A meeting with Regis Brillat, Head of the Department of the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe (CoE), and Zoltan Hernyes, Head of the CoE Azerbaijan Office, was held at the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Office.
Aydin Safikhanli, Head of the Office, provided some general information about the work carried out in the country for the protection of human rights and freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights. He drew attention to the Commissioner's proposals to the Milli Majlis on the ratification of the CoE Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and the UN Convention on Protection of Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Furthermore, A. Safikhanli added that 18 articles out of 31 of the Amended European Social Charter had been ratified by Azerbaijan and that the Commissioner made recommendations on the ratification of other relevant articles of the Charter.
In the course of the meeting, the proposition of conducting joint trainings on the European Social Charter with the CoE was discussed.
Zaur Valimammadli, Head of the International Relations Department of the Office spoke about the cooperation with the CoE and the Commissioner for Human Rights of this organization, as well as the membership and active participation of Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institute in the European Network of National Preventive Mechanisms against Torture.
Additionally, Z. Valimammadli provided some general information about the active cooperation of the Azerbaijan Ombudsman Institute with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutes and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutes (ENNHRI). He spoke about the Ombudsman Institute’s active participation in the ENNHRI’s projects on Business and Human Rights, as well as Conflict and Human Rights, among others. He also mentioned that the Ombudsman Institute is a member of the advisory group of the above mentioned project on Conflict and Human Rights.
Source: Commissioner for Human Rights, Azerbaijan