Armenia to have a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage

On July 15, a state commission formed by President Serzh Sargsyan on publicized its draft constitutional amendments envisaging Armenia’s transformation into a parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial head of state not elected by popular vote.

Under the new Constitution, the president of the republic will be elected by an electoral college consisting of National Assembly members and representatives of local government bodies. It is widely believed that President Sargsyan has initiated the reform to be able to stay in power in some other capacity after completing his second and final presidential term in 2018.

 Lawmakers discussing plans to amend Armenia's constitution back in 2005 expressed broad support for a ban on same-sex marriages. 10 years later we still witness the same intention. The Constitutional amendments refer to changes for the freedom of marriage. Article 35 of the (current) Constitution of The Republic of Armenia states: Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and found a family according to their free will. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and divorce. Article 34, in contrast, according to the amendments, states: Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry with each other and found a family according to their free will. Thus, the new Constitution is limiting the freedom of marriage to opposite sex, Armenia is to join the countries who have a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The draft Constitution is expected to be completed by early August. Subsequently, the draft shall be submitted to the President. If approved, it will be introduced to the National Assembly, and then a Referendum Day will be set.

Constitution Day: Dignity and Justice for All

Every July 5, the Republic of Armenia observes Constitution Day. This official holiday commemorates the adoption of a new Constitution and a new era in Armenia’s history.Armenia is a beautiful land fraught with historical travesties. