Armenian human rights advocate: It`s hard to find a country where the  state leader speaks so dismissively of socially vulnerable groups

ArmInfo.  It's hard to find a country, whether authoritarian or undemocratic, where the  state leader  speaks so dismissively of socially vulnerable groups:   pensioners or families living in extreme poverty. Human rights  activist Zhanna Aleksanyan wrote  on her Facebook page.

According to her, the Armenian leader counts the pennies of Armenian  pensioners and decides how to spend them. "You're saying, 'Increase  pensions by 10,400 drams per month.' But what will this money do?   What will it be spent on? Why should we give people this money if  they don't know how to use it effectively?" the human rights activist  quoted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In this regard, Aleksanyan questioned what Pashinyan and his team had  done to improve the situation of these people. She stated that the  current government had done nothing to address this issue. "In the  civilized world, the primary focus is on protecting the elderly and  children. This man is completely devoid of compassion and mercy, not  to mention dedication. A Tibetan guru, who spent 17 years in prison,  was once asked about his greatest fear during his time behind bars he  felt while incarcerated. He responded, 'I feared losing compassion,'"  the Armenian human rights activist concluded.

Earlier, the World Bank published a report projecting that the  poverty rate in Armenia based on purchasing power parity (PPP), i.e.  $8.3 per day (updated in 2021), will decrease from 56.2% in 2024 to  53.1% by 2027. According to the study, in 2023, the poverty rate in  the villages of Armenia was 63.3%, while in the cities it was 52%.  45% of the country's poor population lived in villages, accounting  for 41% of the total population of Armenia. According to the source,  the poverty rate in Armenia in 2022 based on PPP was 55.7%, in 2023 -  56.9%, and  in 2024 - 56.2%.