Armenian Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan was elected a full member of the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen at the annual general assembly of the Association in Madrid.

Among other issues, participants debated proposal of the Chairman of the Turkish Human Rights Commission on adoption of a special statement with respect to Gaza’s blockade by Israel, as well as on the clash between the Israeli Armed Forces and Turkish navy.

Armenian Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan noted that the basic mission of ombudsmen’s national institutions is human rights protection inside their countries, the press service of the RA Ombudsman reported. He added that if a decision is adopted on discussion of international problems, it will be necessary to discuss all types of blockades, including Armenia’s blockade, for the development of a single statement.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ombudsmen offered not to refer to this problem, as an international commission has been established on it. Eventually, it was decided to refrain from adopting a joint statement.

The Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen was created in 2008 on the occasion of the 2nd meeting of the Mediterranean network of Ombudsmen. The Association is committed to securing and protecting democracy, rule of law and social justice. It aims to spread the respect of national and international texts related to Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Rabat declaration.