Armenian ombudsman resigns to take up UN post

Armenian ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan has confirmed rumours about his
resignation, the Aykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) paper reports.

Arutyunyan will resign after the visit of the Commissioner for Human
Rights of the European Council, Thomas Hammarberg.

Arutyunyan agreed to become the representative of the UN commissioner
for human rights in Central Asia. The official does not know who will
replace him as ombudsman.

The newspaper says that Vardan Pogosyan, coordinator of the Armenian
office of the German human rights organization GTZ, has been the main
candidate for the ombudsman’s position. However, Pogosyan refused to
take the position.