- Details
- Published: February 18, 2022
Expert talks on the rights and protection of mentally ill persons in the penal system
“Rights and protection of mentally ill persons in prisons and the penal system" - this was the topic of an event organised by the IRZ for the first time with the Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Armenia, an independent institution tasked with protecting human rights and freedoms in Armenia or to ensure it is restored in the event of a violation of the law.
The expert discussion took place from 3-4 December 2021 in a hybrid format: the German experts and representatives of the IRZ connected online to the contingent in Germany with the participants in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.
Representatives of the following institutions took part in the expert talks:
- Employees of the Ombudsman’s Office
- Representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Penal Department at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia
- Employees of the various correctional facilities
- Representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs
- Employees from psychiatric departments of various hospitals (also from the surrounding regions) and
- Employees of specialised children's homes
The event was opened by Armenia's Ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, and the IRZ Head of Section, Frank Hupfeld. Laura Gasparyan, Coordinator for the Implementation of the National Preventive Mechanism and Director-General for the Prevention of Torture and Ill-Treatment at the Ombudsman Office of the Republic of Armenia, then reported on the situation in Armenia and on the status of the rights and protection of persons with mental illnesses in Armenia.
The two German speakers, Silvia Hawliczek, a specialist psychologist for forensic psychology, former social director and Tina Hübner, a psychologist at the Berlin Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, first presented the health system in the German penal system and the forensic psychiatric hospital.
The expert talks then took place on the following topics:
- Mechanisms to protect the mentally ill
- Ways to eliminate the stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness
- Recording and registering the neglect and problems of mentally ill people and the institutions responsible
- Methods for finding solutions to problems
- Raising awareness of personnel regarding the rights and protection of the mentally ill
Intensive expert discussions took place and the representatives of the participating institutions emphasised the importance of the event and the continuation of the cooperation in the coming year.