Last week the staff of the Human Rights Defender Office of Armenia acquired knowledge and skills on healthcare services in closed institutions in line with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (also known as the Istanbul Protocol). The activity aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Human Rights Defender Office and enhancing the professionalism of its staff to allow it to fulfil in an adequate manner its mandate to visit and monitor any detention place under the authority and control of the state. The training was attended by 26 participants, including the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan.

The training was focused on requisite medical care in the spotlight of combating ill-treatment and torture in closed institutions. Specific emphasis was placed on the examination of the forms of torture and ill-treatment that may or may not lead to physical and psychological evidence as a result of lack of requisite medical care. The training provided an opportunity to make a comparative review of relevant European Court of Human Rights case-law and international standards in the field of human rights protection. European Court of Human Rights case-law on the application of Istanbul Protocol was presented as well.

The training was organised within the scope of the Project on “Supporting the criminal justice reform and combating ill-treatment and impunity in Armenia”, funded within the European Union and Council of Europe Programmatic Cooperation Framework in the Eastern Partnership Countries for 2015-2017.