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Human rights protection is one of the most important goals that a democratic government, society and country can pursue in the modern world, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his remarks at the opening of an international conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Human Rights Defender's (HRD) Office in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

According to him, 15 years ago, when the institute of the Human Rights Defender was introduced, there were some pessimistic assessments about how it would affect human rights protection in Armenia.

"We can state that this institute has been established in Armenia and has had an undeniable contribution to the protection of human rights," the prime minister said.

Pashinyan noted that the relationship between the ombudsman and the authorities have not been smooth over the years, referring to the resignation of Armenia’s first three human rights defenders, widely perceived as a result of as a reflection of the profound contradictions among them.

“But we at least hope that as a result of the 2018 Velvet Revolution in Armenia, new conditions have been created for the ombudsman's activity. The revolution was made by people, the proud citizens of Armenia, and the revolution has created an environment where man is not only declarative, but truly a supreme value and the protection of their rights is a key priority for the government,” the Armenian leader said.

At the same time, he stressed, this does not mean that human rights protection is in a perfect state in Armenia today. According to him, human rights protection is at least as important for the Armenian government as for the human rights defender.

“In this respect, the Armenian government, the National Assembly and I personally attach great importance to the HRD’s activity in Armenia, since we believe that one of our most important allies in this process is the ombudsman institute. In general, our activities after the revolution are primarily aimed at the protection of human rights. The protection of human rights is based on the simple understanding that all are equal before the law, that people's inequality clears way for corruption. When the Armenian government fights corruption and monopolies, it first of all affects the level of human rights protection,” Pashinyan said.

According to him, Armenia has a big agenda today in terms of human rights protection.

“We can state that important institutional issues, which have seemed unsolvable for many years, have been resolved. In December 2018 we had snap parliamentary elections, the first in our country's history the results of which were not challenged at the Constitutional Court, the results of which were questioned neither by the international community nor the Armenian community. They were widely hailed as free, democratic and competitive,” he emphasized.

Pashinayn noted human rights protection is still facing some challenges today.

“Today Armenia is an undoubtedly democratic country, but that democracy exists more as an emotional expression, and it is the emotional continuation of the 2018 revolution. And now we need to strengthen our country's democracy in an institutional sense so that its future does not depend on the taste, mood or discretion of any leader, person or political party. We will definitely move forward in this issue,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

The other challenge, according to him, is the establishment of an independent judicial system. Pashinyan stressed the judiciary, along with the executive and legislative authorities, has promoted massive human rights abuses in Armenia.

"Today having a truly independent judiciary is a primary challenge for us,” he said.