RA human rights defender Kristinne Grigoryan received today the special representative of the NATO Secretary General in the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina and the delegation headed by him.

The defender expressed his gratitude to the special representative for his visit and highlighted his visit to the Republic of Armenia. During the meeting, the defender presented the institution's mandate, powers, and priority directions of activity, noted that the institution has a high level of trust from society, and is also accredited by the UN as an independent institution.

Special Representative of NATO Secretary General Xavier Colomina, in his turn, thanked the meeting and emphasized the importance of bilateral cooperation. He stated that they are interested in human rights in Armenia, the governance system, and the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. He noted that he got acquainted with the extraordinary reports published by the Human Rights Council, where the facts about the blockade of the Lachin Corridor were presented.

The defender presented the fact-finding works of the institution regarding the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which are re-checked several times and then published in reports. Reports are submitted to international structures and actors.

Grigoryan also specifically spoke about the incident of terrorizing children traveling from Armenia to Artsakh by Azerbaijani fake eco-activists on January 17, considering that this type of act is a gross violation of children's rights, which should be properly assessed by international organizations dealing with children's rights.

The defender presented that 120,000 people remained under siege in Artsakh, including 30,000 children, 9,000 people with disabilities, and 20,000 elderly people.

He noted that many analyzed facts, including the official statements of high-ranking Azerbaijani people, their coordinated nature with the actions of fake activists, and gas and internet shutdowns, show that what is happening is a policy of depopulation of Artsakh organized and managed by the Azerbaijani government.

The NATO special representative emphasized the importance of arriving in Armenia and getting to know the situation on the spot. The parties also discussed a number of issues of bilateral cooperation.