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At March 16 sitting, the NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs debated the report on Procedure of the Implementation of the RA Government Programme for 2020 Approved by 25 February 2021 Decision N 242-A of the RA Government, Approved by 8 February 2019 N 65-A Decision of the RA Government Its Results.

The RA Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan presented the sector of the programme on human rights. On 26 December 2019, the executive body approved the national strategy of the protection of human rights and the Action Plan for 2020-2022 stemming from it. It includes 89 events and targets the ensuring of legal equality, events directed to the discrimination ban and the protection of different vulnerable groups.

In 2020, 25 events were designed, 15 were carried out completely, 8 - partially. 2 events remained incomplete because of pandemic and war.

AT the beginning of 2021, the Ministry of Justice initiated the process of amending the Action Plan for the protection of human rights. It is aimed at raising the problems existing after war and their addressing at strategic level.

“New kind of punishment is designed in the New Criminal Code as an alternative for imprisonment. It is an alternative punishment without isolating from the society the convicted and keeping under control in home conditions,” the Minister said.

According to the deputy Artur Hovhannisyan, in response to the question on the employment problem of the convicted, Rustam Badasyan informed that providing the convicted with the work has been the statute goal of the fund Support to the Convicted created before. Last year, the Ministry received the results of the State Control Service, and this year – the audit of the Audit Chamber.

The deputy Sargis Khandanyan was interested in the theme of operating the patrol service. “In July the patrol service with 700 staff members and 150 cars. Now, in the Police Academy there is active process for training human resources. International experts are involved,” Badasyan said, adding that the educational programmes are targeted. The patrol guard studies only the programme which will be necessary in his/her daily work.

“The year 2020 was full of the most serious challenges,” the RA Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan stated and presented the preventive measures directed to the effective fight against COVID-19.

The Minister also touched upon the actions of the health system during the war unleashed by Azerbaijan and right organization of the medical aid. About 3000 medical workers were engaged in the process, and during the complicated cases councils were convened with the participation of the doctors from abroad. “During the year 2020 there were certain delays. The all reforms being forecast on understandable reasons were not possible to implement,” the Minister said and presented the statistics of the current programmes.

“How was implemented the testing process in the marzes/regions amid pandemic?” the Deputy Chair Ani Samsonyan was interested.

In response it was noted: “The National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NDCT) functioned not only in the capital: we have marz centre branches in all marzes. All marz centres are provided with the possibility of holding COVID-19 testing.”