In our country, the freedom of religious organizations and religious minorities should be strongly guaranteed. This is very important and sets a high standard in terms of human rights protection. This was mentioned in the opening speech of the RA Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan during a regional conference on contemporary issues of freedom of religion or belief in Armenia, Georgia and around the world.
The conference was organized by the Eurasian Partnership Foundation with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Armenia and Georgia.
“The freedom of thought, conscience and religion is one of the basic elements of democratic and civilized society. Thus, no coercion is allowed in forcing a person to change his/her religious beliefs. The freedom of thought, conscience and religion is interconnected with other human rights and freedom, in particular, the protection of this freedom impacts on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and associations and other values”, noted the Human Rights Defender emphasizing the role of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in terms of human rights protection.
“Any discrimination based on religion should be excluded: each of us should respect the freedom of thought and conscience of others. At the beginning of the last century the Armenian nation experienced the severe consequences of religious discrimination and was subjected to torture and ill-treatment, deprivation of life and property based on that discrimination.”, said the Human Rights Defender.
Arman Tatoyan stressed the importance of the activities of the Eurasian Partnership Foundation in protecting the freedom of religion and conscience. He added, that it was by the suggestion of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, that he has requested and received the opinion of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE / ODIHR) on the draft law "On freedom of thought, conscience, religion and religious organizations".
The Human Rights Defender expressed his readiness to support the work on amending the draft presented by the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with civil society and international organizations with regard to guaranteeing freedom of thought, conscience and religion.