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“The Council of Europe is for protecting rights of 830 million people of Europe. Human rights are not selective, cannot have grey zones. Why then no support to status neutral access of the Commissioner for Human Rights to all people everywhere in Europe,” Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said on Twitter.

Mnatsakanyan is attending a session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers ‏in Helsinki from 16 to 17 May.

Earlier at the PACE spring session, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović stated people living in conflict zones or so-called “grey zones” also need to be protected by a convention, which is not the case at the moment.

“My view on this is very clear: a commissioner for human rights should always be able to travel in any part of the Council of Europe. However, the reality is different,” she said.

Mijatović stressed that that the work of the commissioner should not be politicized, adding the role of the commissioner is not to recognize territories or to engage in a political dialogue to solve conflict, but to reach out to people who are also part of the Council of Europe family. 

#CouncilofEurope is for protecting rights of 830 million people of #Europe. #humanrights is not selective, cannot have grey zones. Why then no support to status neutral access @CommissionerHR to all people everywhere in Europe. pic.twitter.com/noh6BR1Sdo

— Zohrab Mnatsakanyan (@ZMnatsakanyan) May 17, 2019