To Stop Violence against Women

[25.11.2004]

On Thursday, Lise Grande, UN Resident Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Resident Representative in Armenia, speaking at a news conference in Yerevan,
said the organization and she personally are deeply concerned about facts of
domestic violence against women in Armenia.

Ms. Lise Grande noted, as a rule, the problem is never being discussed openly.
Those committing violence against women as well as those witnessing that are
always keeping silence.

She pledged her support for Armenian people in their efforts to root out the
violence and called on women and men to unite to combat the phenomenon
effectively.

Alice Adamyan, the PM adviser on gender issues, speaking at the same news
conference, said hundreds of women undergo domestic violence in the republic,
but nobody talks about that in public, because of Armenian mentality that finds
it shameful to wash dirty linen in public.

The head of the Women’s Rights Center Susanna Vardanyan, in turn, said a survey
conducted in 2001 had showed that 70% of all female respondents underwent
violence. She thinks the violence can’t be eliminated, but everything should be
done to lower its rate.

At the conferece the web-page Stop Violence Against Women
www.stopvaw.org  was presented.


http://new.csi.am/eng/index1.php?goto=news&id=1870

Armenian Ombudsman Not To Take Part in International Ombudsmen Conference
in Baku

[29.11.2004]

Armenia's Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan will not take part in the 3rd
international conference of CIS and European ombudsmen to be held in Baku Nov
29-30.

Alaverdyan was ready to go to Baku but did not receive an invitation.

The topic of the conference is the role of civil society and education in human
rights protection and democracy development. The event is sponsored by UNESCO.

Alaverdyan says that the problem of the Armenian and Azeri ombudsmen cooperation
is too politicized yet. In its statements the Azeri ombudsman parrots the
policies of the Azeri authorities. The problem of cooperation is the problem of
the Azeri ombudsman rather than Azerbaijan itself. Alaverdyan is ready to
cooperate but has not received any response to date. She believes that human
rights protection is a real sphere for Armenian-Azeri cooperation. There are no
obstacles to it, she says.


http://new.csi.am/eng/index1.php?goto=news&id=1871