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Azerbaijan discusses issue on giving authorities of Media Ombudsman to Human Rights Commissioner

08 December 2010 14:30 (UTC +04:00)

Amendments and annexes to the constitutional law on â€œHuman Rights Commissionerâ€ that envisages enlarging authorities of the Ombudsman.

Chief of the parliamentâ€™s department on statehood Latif Huseynov gave information about the amendments and annexes to the constitutional law on â€œHuman Rights Commissionerâ€.

He said according to the draft law, Ombudsman is to fulfill the functions of the national preventive mechanism envisaged in the facultative protocol of the UN Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. For this purpose National preventive group must be established in the Ombudsmanâ€™s office. The group has the right to enter the jails, detention facilities without obstacles or warning in advance, meet with the detainees and other rights.

The member of the national preventive group can not be made to give testimony about the facts known to him. The parliamentarians noted the importance of forming the group with transparent principles.

Reporting about the project Huseynov said the Commissioner should control the state agencies having information and fulfillment of the officialsâ€™ duties based on the law on obtaining information. Huseynov said the law adopted by the parliament in 2005 considered founding the institution of the Media Ombudsman. â€œThis institution has not been founded yet. The proposed project is planning to give this authority to the present Ombudsman. There is such experience in Europe. For example, in Slovenia, this mission is carried out by the Ombudsman. As the amendments to the law come to force, article about the creation of this institution of the law on obtaining information will lose its force and this authority will be given to Ombudsmanâ€.

Members of the parliament Fazil Gazanfaroglu and Gudrat Hasanguliyev said it would complicate the Ombudsmanâ€™s work. Representative of the OSCE Office in Baku Monica Meltes said it would be expedient to create Media Ombudsman institution. Head of the Ombudsman Office Aydin Safikhanli said Ombudsperson Elmira Suleymanova has been working on the freedom of information so far. â€œThe present amendment will specify her authorities. This is positive caseâ€.

The draft law was recommended to the plenary meeting of the parliament.