Human Rights & Democratization

On March 14, 2024, a roundtable discussion was convened in Yerevan, featuring Dr. Markus Ritter, Head of Mission of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), his team, and representatives from the Armenian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF ANP). This meeting was initiated by Edgar Khachatryan, president of the Peace Dialogue NGO and national facilitator of the EaP CSF ANP, with the support of the EUMA team.

At the meeting, Ambassador Maragos offered a warm welcome to all attendees, underscoring his commitment to fostering ongoing discussions with Armenia’s civil society. He highlighted the vital role of civil society’s engagement in driving forward the EU-Armenia partnership, acknowledging the significant transitions facing Armenia and its society.

On June 10, 2023, Peace Dialogue NGO published a summary report entitled “The Legal Status of Former Prisoners of War in the Republic of Armenia”. The organization enquired the mentioned governmental institutions to provide a conclusion on the submitted recommendations related to their functions in order to develop future joint effective steps aimed at protecting the rights of repatriated former prisoners of war.

Peace Dialogue responded to an inquiry made by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, providing a package of 24 recommendations for the country’s 2023-2025 Action Plan for human rights protection. Out of the 24 recommendations, 10 have been included in the first draft of the Action Plan.

Stated in Article 17 of the RA Law “On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen”, citizens who are called to a military training undergo a medical check-up and expertise. As part of the medical care and service, the state provides check-up and expertise free of charge to the citizens.

In the framework of the project Developing Inclusive Oversight of Security implemented by the Dutch NGO Centre for European Security Studies in partnership with Peace Dialogue NGO, two expert lab discussions were conducted on 18-19 January, 2023 in Yerevan. The event on 18 January was aimed at initiating multi-stakeholder consultations on the key priorities in drafting Armenia’s new national security strategy. The topic of the discussion held on 19 January was the classification of defence and security information.

On 6-7 December 2022 in Yerevan, the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and Peace Dialogue jointly organised a Roundtable discussion on Defence Governance and Oversight in Armenia. 

The event has been set up in close consultation with key stakeholders for defence and security sector reform in Armenia, as well as the RA Parliamentarians and the experts of the relevant commissions with the representatives of the interested public organisations in the field.