Defence Governance and Oversight in Armenia: Roundtable Discussion

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 a 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.

The Roundtable has been set up in the frame of the DCAF assistance program in Armenia and is supported with a grant from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. — © 2022. PHOTO BY PEACE DIALOGUE NGO

Mr. Arman Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Defense, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia Viktor Richter, and Mr. Hrant Jilavyan, Head of the Department of Human Rights Protection and Criminal Justice in the Armed Forces of the RA Human Rights Defender’s Office made opening remarks, expressing their gratitude to the organizers for initiating such an inclusive multi-stakeholder discussion.

During the event, a particular focus was set on a number of issues related to the improvement of the defence sector, possible directions for their solutions, as well as the best practices offered by local and international experts.

The following issues were addressed in the discussion:

Promotion of integrity building in the field of defence and maintenance of military ethics;
Social protection of the military personnel;
Mental health and suicide prevention in the armed forces;
Integrating gender aspects in the defence sector and ensuring the active participation of women in the sector;
Strategic communication in the field of security and defence;
The legal frameworks of intelligence services (particularly, in terms of the draft law on the Foreign Intelligence Service of Armenia), etc.

At the end of the discussion, the participants proposed to continue the discussions in this format with the participation of various interested parties.

The Roundtable has been set up in the frame of the DCAF assistance program in Armenia and is supported with a grant from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.