The Human Rights Defender has summarized the results of the unannounced visit to the “Gavar Special School No. 1” state non-profit organization.

During the visit, the conditions of child care, the state of protection of children’s rights and freedoms, as well as the issues with regar to children’s right to education were examined. Private interviews with the children also took place.

As a result of the monitoring visit, a detailed analytical document has been prepared.

The following main issues have been recorded:

  • the toilets in the school are not adapted to the special needs of children with disabilities,
  • there is insufficient number of hygiene items in the school toilets,
  • the proper sanitary-hygienic conditions for keeping children’s personal hygienic items  are not ensured,
  • there are no unified procedure on collecting and maintaining data on health condition,
  • the disposal of medical waste is not ensured based on the procedure prescribed by law,
  • the proper sanitary-hygienic conditions in the kitchen and the pantry are not ensured,
  • expired food was available at the establishment during the visit,
  • the sampling of ready-made dishes prescribed by the legislation is not conducted, in particular, medical personnel do not attend the sampling process,
  • the proper sanitary-hygienic conditions are not ensured for bread storage,
  • suspected or confirmed cases of violence with respect to and between the children are not recorded in line with the established procedure for proper investigation and prevention of similar incidents in the future.

At the end of the visit, the raised issues were discussed with the administration of the special school. Both the Director, as well as the staff of the school fully cooperated with the Human Rights Defender’s representatives and did not hinder their work.

The Human Rights Defender welcomes the readiness of the Director of the special school to undertake measures for addressing the issues raised.

The Human Rights Defender sent the raised issues along with recommendations for their solution to the Administration of Gegharkunik region, expressing readiness to discuss the issues and contribute to their solution.

The Defender also stressed the importance of improving the social guarantees of the special school’s staff from the perspective of the whole human rights protection system.