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Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has established a foundation aimed at promoting democracy and the rule of law in the country.

“As promised, I am starting an active public activity and have set up the Center for Law and Justice: Tatoyan Fund,” he told a news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.

The foundation seeks to ensure human rights, social justice and national solidarity, to protect national values as well as to improve education through research activities and public awareness campaigns. It employs former staffers of the ombudsman’s office, Tatoyan said.

The organization is funded by Diaspora Armenians from the U.S. Europe and Russia, he underlined.

The former ombudsman says his team has already prepared a report on the state-sponsored policy of Armeniphobia in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani war crimes committed during the latest military aggression against Armenia, including the mutilation and dismemberment of the bodies of dead Armenian servicemen.

He pointed to the stickers featuring photos of Armenian soldiers’ mutilated bodies created and used by Azerbaijanis on social media.

“Obviously, the Azerbaijani authorities do not seek peace,” Tatoyan stressed, accusing the Armenian leadership of failure to adequately counter Azerbaijan’s hostile policy stemming from ethnic and religious hatred.

He highlights that the policy of Armenophobia is vital for the survival of the Aliyev regime.

“This policy will never end because it is vital for the survival of the Azerbaijani ruling regime and enables it to cling to power. If the Azerbaijani authorities break the image of a foreign enemy, it will mark the end of their rule,” Tatoyan explained.

Arman Tatoyan served as Armenia’s ombudsman from February 2016 to 2022.