The Secretariat of the CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia has issued a statement on the Anti-Corruption Section of the RA Government Program which reads:

“On 9 February 2019, the Government session approved the RA Government’s Program, which among others included a separate section of the fight against corruption, emphasizing that the fight against corruption will be one of the priorities of the government.

We note that the public agenda for the uncompromising fight against corruption has been formed during the non-violent, velvet revolution in Armenia in spring 2018. Consequently, the political forces that have taken over the leadership of the country today, have no alternative but to come up with revolutionary and institutional recommendations for the solution of the problem and to bring them to life.

Referring to the structure of the above mentioned section of the Government program, it should be noted that in the methodological context, it is not outlined based on the three main pillars that define the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, which are: anti-corruption education, prevention and law enforcement functions, and this indicates that institutional approach was not provided. Furthermore, the regulations for the introduction of the anti-corruption institutional system and the strategic priorities of the new anti-corruption policy, which need primary solution in the fight against corruption, are not clearly stated in the mentioned section.

Thus, the Government program, in terms of having an anti-corruption institutional system, has highlighted the creation of a specialized anti-corruption body with guarantees of independence which has the functions needed to conduct research and identify corruption offenses, while there is nothing said about the other two preventive and educational functions.

The government program does not provide a clear vision regarding the direction of anticorruption struggle in the coming years; the type of the anti-corruption institutional system to be introduced in Armenia; the priorities and prevailing matters of the new anti-corruption policy.

The best international practice proves that policies adopted by the countries aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the fight against corruption are developing in one direction – to form an independent anti-corruption body, which will comprehensively regulate and implement all the measures aimed at reducing corruption. Being convinced that the above-mentioned institutional system for fight against corruption is the most effective in the modern world, we present the main advantages of an independent universal anti-corruption professional body in the attached Brief Summary.

Notably, during the parliamentary elections in 2017, the “Bright Armenia”, “Hanrapetutyun” and “Civil Contract” Parties, acting in the composition of “Yelk” Alliance, had envisaged creation of an independent, universal anti-corruption body in the section of “Fight against Corruption”. Two of the mentioned political forces: the “My Step” Alliance, where the “Civil Contract” Party is the leading political force and the “Bright Armenia” Party, are represented in the parliament today, therefore, there are all the prerequisites to perform sufficient political will for the formation of a common agenda on the matter for the creation of an independent universal anti-corruption body.

Thus, taking into consideration the fact that the current Draft Government Program and the Draft “RA Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan for its Implementation for 2019-2022” have not defined complete and effective solutions referring to the institutional anti-corruption body, we recommend to involve the competent public authorities, the anti-corruption expert community, specialized civil society organizations, experts of the political forces, and international experts and organize evidence based professional discussions on introduction of an institutional independent anti-corruption body in Armenia, to define strategic solutions directed to the three pillars of the fight against corruption and as a result, to make final consensus-based decisions on the priorities and prevailing matters of the new anti-corruption policy.

Based on the above said, we urge the RA EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITIES  to refrain to continue the practice of the previous authorities to combat corruption by situational solutions, and to form with the involve all stakeholders a unified and mutually agreed agenda for institutionalization of anti-corruption struggle in the country as soon as possible.

At the same time, the CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian states its willingness to organize and conduct the above mentioned professional discussions.”

SECRETARIAT OF THE SCO’S ANTI-CORRUPTION COALITION OF ARMENIA

13.02.2019