope that it will have a major impact on the future development and promotion of human rights in Armenia. Mr Darko JORDANOV, Communications and Prevention Manager, International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation in Armenia, Ms Zara AMATUNI, Communications and Prevention Manager, International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation in Armenia, Mr Hrant JILAVYAN, Head of the Department General for Protection of Human Rights in the Criminal Justice and Armed Forces, Human Rights Defender’s Office of the Republic of Armenia as well as Mr Liparit DRMEYAN, Head of Office of the Representative on International Legal Matters made opening remarks at the event.