Find-finding commission to deal with election-related human rights  violations to be formed 

ArmInfo. A commission will be formed under the Public Council of Armenia to collect facts about  human rights violations during election campaigns. Amendments to the law "On the Public Council" were approved on November 28 in the second and final reading at a meeting of the RA National Assembly  Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

Presenting the project, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of  Armenia Tigran Dadunts noted that since September 21, 1991, massive  human rights violations have regularly occurred during elections in  Armenia, accompanied by the persistent presence of systemic and  political corruption in the country, which has been noted in a number  of international reports. The political changes that took place in  the republic in 2018 were the result of the sense of injustice  accumulated in society as a result of these phenomena. The strategy  of judicial and legal reforms approved on July 21, 2022, establishes  the need to apply transitional justice tools to study cases of  violation of citizens' rights that have taken place in Armenia since  independence and collect facts on them. For these purposes, it is  necessary to form a structure that should have such functions that  will allow studying and mapping cases of massive and regular human  rights violations during electoral processes that have taken place in  Armenia since 1991, as well as their causes, submitting proposals for  the restoration and protection of violated rights and preventing  their recurrence.

As a result of the constitutional amendments of 2015, the Public  Council was established in 2018, which operates as an advisory body  to the RA Government. The main objectives of the Public Council are  to represent the interests of various segments of society, promote  the participation of civil society in public administration  processes, promote the formation of mutual trust, dialogue and  partnership between the government, public administration bodies and  civil society institutions, as well as the formation of mutual trust,  dialogue and partnership between Armenia and the Diaspora on common  national issues.

It is proposed to form a commission under the Public Council to  collect facts about violations of fundamental rights and freedoms of  citizens. At present, according to the RA Law "On the Public  Council", the functions of the PC include organizing public hearings  or discussions on issues of public interest, as well as issues  related to the most important areas of public life, conducting public  examination of current laws and other regulatory legal acts, state  programs, strategies, concepts and submitting conclusions, including  recommendations for making changes and additions to them. Now one  more function will be added to these functions - studying the facts  of human rights violations from September 21, 1991 to 2023.  The task  of the commission will include identifying facts of human rights  violations during elections, recognizing and restoring the rights of  victims, implementing positive socio-political changes.

Thus, the commission under the OS will become an institution that  complements criminal justice. At the same time, it will not be a  judicial body, will not establish criminal liability or apply  sanctions. If there is evidence useful for the investigation, this  may help the work of the courts. The OS commission will have to focus  on identifying fundamental human rights violations during the  elections. Unlike parliamentary investigative commissions, the  jurisdiction of the OS truth commission will be extended over a  fairly broad period of time, which will allow it to identify  historically entrenched systemic violations. 

Their mandate will include identifying the scope of violations,  including falsification of election results, murders and kidnappings,  enforced disappearances, torture and other gross human rights  violations, interrogating all those who can provide information on  the facts under investigation, cooperating with government agencies  and making the necessary visits, submitting requests, and carrying  out witness protection measures. Based on the results of its work,  the commission will present interim and final reports. 

The final version of the report is subject to publication two years  after the formation of the commission, with the right to extend this  period for another year. Persons who have never previously held  positions of state or civil servants and who demonstrate a reserved  position on political issues may become members of the commission.  Candidates will be represented by public organizations.