2024-08-23 12:33:26
The 13th session of the Republic of Armenia – European Union dialogue on human rights took place.
The RA delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan. The EU delegation was led by Mrs. Dorota Dlucci-Suliga, Head of the European Service for External Actions of the EU. RA human rights defender Anahit Manasyan also participated in the dialogue on human rights.
The Republic of Armenia and the European Union are committed to strengthening their partnership by advancing the human rights agenda, delivering tangible benefits for their citizens, and building more inclusive societies. This year’s dialogue covered a wide range of topics, including gender equality, non-discrimination, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and information, electoral and constitutional reform, refugee rights, and strengthening labor rights.
The European Union congratulated Armenia on the progress it made on human rights issues after the last session of the RA-EU Human Rights Dialogue held in November 2022, despite the existing complex humanitarian challenges and complex security context. An important achievement is the adoption of the 2023-2025 Action Plan arising from the National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights. The participants exchanged ideas on the draft of the new gender strategy of the Republic of Armenia and the ongoing work on the draft of the RA Law “On Ensuring Legal Equality”. The EU welcomed efforts aimed at protecting children’s rights, as well as strengthening the labor inspection system. Armenia presented the process of constitutional reforms and the upcoming steps to the EU partners, as well as informed about further plans to improve the electoral system.
Notifying Armenia of the current positive developments, the EU noted that the field of human rights protection in the country needs further improvement, in particular, the conditions of detention, discrimination against persons with disabilities, violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, domestic violence and hatred. related to speech. The parties also discussed issues related to the law enforcement system and human rights in the armed forces.
Armenia and the European Union discussed cooperation on issues related to human rights and fundamental freedoms on multilateral platforms, in particular within the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe, affirming the commitment to strengthen cooperation. The EU welcomed the ratification by the Republic of Armenia of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as the ratification of Protocol 13 of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which refers to the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. The EU confirmed its support to the Republic of Armenia in capacity building in the field of ICC rules and procedures in relevant state bodies.
Armenia informed the European Union about the humanitarian and human rights impact of the large-scale military offensive by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 and the subsequent forced displacement. In this context, the parties reaffirmed their previously expressed positions. Armenia emphasized the importance of immediate implementation of legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice.
Participants discussed efforts to address the urgent needs of more than 100,000 refugees and facilitate their socio-economic inclusion, which requires significant support in the medium term.
The European Union recalled the humanitarian aid of 12.2 million euros and the budgetary support of 15 million euros provided by the EU, as well as expressed the commitment to continue the support for increasing the socio-economic resilience of the Republic of Armenia in the long term, including through financial and technical support for human rights.