Friday, January 12 2024 17:25

ArmInfo.The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the eventual influx into Armenia of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled the Azerbaijani enclave dominated events in the country in 2023. This is stated in the report  of the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch as part of its review of the human rights situation in the world in the Armenia section.

The report notes that  "while constitutional reforms stalled,  authorities continued to pursue sectoral reforms with respect to the  judiciary, police, disability rights, and education.  Human rights  groups raised concerns over the efficacy of judicial reforms and  impartiality of the accountability process for judges suspected of  alleged infractions. 

They also criticized the lack of comprehensive police reforms. Areas  of continuing human rights concerns include ill-treatment of  detainees by law enforcement, domestic violence, discrimination  against people with disabilities, and violence and discrimination  based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

Regarding the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the  organization's analysts note that Over 100,000 ethnic Armenians,  almost the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, fled for  Armenia in September following a military operation by Azerbaijan to  regain full control over the enclave. Azerbaijan's military operation  followed months of acute shortages of food, medication, hygiene  products, and other essential supplies to the region due to  Azerbaijan's disruption of vehicular and pedestrian traffic between  Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh since December 2022."

In the section on police abuses and impunity, the authors note that  Lack of effective accountability for law enforcement abuses is an  ongoing problem. Authorities often pursue investigations into  ill-treatment allegations under "abuse of office" offenses, which  carry lighter penalties. In April 2023, during a drug prevention  operation in Yerevan, police used disproportionate force against  employees and visitors at a night club and briefly detained dozens of  them. Several alleged that police and investigators ill-treated them  based on their assumed or real sexual orientation and gender  identity. Au thorities initiated an abuse-of-power case against  police, recognizing at least six people as victims, but no charges  had been brought at time of writing. In February, two lawyers  representing a detained child reported that several officers  physically assaulted them following an argument at a police precinct.  Authorities charged two officers with the criminal offense of  manhandling; the investigation was pending at time of writing. In  June, another lawyer alleged that police used physical violence  against him and his client at a Yerevan police station. Authorities  charged three officers with ill-treating the defendant, but they also  charged the lawyer with hooliganism and hindering lawful police  actions. In another case, Armenian law enforcement bodies dropped a  criminal investigation into the April beating by a senior police  officer of a 17-year-old child who was working as a waiter in a  restaurant at the time. The prosecutor claimed that the perpetrator  "fully regretted" his actions and apologized to the victim. Following  public outcry, law enforcement bodies reopened the investigation,  suspended the officer from active duty, and charged him with causing  a child severe physical pain. In June, the independent Monitoring  Group of Institutions for Children, Older Persons and Persons with  Disabilities reported violence against children at a child support  center and alleged that a police officer mistreated one of the  children. Authorities did not investigate the allegations, claiming  that the report did not include enough factual information."

Regarding freedom of speech and information in the country, they  note: "Although defamation is decriminalized, politicians and private  businesses often bring civil cases against journalists and media  outlets, dragging them into lengthy legal battles, and threatening  heavy financial penalties. A local media advocacy group reported that  from January through September, media outlets faced 23 new defamation  suits. In March, parliament passed amendments establishing additional  grounds for denying public information requests. Under the new  regulation, an agency can refuse to provide information if it  contains "official information of limited distribution," vague  language that opens the door to unwarranted censorship," HRW notes.

The report also identifies the lack of a comprehensive plan to  introduce community-based services for people with psychosocial  intellectual disabilities, and prioritises institutions and  institutional care.

It also calls for adequate protection of women from violence. In this  vein, it is noted that "Armenia has only two shelters for domestic  violence survivors, together having a capacity to shelter 24 women  plus their children. According to the Women's Support Center, a local  group, the shelters are continuously full, and protection of women  remains ineffective and marred by court rulings invalidating police  urgent intervention orders".

The section on sexual orientation and gender identity emphasizes:  "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people continue to  face discrimination, harassment, and violence." "In a positive move,  Armenian authorities in December 2022 lifted a policy prohibiting men  who have sex with men from donating blood."

The International Key Actors section, in particular, notes:

"European Council President Charles Michel hosted meetings throughout  2023 with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, discussing issues related  to the Lachin corridor (the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to  Armenia), border delimitation, transport links, and the peace  agreement that would also address the rights and security of  Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population. The United States also  mediated several rounds of discussions between the Armenian and  Azerbaijan foreign ministers aimed at reaching a "durable peace  agreement." In February, the European Union launched the civilian  mission in Armenia (EUMA), deploying 50 observers along the Armenian  side of the border with Azerbaijan and aiming to contribute to  stability, build confidence in conflict-affected areas, and ensure an  environment "conducive to the normalisation efforts" between the  parties. In its November 2022 Concluding Observations, the UN  Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urged  Armenia to ensure better representation of women in all branches of  government, expedite adoption of a pending law on legal equality, and  adopt a model of "substantive equality." It also called on the  authorities to eliminate persistent gender stereotypes within the  judiciary and law enforcement agencies, criminalize all forms of  genderbased violence against women, and ensure effective  investigations into all cases of domestic violence. The Committee  also recommended that authorities take measures to combat  discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex  women and ensure that transgender people, including women, can change  the gender marker in their passport and other identity documents. The  UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries conducted its first visit  to Armenia in February 2023. During the June EU- Armenia Partnership  Committee, the EU highlighted the importance of an independent and  efficient judiciary and the fight against corruption. It also called  on Armenian authorities to make additional efforts to eliminate all  forms of discrimination. In its March resolution on EU-Armenia  relations, the European Parliament condemned the blockage of the  Lachin corridor and highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-  Karabakh. It also called on Armenia to ratify the Council of Eu rope  Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and  Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and improve human rights  protections, especially for women and minorities, including LGBT  people. In October, Armenia's parliament voted to ratify the Rome  Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court."