“The individuals reporting corruption do not receive appropriate treatment in our country: the citizen has lack of confidence towards the state. Such perception needs to be changed,” considers Mr. Hrayr Ghukasyan, Referent of the President of the RA, Head of the Working Group on Elaboration of the Concept on “Fight against Corruption in the System of Public Administration.”
That is why the vision of having a model image of the public employee was in the first place of the concept
“To have a model image of the public employee, whose behavior, adherence to the requirement of ethics, high level of responsibility, essence, why not the appearance will create confidence in any person,” Hrayr Ghukasyan said.
The document of the concept, which did not pass public discussions before its adoption, is in-front-of the civil society, and it is just the time to raise questions. The Armenian Young Lawyers Association and Freedom of Information Center organized in the framework of an EU funded “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption Promotion” project, a CSO-Government working meeting on “Introduction of the Concept on “Fight Against Corruption in System of Public Administration”.” The European Union stands ready to assist Armenia in fight against corruption, Mr. Hoa-Binh Adjemian, Head of the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation in Armenia stated once again. “I would like to remind you that EU cooperation budget spend in Armenia is around 50 million Euros a year, so we spend something like 25 billion drams per year. 60 percents of it go for budget support, meaning that the money goes directly to the treasury to help the government with the reform agenda,” Mr. Hoa-Binh Adjemian said.
Although recently, fight against corruption is acknowledge at the state level, however the occurrence is still one of the most urgent problems for the country, believes the EU representative.
Political will, priority of the public interest, integrity and transparency. Mr. Grigor Muradyan, First Deputy Minister of Justice of the RA lists the four fundamental values of the concept. “In this concept, we pointed those problems, which hindered to sterling solutions provided in the former strategic document,” Grigor Muradyan said. Education, health, police, collection of state revenues. These are the priority spheres of the Government, and the anti-corruption strategy was elaborated for these spheres.
“While drafting the concept, we laid in its basis all the obligations, which the Republic of Armenia had undertaken in the framework of all international organizations,” Mr. Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the RA, Member of the Working Group of Elaboration of the Concept said.
“The concept is really well designed,” Mr. Karen Zadoyan, President of the “Armenian Young Lawyers Association” NGO, “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption Promotion” Project Manager, considered. “However three cornerstone provisions should have been reflected in the strategy to be elaborated based on it. Which are: promotion and protection of whistleblowers; creation of an independent anti-corruption commission; introduce the institute of criminalization of illicit enrichment.”
Questions directed to the working group of elaboration of the concept were numerous, and they were answered in most cases.
“In future, after the formation of the working group and development of the strategic document, we plan to continue such working discussions,” Mr. Karen Zadoyan said.
