Saturday, April 20 2013

Corruption and lack of transparency in government
remain the most significant human rights problems in Armenia, says the 2012
Report on Human Rights Practices issued by State Department.

 

"The most significant human rights problems in
Armenia are during the year were limitations on the right of citizens to change
their government, corruption and lack of transparency in government, and the
limited independence of the judiciary," the report says.

 

One of the sections of the report is dedicated to the
May parliamentary elections in Armenia.

 

"Flaws in the conduct of May 6 legislative
elections included the misuse of government resources to support the ruling
party, credible allegations of vote buying, deficiencies in the complaints and
appeals process, and continued shortcomings in the electoral code despite
improvements. Allegations of persistent corruption at all levels of government
undermined the rule of law, although the government took limited steps to
punish low- to mid-level official corruption. Courts remained subject to
political pressure from the executive branch, which resulted in some
politically motivated prosecutions and sentencing," the report says.

 

Other abuses reported during the year included
suspicious deaths in the military under noncombat conditions, continued hazing
and other mistreatment of conscripts by officers and fellow soldiers, and a
lack of accountability for such actions.

 

"Police allegedly continued to employ torture to
obtain confessions and reportedly beat citizens during arrest and
interrogation. Many prisons were overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacking in
medical services for inmates. Authorities continued to arrest and detain
criminal suspects without reasonable suspicion and to detain individuals
arbitrarily. Trials were often prolonged, and courts failed to enforce laws
providing for fair trials. Laws against government intrusion on the right to
privacy and unlawful searches were inadequately enforced. The pre-election
period was marked by diverse media coverage; however, the media continued to
lack diversity of political opinion and objective reporting outside the
campaign period. Members of religious minorities suffered from societal
discrimination. Domestic violence remained a problem but largely went
unreported to authorities. Human trafficking was a problem, which authorities
made efforts to combat. Persons with disabilities experienced discrimination in
almost all areas of life. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
persons were subjected to societal abuse and discrimination by military and
prison authorities. Workers' rights were limited and labor laws weakly
enforced.

 

Although the government took some steps to punish
officials in the security forces and elsewhere who committed abuses, some
members of the security forces continued to commit human rights abuses with
impunity while under the direction of civilian leadership. The government
issued a report in December 2011 on its investigation into the deaths of eight
civilians and two police officers following the 2008 presidential election but,
as of year’s end, had not held anyone accountable."