© 2023. ILLUSTRATION BY PEACE DIALOGUE NGO
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 state’s 2023-2025 Action Plan for Human Rights Protection. These recommendations were developed through a thorough analysis of issues identified by Peace Dialogue’s monitoring group, which has been overseeing defense sector-related actions deriving from the National Strategy for Human Rights Protection since 2015. Out of the 24 recommendations, 10 have been included in the first draft of the Action Plan.
- Conduct a study to identify the causes of suicides in the armed forces. Develop a concept for rapid resolution of the issues.
- Establish mechanisms for video recording of administrative activities carried out by MoD Military Police personnel with the involvement of servicemen. Ensure that the recording is attached to the proceedings through a flash drive. Hold accountable if the requirement is unfulfilled.
- Establish the legal status of missing persons resulting from the war through a legal act. Develop a legal framework to support families of missing persons from armed conflict.
- Conduct a comprehensive study on the physical and psychological condition of persons returning from captivity. Provide individualized, long-term, and consistent support based on research findings. If necessary, develop a mechanism for early demobilization, reduction of the term, or continuing service under special conditions of a mandatory conscript soldier who has returned from captivity. Allocate a separate budget.
- Deliver mental health training for officer-psychologists and future officer-psychologists, highlighting practical issues.
- Open a position for a psychologist in the RA MoD Human Rights and Integrity Building Center.
- Introduce a mental health diagnostic system in the armed forces.
- Ensure coherence between the action plans deriving from the Human Rights Protection strategy and other sectoral strategies (e.g., judicial-legal reforms, anti-corruption, etc.) and provide continuity of actions.
- Clarify performance indicators of the strategy, define clear and measurable indicators for each action or measure, as well as develop mechanisms for their effective monitoring and evaluation.
- When developing a new Action Plan, take into account possible risks during the implementation of actions (e.g., an epidemic, conflict escalation, internal and external political crises, limited resources) and develop mechanisms aimed at neutralizing or reducing risks.
The draft Action Plan will now be discussed with larger stakeholder groups through a series of multisectoral public discussions to be held in March 2023. The discussions will provide an opportunity for input from various organizations and individuals with a stake in human rights protection in Armenia. The feedback from these discussions will be taken into account in the finalization of the Action Plan, which is expected to be approved by the government in the second half of 2023.
