Health care professionals are on the frontline to ensure respect of human rights. Ethical and human rights principles play an important in addressing the often-complex situations and difficult decisions to be taken in the biomedical and health field. They also contribute to building trust in the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients.

As part of its comprehensive response package to the refugee influx in Armenia, the Council of Europe continues to conduct a series of capacity-building activities on key human rights principles in healthcare and biomedicine, as well as on rights and responsibilities of healthcare professionals from the Karabakh region. 
The third group of nearly 35 physicians participated in the capacity-building activities on key human rights principles in healthcare and biomedicine on 19-20 April 2024 in Hankavan, Armenia.

The opening remarks were delivered by Meri Katvalyan, Senior Project Officer of the Project “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine” and Karen Baziyan, Adviser to the Director of the National Institute of Health of the Republic of Armenia. Both sides highlighted the importance of these capacity-building sessions in terms of contributing to the integration process of healthcare professionals from the Karabakh region into the healthcare system in Armenia and their professional development around human rights aspects of their work.

International and local consultants of the Council of Europe introduced healthcare professionals the national and European standards on the right to health protection and access to healthcare services, reproductive health rights, transplantation of organs and tissues, ethical rules for healthcare professionals, issues of informed consent, medical secret and confidentiality, human rights issues in emergency situations. 

The training session, contributed to the continuous professional development of healthcare professionals, allowing them to collect 10 continuous professional development (CPD) credits, as well as strengthened and enhanced their professional network.

The capacity-building training was organised by the Council of Europe as part of its Project “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine II” implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026.