Artsakh Ombudsman condemns Armenian authorities of ignoring  fundamental rights of Artsakh people

ArmInfo. Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan accused the Armenian authorities of ignoring the  fundamental rights of Artsakh residents against the backdrop of  recent legislative initiatives regarding the distribution of funded  pensions for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.  Stepanyan noted that  after forced deportation from Artsakh, many Artsakh residents are  seeking clear information about the fate of the money they have  accumulated through the funded pension system.

He added that it is about 17 billion drams and approximately 34,500  beneficiaries. According to the Ombudsman, given the high interest of  Artsakh residents in this issue, his office conducted a study.  "On  January 16, 2024, the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh  amended the Law "On Accumulative Pensions", which provided  beneficiaries with the opportunity, at their request, to transfer  accumulated funds to an account opened in another accumulative  pension system or receive them back by transferring them to their  bank accounts. On February 29, 2024, the corresponding procedure  arising from the above-mentioned law was approved by a decision of  the Government of Artsakh.

The Government of Artsakh held discussions on this issue with the  interested bodies: the Central Bank of Armenia, the Central  Depository of Armenia OJSC and the "General Asset Management " CJSC   fund manager, which did not present any obstacles in terms of the  implementation of the process. In fact, the relevant authorities of  the Republic of Artsakh and other interested bodies have provided for  all the necessary legal procedures that give citizens of the Republic  of Artsakh the opportunity to either return the accumulated funds or  transfer them to another fund operating in the accumulation system of  the Republic of Armenia. According to the law, the process should  have been completed in November 2024," the Artsakh Ombudsman noted.

At the same time, Stepanyan added that despite the abovementioned, in  May 2024, the Armenian government put forward a legislative  initiative, according to which it is stipulated that participants in  the funded pension system from Artsakh, upon their application, can  transfer their accumulated funds to the RA pension accumulative  system, and in the absence of a corresponding application, the funds  will be transferred on the basis of the law.

Stepanyan stated that in fact, the project proposed by the Government  of Armenia does not create the possibility of returning accumulated  funds to the participants, but only provides that, with or without an  application, the accumulated funds will be transferred to another  fund operating in the funded pension system of the Republic of  Armenia.  "In fact, the government of the Republic of Armenia, having  practically no authority to control the fate of accumulated funds,  with this legislative initiative is trying to transfer the funds of  the investment fund to the pension fund of Armenia, depriving  participants of the accumulation system of the opportunity to manage  their own funds.

It has already become common behavior of the government of the  Republic of Armenia to make decisions on issues concerning forcibly  displaced Artsakh residents without proper public discussion, without  ensuring inclusivity, ignoring at least the right to be heard on  issues affecting them," Stepanyan concluded.