On 9-10 October 2021 two-days capacity-building training for journalists participating in the first pilot group of ‘’HELP training session for journalists on the Key Principles on Bioethics’’ was jointly organized with the Office of Human Rights Defender in a hybrid format. The training session is the first ever HELP training session for journalists and aimed at equipping journalists covering the healthcare sphere with the necessary skills on main principles of bioethics and to apply those principles in their daily practices.

The capacity-building training was opened by Maxime Longangue, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, and Arman Tatoyan, the Human Rights Defender in the Republic of Armenia.

Following the general presentations on Council of Europe’s Project on ‘’Human Rights Protection in Biomedicine’’, and the work of the Council of Europe in the field of bioethics, the participants were introduced on the main principles of the Oviedo Convention, the role of the Ombudsman in protection of human rights in biomedicine and the issues of human rights protection in emergency situations.

Several local and international experts addressed the topics related to health-related rights during emergency situations, key ethical principles of healthcare journalism, the importance of health literacy during COVID-19 pandemic, the distribution and use of health-related information during COVID-19 pandemic.

The participants of the training session successfully completed their assignments during the HELP course were awarded certificates at the end of capacity-building training.

The capacity building training was organised under the framework of the Council of Europe’s Project on ‘‘Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine’’ in Armenia.