Armenia to Introduce Civil Servant Day

ArmInfo. When it comes to a civil servant, first and foremost, it is necessary to bear in mind the independence of that civil servant. Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from the opposition faction "Strong Armenia" Aram Vardevanyan stated this on October 27 during a plenary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, commenting on the amendments to the law "On Holidays and Memorial Days" submitted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia for second reading, under which it is proposed to declare June 23 Civil Servant’s Day.

According to the vice speaker, it is very important that during elections civil servants do not turn into a tool for abusing administrative resources, thereby becoming victims of abuses and of those carrying out the whims of one political force. "Therefore, when we talk about a civil servant, we simply need to respect the civil servant. It is very important to have a real situation in which an official carrying out the mission of a civil servant respects the project presented by that very official. But they cannot respect this project, since during rallies held by the ruling political force, that official abandons all their duties in order to participate in the rally. We welcome all civil servants except those who, in their activities, deviate from the requirements of the law," Aram Vardevanyan said.

In response, Vache Kalashyan, head of the Civil Service Department of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, noted that civil servants cannot be independent of political power. This category of citizens must serve the interests of the ruling political force by preparing high-quality projects and implementing decisions that have already been adopted at the proper level.

It should be noted that earlier, presenting the draft law, Vache Kalashyan noted that     Civil Servant’s Day would be celebrated on June 23 and would be a working day.  The document is intended to emphasize that all civil servants participate in the implementation of a common mission to protect the public interest, improve the efficiency of public administration and provide quality services to citizens. Regardless of the nature of the function performed by a civil servant—law enforcement, administrative, social, supervisory or another function of public importance—their activities are ultimately aimed at serving the public interest. Therefore, a more comprehensive and systematic approach is needed. In order to assess this activity and emphasize the role of the civil service, it is necessary not to establish a separate day for each service, but to have one common day for all civil servants. This approach is based on the following principle: "Different functions, different professions, but one common state mission," which corresponds to the logic of modern public administration, within which the activities of various state structures are viewed as an integral part of a single general governance system.  Let us recall that on December 20, 2002, the UN General Assembly, by Resolution 57/277, declared June 23 Public Service Day.  According to paragraph 3  of this resolution,  the UN calls on Member States to organize special events on this day to highlight the contribution of the public service to the development of states. The adoption of the draft law is intended to recognize, encourage and strengthen the role of civil servants in the country’s sustainable development, the effective provision of public services, the introduction of innovative approaches and the implementation of a unified state policy.