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Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan tendered her resignation on Monday. In a statement announcing her resignation, the ombudsperson’s office unveiled Grigoryan’s decision to take up a new job.

“On January 23, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Kristinne Grigoryan in line with the legislation submitted her resignation to the National Assembly in connection with switching her job,” her office said.

According to Armenian law, in case of resignation, the powers of the ombudsperson are terminated if no later than a week after submitting the resignation letter the defender submits a second resignation letter.

“Ms. Grigoryan will inform the public about her new job at the appropriate moment, and until then she will refrain from any comments on this topic,” the HRD office said.

“Kristinne Grigoryan strove to carry out the mission of the Human Rights Defender impartially, and with great responsibility and dedication, being faithful to the oath taken at the National Assembly.

Firstly, the Defender would like to express her gratitude to women and men working in the institution, for their genuine acknowledgement of the institution's mission, great personal dedication and high-quality professional support offered to her during her tenure. In her turn, the Defender invested her maximum effort to ensure further institutional development and increasing institution’s resilience in transitional and crisis situations.

“The Defender also expresses her gratitude to the President of the National Assembly, the deputies, factions and committees for their high level of cooperation. As a Parliamentary Ombudsman, the support of the National Assembly and openness to discuss sensitive issues were extremely important for the proper implementation of the mission of the institution.

“Next, the Defender expresses her gratitude to the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet, the bodies subordinate to the government and Prime Minister, the local self-governing bodies and community servants, as well as the autonomous constitutional bodies for their effective cooperation.

“The Defender also expresses her gratitude to the representatives of civil society, human rights defenders and journalists with whom she had the honor and pleasure to work during this period. Their work in advancing human rights and the extent to which a favorable environment is created for it is a litmus test for the democratic development of our country.

“The Defender also thanks the Heads and the staff of the international organizations and diplomatic missions accredited in Armenia for trust and partnership, appreciation and the encouragement demonstrated to the institution's mission during this period.

Importantly, the Defender expresses her gratitude to all those persons who have applied to the Defender's institution with various issues related to the protection of human rights for their trust and their highly valued opinions. Regardless of the nature of those opinions, they have contributed to further improvement of the institution during this period.

“Availing herself of this opportunity, the Defender publicly thanks her family and friends for their patience, encouragement and unconditional support.

“Notably, in case of the premature termination of the powers of the Defender due to resignation, the Defender shall publish and submit to the National Assembly a summary report on the activities carried out during the period between the submission of the regular annual report and the submission of the resignation. The summary report will be presented along with the second resignation letter,” reads the statement.