The CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as the Coalition), represented by the Governing Board of the Coalition, guided by the goals of its establishment and activity, considers it necessary to respond to the below-mentioned assessment by the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, made at the Government Session on 23 November, 2023, regarding the fight against corruption in Armenia.

“… I do not think that today’s anti-corruption fight in Armenia is at a proper level, they take bribes from anyone; whoever and wherever they happen to be, that is why we created the Anti-Corruption Committee. We have appointed the highest salaries, that is, we have created in accordance with all the rules so that we can go and do our business…”

Agreeing with the assessment made by the Prime Minister of Armenia about the anti-corruption fight not being at the “proper level “, (which the Coalition has repeatedly warned about in its numerous statements and especially in connection with the decline  of corruption perception index in 2022), we would like to emphasize that the anti-corruption fight, that is the exclusion of corruption should be the result of the joint activity of the entire anti-corruption system operating in Armenia: the Corruption Prevention Commission, the Anti-Corruption Committee, the Anti-Corruption Units of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Judicial System. At the same time the Anti-Corruption Committee is just one link in the chain of the Anti-Corruption System.

The success of the anti-corruption fight largely depends on the professional and adhering to integrity values personnel and the fight against corruption is in the scope of their responsibility. Under the current political power in Armenia, personnel appointments are made on the basis of affinity and loyalty, even in appointing to the positions in the anti-corruption system bodies, where the appointments must be made exclusively on a competitive, honest and fair basis. This is perhaps one of the main reasons for the growth and survival of corruption, the extensive manifestation of which cannot be controlled.

Manifestations of corruption exist not only in the simplest vases of widespread bribery, but also in the above-mentioned personnel policy, loyalty of control bodies, state procurement, programs implemented by donor communities, and other phenomena.

Anti-corruption education and prevention is one of the most important directions in the fight against corruption, which should have the primary and main goal of implementation.

We do not consider it superfluous to mention the contraventions in adoption of anti-corruption strategic documents of our country, the timing of their implementation and other violated procedures, which shows to what extent the fight against corruption is important for the current political authorities.

Moreover, in the fight against corruption, the political authorities do not take into account the opinions and recommendations of specialized civil society organizations, which, according to the definition of the RA Prime Minister, receive “dispersive answers”.

Summarizing the above, we state that it is necessary for the current political government to review the policy it has adopted in the fight against corruption, including the personnel policy, and implement the real anti-corruption reforms with full scope, depth and consistency.

Governing Board of the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia 25.11.2023