Committee to be formed to deal with election-related human rights  violations

ArmInfo. A special commission, which will be created under the Public Council, will  study the issue of human rights violations during the electoral  processes in post- Soviet Armenia. The National Assembly of the  Republic of Armenia, at its session on December 4, in the second and  final reading, introduced amendments to the law "On the Public  Council".

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, it can  help the work of the courts. The OS commission will have to focus on  identifying fundamental human rights violations during the elections.