© 2024. ILLUSTRATION BY PEACE DIALOGUE NGO
For over a decade, Peace Dialogue NGO has been committed to enhancing human rights conditions within the Armenian Armed Forces. Since 2015, the organization’s monitoring group has been diligently assessing and monitoring these conditions. Between June and August 2024, Peace Dialogue’s monitoring group conducted a series of in-depth interviews with participants of the military training program in the Armenian Army. The goal was to gather comprehensive insights into the human rights conditions experienced during these military trainings.
In-depth anonymous interviews were conducted across a broad geographic range, including Yerevan and nearly all regions of Armenia, with the notable exceptions of Aragatsotn and Armavir. A carefully designed methodology was employed, using face-to-face interviews facilitated by pre-structured questionnaires. A total of 38 respondents from various regions, cities, and villages across Armenia, all of whom had undergone military training between 2021 and 2024, were interviewed.
As mentioned earlier, a similar study was conducted by the organization in 2023. It is important to note that the format of military training exercises has changed over the past few years. For the last two years, the duration of military training has been 25 days, whereas previously, it lasted for three months. Consequently, the respondents in both the 2023 and 2024 studies included individuals who had completed both the three-month training program and the 25-day training program.
Comparative analyses were also conducted on certain questions, comparing findings from the 2023 and 2024 studies. These comparisons reflect trends and conditions over the past four years, rather than focusing exclusively on the past year.
For access to the PDF version of the report, please follow the link below: Interview Findings From Military Training Participants In Armenian Armed Forces (PDF, 1 Mb).
The study was conducted by Peace Dialogue NGO with funding provided by the Democracy Development Foundation.