Back Council of Europe strengthens collaboration with the Human Rights Defender’s Office in the field of protection human rights in biomedicine

The staff of the Human Rights Defender’s Office enhanced their knowledge on the European Standards of human rights in the field of biomedicine and ECHR jurisprudence
Council of Europe strengthens collaboration with the Human Rights Defender’s Office in the field of protection human rights in biomedicine

Integration of human rights and ethical principles into medical care is crucial for guaranteeing equitable and dignified access of population to various healthcare services. This can be accomplished by raising awareness and enhancing the knowledge and capacities of both healthcare and legal professionals allowing them to apply those standards in their daily practices. The Office of Human Rights Defender plays a crucial role in this context as the latter has a key function in monitoring the protection of human rights by the state and facilitating public dialogue on various human rights issues.

To address different aspects of the right to health protection and other human rights and ethical aspects enshrined in the Council of Europe Oviedo Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, as well as the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, around 25 representatives of the HRDO participated in a two-day capacity building training on 13-14 April 2024, in Hankavan, Armenia.

The opening remarks of the event were delivered by Maxime Longangué, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan and Anahit Manasyan, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia.

Maxime Longangué thanked the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Ms Anahit Manasyan for the strong cooperation between the HRDO and the Council of Europe and her direct engagement and support in promoting human rights dialogue in Armenia in general, and on the principles of the Oviedo Convention, in particular.

Anahit Manasyan highlighted the effective work with the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan and emphasized the importance of such trainings both in terms of enhancing the capacities and knowledge of the staff of the HRDO and raising the awareness of the public on health-related matters.

She further reaffirmed her commitment to continue advocacy in favor of ratification of the Oviedo Convention by Armenia, which is the only international legally binding instrument in the field of healthcare and stressed the importance of conducting wide-range awareness-raising campaigns in order to form a real understanding of the rights guaranteed by the Convention among the public before the ratification.

The capacity-building was designed to capacitate the staff of the Office of Human Rights Defender with the necessary skills and knowledge on the main principles of the Oviedo Convention and its Additional Protocols with a very specific focus on the issues of access to healthcare services, age-limits for reproduction and possible discrimination, the right to know genetic ancestry presented by Professor Fabio Macioce, the international consultant of the Council of Europe. ECHR jurisprudence on legal capacity and protection of autonomy and freedom of persons with mental health problems in light of the execution of ECHR case law “Nikolyan vs Armenia” was presented by Boglárka Benkó, a senior lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights.

Council of Europe and the HRDO will continue close cooperation towards further promoting public dialogue on those issues and safeguarding human rights in the field of healthcare for the benefit of the population. The capacity-building training was organised by the Council of Europe Project on “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine II” implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026.

HANKAVAN, ARMENIA 13-14 APRIL 2024
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation, with 46 member states, including Armenia. All our member states are party to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is the cornerstone of human rights protection in Europe.

The Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, represents the Secretary General in Armenia. It closely co-operates with national authorities supporting the implementation of statutory obligations to the Council of Europe by Armenia through co-operation projects.


 

Armenia and the Council of Europe – bringing human rights from the conference table to your kitchen table

The Council of Europe works for you. We want to give visibility to the role, standards and work of the Council of Europe in its member states, to show how Council of Europe membership has helped achieve particular results or changes. Our aim, through a variety of events and actions, is to highlight ways in which the Council of Europe’s action has helped improve the life of individuals and contributed to improving people’s enjoyment of fundamental rights.

 

Whether it is the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights at national level, or the Council of Europe's work in many fields, such as working to abolish the death penalty or to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of the media, or to adress online and technology-facilitated violence against women through the Istanbul Convention and Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, the Council of Europe has achieved a lot since 1949. View achievements »