Artsakh Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan, during a meeting with young people today in Stepanaker, said the only way to a just settlement of the conflict and lasting peace with Azerbaijan is the continuous strengthening of Armenian statehood in terms of security, socio-economic and governance.

Beglaryan’s meeting with a group of young people from Artsakh and Armenia’s Tavoush Province was part of a program organized by the Democracy Today NGO.

Democracy Today Chairwoman and UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Gyulnara Shahinyan was also present at the meeting.

Beglaryan noted that although the Republic of Artsakh has achieved serious success in guaranteeing human rights, several problem areas remain.

He noted that in order to address most of these issues, it is necessary to develop civil society in Artsakh and contribute to the continuous improvement of the institutional capacity of state bodies.