Statement delivered by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Ambassador, Permanent Representative during the Consideration of the Universal Periodic Review outcome of Armenia

28 September, 2020

Mme. President,

The Republic of Armenia has always been a strong supporter of the UPR process and has engaged in the review process in a constructive and effective manner. We have been preparing a thorough address on the implementation of the recommendations received to be presented by the Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Artak Apitonian. However, I have to regretfully inform you that the resumption of the military hostilities in the conflict zone in our region deprived Yerevan for the time being of the opportunity to participate in the deliberation either in the personal or hybrid format. Therefore, in these circumstances, it is the Mission of Armenia that will update you on the progress made.

Mme. President,

We extend our sincere appreciation to all countries that have contributed with their constructive remarks and recommendations during the interactive UPR dialogue back in January.

All 252 recommendations received by Armenia have been thoroughly analyzed by the Government, and due consultations with all relevant stakeholders have been held. 239 recommendations out of 252 have been supported, 13 have been noted; some of them were immediately rejected by our delegation, due to their confrontational, biased, and politically motivated nature. We are convinced that the UPR process should not be abused for scoring narrow political gains, and its objectives and principles, particularly on its conduct in non-confrontational and non-politicized manner, should be maintained.

Now allow me to address the recommendations in thematic clusters:

On the recommendations concerning the ratification of international instruments, I would like to once again draw your attention to the fact that Armenia is a party to almost all international human rights treaties without any reservation to their provisions.

Recently Armenia has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (so-called Lanzarote Convention), and has initiated the ratification process of another four international human rights instruments, namely the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Armenia has been abolitionist since 1991, and our Constitution explicitly prohibits death penalty. Three out of seven recommendations noted by Armenia are on the ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is incompatible with the Constitution of Armenia. We also noted a recommendation on the ratification of 2014 Protocol to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29) as it is a rather new document requiring scrutiny while the existing legal framework in Armenia sufficiently regulates this area.

Mme. President,

Armenia continues effective cooperation with all UN treaty bodies, including through submission of its reports. Furthermore, Armenia has extended a standing invitation to all special procedures since May 2006 and enjoys good rapport with all mandate holders.

On the recommendation to establish a national mechanism for reporting and follow-up, I would like to inform that on June 20 a Government decision regulating relations between ministries and other competent bodies responsible for the implementation of the provisions of human rights conventions was adopted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating these activities.

It is noteworthy that we have accepted all recommendations in relation to countering discrimination, hate crime and hate speech. In April the Criminal Code of Armenia was amended by new article providing liability for inciting or publicly justifying hatred based on race, colour, ethnic origin, genetic characteristics, language, religion, political or other views, social status, birth, disability, age or other grounds.

With regard to the recommendations addressing the issue of torture, I would like to mention the new amendment to the Law on Police stipulating that the entrances and exits of the administrative buildings of the police units as well as the premises (rooms) used for interrogation shall be equipped with the video- and audio-visual recording systems, in order to prevent and detect possible cases of human rights violations, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.

As of April 1, the entry/exit video-recording systems have been operating in 11 subdivisions, and since May 1 the full operation of audio-visual recording system during the interrogations has been launched. In addition, it is planned to introduce entry/exit video recording systems in 10 more subdivisions of the Police by the end of 2020, as prescribed by the National Strategy for Human Rights Protection.

Now let me address the current situation regarding the protection of women’s rights, gender equality and fight against domestic violence.

Gender equality is an essential precondition for building just and inclusive society. For our country protection of women’s rights and the elimination of discrimination against women and girls is a significant cross cutting priority across all areas of sustainable development.

Along with the legislative reforms, a broad range of programs aimed at promotion of gender equality are currently carried out in Armenia. The Gender Policy Implementation Strategy of Armenia for 2019-2023 sets out the Government's priorities for the equal participation of women in the government and decision-making. It aims at enhancing the presence of women and girls in STEM related sectors, increasing educational opportunities, strengthening socio-economic resilience and fight against discrimination. We are also determined to accelerate our efforts to prevent gender-based violence, provide redress and appropriate services to victims of violence and support activities and programmes for their social inclusion.

Armenia also keeps the focus on overcoming the consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic global crisis. Within the framework of the response to the pandemic the Government is implementing rehabilitation programs to mitigate the adverse socio-economic impacts of the crisis. The priority is attached to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable groups, including women and girls, implementation of social protection measures and fighting domestic violence.

On 1 July 2020, Armenia was selected as a global leader for “Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality” action coalition of the UN-led Generation Equality Forum. Armenia is committed to use modern technologies for the purpose of promotion of gender equality, as well as to contribute to their capacity-building in the spheres of technology, science and innovation.

As a part of the implementation of the National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the Government prioritizes the strengthening of the gender component in the Army and the Police. The number of female employees serving in various army units and police departments, including in the higher level positions, is constantly increasing. Police Lieutenant-Colonel Narine Hakobyan has been appointed as the Head of the National Central Bureau of Interpol becoming first woman on that position in Armenia. The number of female students in the police educational complex is also on steady rise.

