YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. On October 19, Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the delegation of Melissa Hooper, a lawyer and rule of law expert of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Welcoming the guests, Anahit Manasyan presented the issues related to the protection of the rights of people of Nagorno- Karabakh forcibly displaced  as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression, which were recorded as a result of the fact-finding activities.

"The Defender specifically referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other cases of torture, mutilation, and ill-treatment by the Azerbaijani forces prohibited by the international law.

The Defender also presented the results of the fact-finding work carried out by her and her staff, emphasizing the need to guarantee the rights of forcibly displaced persons continuously.

In this context, the reports submitted by the Defender, through which the results of the monitoring are documented, were emphasized," the message reads.

Within the framework of the meeting, Anahit Manasyan referred to the problems of human rights protection caused by the border security of the Republic of Armenia, noting that the presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia is very worrying from the point of view of the protection and guarantee of human rights. 

Possible directions for expanding cooperation between the US Agency for International Development and the Institute of the Human Rights Defender were also discussed.