Today, the Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan hosted the delegation headed by the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons Kathryne Bomberger. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Netherlands H.E. Mr. Tigran Balayan.

Welcoming the representatives of the international commission, The Defender Ms. Grigoryan presented the constitutional mandate of the Human Rights Defender and the directions of the activities of the institution. The Defender also informed their interlocutors about the high public trust in the institution, which, according to the Defender, is an important guarantee for the effective implementation of its mission.

Ms. Kristinne Girgoryan presented to the representatives of the International Commission on Missing Persons the direction of the work conducted by the institution of the Defender with the families of the missing persons, which include solving everyday issues faced by them, as well as providing legal counsel and mental health support, and facilitating access to international human rights mechanisms. The Defender underlined that the protection of the rights of both missing persons and the relatives of prisoners of war and civilian captives is in the center of his daily attention both in Armenia and in Artsakh.

In their turn, Ms. Kathryne Bomberger thanked the Defender for the meeting, and presented the work experience of 25 years of the International Commission on Missing Persons, which is aimed at assisting states to study the cases of missing persons in the post-war period, providing legal assistance to their families, as well as to establishing appropriate investigative mechanisms and institutional structures.

The Defender Ms. Grigoryan specifically underlined the importance of the need to develop comprehensive legislation regulating the issues of missing persons, as well as the need to create a capable and robust institution system.

During the meeting, the sides of the meeting stressed the importance of involving the relatives of the missing persons in both the development of legislation and mechanisms.

Concluding the meeting, the participants agreed on specific areas of further cooperation.