On May 23, a Public Discussion on the Implementation Roadmap for the EU-Armenia CEPA Part 3 (Justice, Freedom and Security) was held in the scope of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project.

Mr. Karen Zadoyan, President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project Manager, delivered a welcoming speech. “For years, we have had very good documents, tried to implement them, to show performances, but in reality, the citizens have experienced few changes. Since Armenia is in the process of very important changes, now we need to discuss these issues, based on the context of the real current situation, point the problems that are important today and the society is awaiting for them. Keeping in the focus of our monitoring and evaluation, we should try to assist the government to implement them with the support of CSOs,” Karen Zadoyan said.

Mr. Vigen Kocharyan Deputy Minister of Justice attached importance to the discussion, noting that successful implementation of the EU-Armenia Agreement will not be possible only with the efforts of the state. “Civil society should have a decisive role here, which is envisaged in the Agreement. From the stage when we started to develop a roadmap for the implementation of this agreement in the government, we also sought consultations and discussions with the civil society. It is noteworthy that these discussions started on the initiative of CSO partners when we received a large package last summer, which included a package of recommendations developed by several CSOs,” the Deputy Minister said.

“Armenian citizens have great expectations about strengthening democracy and rule of law, fighting corruption and strengthening and protecting human rights,” Mr. Tigran Samvelyan Head of the European Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. He noted that Armenia is actively cooperating with the EU for the implementation of these reforms, and the signing of the Armenia-EU agreement is a solid basis for its implementation.

Ms Anna Vardapetyan, Deputy Justice Minister, expressed hope that discussions in such format would be more frequent. She presented the main priorities of the rule of law and human rights and fundamental freedoms in the scope of the 2024 Strategy for Judicial and Legal Reforms and the adoption of the Action Plan issuing from it.

Mr. Mikael Khachatryan, Head of Department for International Cooperation of the Human Rights Defender’s Office, spoke about the adoption of the National Strategy on Protection of Human Rights and the Action Plan 2020-2022, in close cooperation with civil society representatives.

Representatives of the Constructive Dialogue Network of Armenian CSOs Ms Zhanna Aleksanyan, Mr. Hovsep Khurshudyan, Mr. Artak Kirakosyan and Mr. Artashes Khalatyan also shared their views on the priority of the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Ms  Shushanik Ghukasyan, Deputy Head of the Anti-Corruption and Penitentiary Policy Development Department of the Ministry of Justice and Ms Larisa Harutyunyan, representative of the Department for Anti-Corruption Policy Development presented the National Anti-corruption Strategy 2019-2022 and its main priorities.

Mr. Artyom Mesropyan and Mr. Narek Yenokyan, experts of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project presented the key priorities for the formation of Independent Anti-Corruption Body.

At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Justice expressed hope that CSOs would provide effective proposals.