Armenia joined ranks of partially free countries in Freedom in World  2022 

ArmInfo. Armenia ranked 55 out of 100 in the Freedom in the World 2022 ranking according to Freedom house, thus joining the ranks of partially free states.

As noted in the report for Armenia, the numerical scores and status  listed above do not reflect conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is  examined in a separate report. 

It is also recalled: "Freedom in the World reports assess the level  of political rights and civil liberties in a given geographical area,  regardless of whether they are affected by the state, nonstate  actors, or foreign powers. Disputed territories are sometimes  assessed separately if they meet certain criteria, including  boundaries that are sufficiently stable to allow year-on-year  comparisons." 

The report notes that, Armenia is in the midst of a significant  transition following mass antigovernment protests and elections in  2018 that forced out an entrenched political elite. "The new  government has pledged to deal with long-standing problems including  systemic corruption, opaque policymaking, a flawed electoral system,  and weak rule of law. The country continues to be seriously affected  by the 2020 conflict with Azerbaijan, which saw several months of  fighting over control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh," FH  experts noted.

Listing the processes that have taken place in the internal political  life of Armenia after the bloody war in Nagorno-Karabakh, including  the snap parliamentary elections of 2021, the authors of the report  pointed to positive trends in the process of organizing electoral  processes, however, they also noted:  "No openly LGBT+ people have  run in elections or been appointed to a public office in Armenia.  Women remain underrepresented in politics and government, and most  parties do little to address women's interests aside from meeting the  gender quota on candidate lists."

It is also noted that: "Though Pashinyan promised to loosen the  influence of business over policymaking, two wealthy businessmen  entered the parliament from his party list. Some opposition  parliamentarians also maintain close ties to businesspeople.

Since facilitating the November 2020 cease-fire agreement ending the  conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia wields increased influence in  Armenia as the main mediator in Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations."

It is also noted that despite the positive steps taken by the current  authorities of the Republic of Armenia in the fight against  corruption, "international bodies, including the UN Human Rights  Committee (OHCHR) and the Council of Europe's anticorruption  monitoring unit, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), have  found that serious shortcomings remain in the government's  anticorruption strategies; as of 2021, GRECO has deemed the Armenian  government's compliance with global corruption prevention standards  unsatisfactory.  While law enforcement agencies have initiated a  number of high-profile corruption investigations, such cases are slow  to progress,"  the report notes.

"Independent and investigative outlets operate relatively freely in  Armenia, and generally publish online. Small independent outlets  often provide robust coverage challenging the narratives of state  broadcasters and other establishment media. By comparison, most print  and broadcast outlets are affiliated with political or larger  commercial interests.

The government imposed several new restrictions on journalistic  freedoms in 2021, including limiting the free movement of journalists  in the parliament and in parts of the Syunik region. These measures  have been widely condemned by local and international organizations,  and local media organizations have called for an end to government  obstruction and harassment of the media.

Violence against journalists also increased in 2021; the Committee to  Protect Freedom of Expression (CPFE), a local nongovernmental  organization (NGO), counted nearly two dozen instances of violence  against members of the media as of October.

In July, the parliament criminalized the act of directing serious  insults towards officials and public figures; journalists'  associations and human rights NGOs have raised concerns that the law  can easily be abused to curtail free expression and to direct  political pressure against media organizations that criticize  politicians," the authors of the report noted.

It also points to the systemic political influence on the courts in  Armenia and the undermining of judicial institutions by corruption.  "Judges reportedly feel pressure to work with prosecutors to convict  defendants, and acquittal rates are extremely low. The government  published a five-year judicial-reform strategy in 2019; reforms  continued to be enacted in 2021, though progress has been slow."

It points to police mistreatment of detainees and poor prison  conditions. "Reports of police abuse of detainees and poor conditions  in prisons persist. After the change in government in 2018, law  enforcement agencies renewed dormant investigations into past cases  of physical violence by police."

It is noted that the situation in the border area is deteriorating.  "Conditions in areas adjacent to Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, an  ethnic Armenian-majority territory that previously gained de facto  independence from Azerbaijan in 1994, have declined following the  2020 military conflict in the region. Civilians in the region remain  at risk of experiencing physical violence.

Azerbaijani forces have continued to occupy areas along the border  since late 2020; in May 2021, Pashinyan alleged that Azerbaijani  troops had crossed into Armenian territory to provoke further  military clashes. In mid-November, large-scale hostilities erupted on  the eastern border of Armenia resulting in at least 13 casualties and  the capture of 32 Armenian soldiers. Dozens of Armenian prisoners of  war reportedly remained in Azerbaijani custody in 2021. Some were  reportedly tortured while in detention."

The report also highlights: "Effects of 2020 conflict over  Nagorno-Karabakh persisted throughout 2021, continuing to constrain  freedom of movement along some border areas. After the November 2020  cease-fire, Azerbaijani forces took control over a 21-kilometer  (13-mile) stretch of the Goris-Kapan highway, the only major road  connecting the Syunik region to the rest of Armenia, partitioning  villages and affecting residents' ability to move freely. In November  2021, Azerbaijani forces built new checkpoints along the road,  further curtailing Armenian residents' freedom of movement in the  region.

Azerbaijani forces have continued to occupy Armenian territory  throughout 2021, and have frequently acted to impede the internal  movement of Armenian residents, using threat of force against  civilians to exert control. In August, Azerbaijani servicemen erected  roadblocks along an interstate highway, blockading a number of  Armenian villages for several days. Several further cases of  roadblocks and military checkpoints being used to restrict Armenian  residents' freedom of movement have been reported; according to the  office of the Armenian Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), there are  no viable alternative routes for residents to avoid such  interference." 

The full text of the report in English can be found at the following  link:   https://freedomhouse.org/country/armenia/freedom-world/2022.

Neighboring Georgia ranks 58th and is also included in the list of  partially free countries. According to Freedom House, Georgia is one  of the leaders in terms of democratization in Eurasia, but in 2021 it  also faced a number of problems. In particular, we are talking about  the increase in cases of terror and violence against opposition  activists, journalists, and members of the LGBT community.  Azerbaijan, both in previous years and in 2022, has been recognized  as one of the not free countries in the region, as well as in the  world. It ranks 9th and is among the 16 most not free countries in  the world, second only to China, Libya, Myanmar and Yemen in terms of  its poor performance in the areas of political rights and civil  liberties.

And Turkey ranks 32nd, also joining the ranks of non-free states.  Moreover, Turkey is again recognized as the most unfree country in  Europe. Another neighbor of Armenia - Iran (14th) and an ally -  Russia (19th ) are also included in the non-free countries.