Given the high priority of the rights of the child and the rights of persons with disabilities on the Government’s agenda, we again supported all related recommendations. We have noted one recommendation regarding migrant children presumed detentions, since no such incident has ever been registered in Armenia. Since our last UPR Review, the Law “On the rights of persons with disabilities” has been drafted under the new edition, bringing the policy and legislation concerning social inclusion of persons with disabilities into compliance with the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Amendments are also envisaged to be made to the Constitution, and the clause “prevention and treatment of disability” will be revised.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, preservation of their language and cultural heritage are among the policy priorities of Armenia. These issues are central not only in domestic agenda but also in our foreign policy. A number of substantial efforts have been undertaken to promote the conditions necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop their culture and to preserve the essential elements of their identity, including religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage.

We are particularly proud that Armenia is a home for the world’s largest Yezidi temple. Besides being an important centre for pilgrimage, it symbolizes solidarity and hope for our Yezidi citizens as well Yezidis throughout the world, which is of particular importance in the aftermath of genocidal acts perpetrated by Daesh terrorists against Yezidi minority in Sinjar district of Iraq.

In relation to the trafficking in human beings it has to be highlighted that this June, the Sixth National Plan for Organizing the Fight against Trafficking in and Exploitation of Persons for upcoming three years was adopted. In addition to the areas covered by the previous document, the new National Plan is significantly focused on improving the legislative measures and mechanisms for identification of and support to victims of trafficking and exploitation.

Mme. President,

The Government remains resolute in its fight against corruption and seeks to promote an independent, impartial and effective judiciary, and the equality of citizens before the law.

This issue remains high on our agenda and the Government reaffirms its strong political will in meeting the high public demand of uncompromising fight against corruption in conformity with the legal framework. Today we may state that systemic corruption in the country has been uprooted.

The legislative package to that effect has been developed and submitted for public discussion. It proposes creation of anti-corruption courts, as well as introduction of integrity checks for all candidates to fill the vacant positions of prosecutors. It is planned to introduce integrity checks throughout the whole Prosecutor General’s system.

In order to ensure the use of analytical tools and specialized investigation of corruption crimes at the stage of scrutiny of corruption cases, the law on the Anti-Corruption Committee has been developed which envisages the Establishment of a committee authorized to detect and investigate corruption cases.

Mme. President,

The judicial reforms have a vital role within the scheme of our democratic reforms. Along with the Strategy of judicial and legal reforms, on the 25^th of March the National Assembly adopted a legislative package of Amendments to the Judicial Code and related laws. The legislative package is aimed to strengthen the integrity of the judiciary. In particular, the order of formation of Commission on ethics and disciplinary issues of judges, as well as the regulations on disciplinary liability have been amended.

The Government of Armenia is determined to carry out significant judicial transformations to ensure the principle of equality before the law, and will contribute to the establishment of a truly independent, efficient and accountable judicial system that enjoys the confidence of the public at large. In this context, the Government is keen to implement the relevant legislative mechanisms, identify the existing gaps and mechanisms to address them.

I will stop here, Mme. President, to allow time for comments and questions from colleagues.

Thank you.

Concluding Remarks

President,

By a way of concluding remarks, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to all those who have constructively engaged in Armenia’s third universal periodic review process, including for active participation in the discussions back in January as well as today. We have been glad to hear a number of encouraging statements acknowledging Armenia’s democratic progress of recent years. We feel equally indebted for the thoughtful recommendations. We thank our troika members - Nepal, Poland and Venezuela, for skillfully facilitating the review process as well as the Secretariat, UPR section for all the work exerted and support provided, which we highly value. Last but not least, we would like to express sincere appreciation to our national institutions - the Human Rights Defender, the civil society for their valuable efforts at all stages of the process.

Ever since the Velvet Revolution Armenia has resolutely embraced the centrality of protection and promotion of human rights, consolidation of democratic institutions, enhancement of rule of law and good governance among the priorities of the Government. We have already registered remarkable achievements in this regard, which are duly reflected in the reports of the prominent international watchdogs. Armenia is resolute to address the challenges ahead with determination, based on the rule of law, in close consultations with international partners and cooperation with national human rights institutions and civil society through open and transparent, result-oriented democratic process. This commitment equally applies to the constructive interventions and recommendations voiced today.

The democracy building is a continuous process. While this session today wraps up the formal HRC proceedings of our third review cycle Armenia has already embarked on the implementations of its recommendations as we have already outlined earlier today. We have no doubt about the successful accomplishment of this process.

Mme. President,

It is, however, with great regret that I have to conclude my address by making reference to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the region, which have severe impact on the Human Rights situation. The details of the military offensive have been presented by the Mission of Armenia to the Human Rights Council in a detailed manner earlier today.

We would like to draw the attention of the Human Rights Council to the fact that the ongoing military offensive indiscriminately targets civilians and constitutes a flagrant violation of the core international human rights instruments and the norms of international humanitarian law, as well as an appalling disregard of the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire in all corners of the world due to the threat of coronavirus.

We deem this aggression as a blatant attack against democracy and human rights perpetrated by Azerbaijan.

Mme. President,

Finally, we would like to once again voice Armenia’s strong support for the UPR process. It provides an important collaborative space for States and a wide range of stakeholders for a thorough consideration of the overall human rights situation, identification of best practices and exchange of views on the protection and promotion of human rights around the globe.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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