Armenian Foreign Minister visits OSCE human rights office to discuss co-operation

WARSAW, 17 February 2009 - Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian visited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today and met ODIHR Director Ambassador Janez Lenarcic to discuss possibilities for strengthening co-operation with the Armenian authorities in the field of human rights and democracy.

"We discussed a number of concrete areas where our co-operation with the Armenian authorities could be further intensified," said Lenarcic.

The ODIHR Director offered assistance in following up on the recommendations made in ODIHR's final report on last year's presidential election, and in reviewing new legislation in areas such as freedom of religion and belief.

Lenarcic updated Minister Nalbadian on ODIHR's ongoing monitoring of the trials related to the violent clashes that took place in Yerevan following the February 2008 elections.

As a next step, in early April, ODIHR and the OSCE Centre in Yerevan are organizing a meeting on ways to strengthen the protection of the human rights of armed forces personnel, hosted by the Armenian Defence Ministry.

It was agreed that Lenarcic would visit Yerevan in May for his first visit to Armenia since taking up his position in July 2008.