Armenia joins Council of Europe convention on protection of patients' rights

At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, the Armenia government of approved the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine, otherwise known as the Oviedo Convention.

The Oviedo Convention is the only legally binding international instrument that establishes an applicable legal framework for both daily medical practice and the introduction of new technologies in biomedicine.

Armenia's ratification of this convention will reaffirm the country's commitment to protecting human rights in the healthcare sector.

The Oviedo Convention establishes regulations on such important matters as the patient's informed consent for any medical intervention, the need to maintain medical confidentiality, the prohibition of financial gain during organ and/or tissue transplantation, the preservation of genetic heritage, the preservation of ethical aspects in reproductive health care, the prohibition of discriminatory selection of the sex of the fetus, etc.

Armenia's ratification of the Oviedo Convention will be considered by the CoE a positive step and progress from the point of view of the country's fulfillment of its international obligations aimed at the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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