© 2022. PHOTO: DCAF HEADQUARTERS AT MAISON DE LA PAIX, GENEVA
Edgar Khachatryan, the head of Peace Dialogue NGO, participated in the workshop under the title “Security Sector Governance and Reform: Ensuring effective security sector oversight” which was held on April 25-28, 2022 in Geneva. The event was organized by Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) with the aim to create a platform for key actors of the security sector of the Republic of Armenia to promote democratic and civilian oversight over the sector. The attendees of the meeting were the representatives of the executive and legislative bodies of the Republic of Armenia, as well as experts and representatives of civil society.
The Armenian delegates were Andranik Kocharyan, Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security; Taguhi Tovmasyan, Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, as well as Parliamentarians Vahagn Hovakimyan, Vahagn Aleksanyan, Arpi Davoyan, Sargis Khandanyan, and Artur Hovhannisyan. The RA executive power was represented by Arman Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Defense; Andranik Simonyan, Deputy Director of the National Security Service; Ara Fidanyan, Deputy Head of Police, as well as Armen Gasparyan, Director of Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. RA Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan also took part in the meeting.
In the scope of the event, a number of discussions were held on various issues related to security sector, including human rights protection mechanisms in the armed forces, integrity building in the security sector, democratic oversight over intelligence services, as well as issues related to strategic communication of security sector developments. During the event, the representatives of the aforementioned institutions and agencies posed questions and shared their concerns, observed the experience of their partners in the security field in other countries, as well as got acquainted with the findings and recommendations based on the studies and analyses conducted by the international and local experts and Armenian civil society representatives.
Within the framework of the event, Edgar Khachatryan presented the results of two studies implemented by Peace Dialogue NGO related to human rights protection in the armed forces and to the issues regarding strategic communication in the security sector.
