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OSCE and Armenian Ombudsperson enhance co-operation
YEREVAN 18 March 2005
YEREVAN, 18 March 2005 - The OSCE today signed two Memoranda of Understanding with the first Armenian Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, under which her staff will receive training through exchange visits with the Polish and Lithuanian Ombudsman Offices.
Created in 2004, the Armenian Ombudsman Office has become an integral part of the human rights landscape of the country during its first year of operation.
"The recently established Office has faced a lot of challenges from the very moment it started to work," said Stefan Buchmayer, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, at the signing ceremony.
"Therefore, we are happy to find financial resources with the help of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights [ODIHR] to support the Ombudsman Office by building its staff capacity."
The training will include a two-week study visit for two staff members of the Armenian Ombudsman Office to Poland and Lithuania respectively. The four trainees will in turn host their training partners from the Polish and Lithuanian Ombudsman institutions in Armenia and evaluate the results of the training.
"In the past, similar training programmes have proved to be successful in the OSCE region," said Lars Gerold, the ODIHR representative who signed the agreement for the human rights institution.
"This method provides for a "hands on" approach, in which the trainees are actively involved in the daily business of the host institutions."
"The development of our institution depends to a large extent on well-trained, motivated staff," said Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, expressing her appreciation of the project.
"We need to profit from the experience of human rights defender institutions in countries with a similar recent history."
Created in 2004, the Armenian Ombudsman Office has become an integral part of the human rights landscape of the country during its first year of operation.
"The recently established Office has faced a lot of challenges from the very moment it started to work," said Stefan Buchmayer, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, at the signing ceremony.
"Therefore, we are happy to find financial resources with the help of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights [ODIHR] to support the Ombudsman Office by building its staff capacity."
The training will include a two-week study visit for two staff members of the Armenian Ombudsman Office to Poland and Lithuania respectively. The four trainees will in turn host their training partners from the Polish and Lithuanian Ombudsman institutions in Armenia and evaluate the results of the training.
"In the past, similar training programmes have proved to be successful in the OSCE region," said Lars Gerold, the ODIHR representative who signed the agreement for the human rights institution.
"This method provides for a "hands on" approach, in which the trainees are actively involved in the daily business of the host institutions."
"The development of our institution depends to a large extent on well-trained, motivated staff," said Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, expressing her appreciation of the project.
"We need to profit from the experience of human rights defender institutions in countries with a similar recent history."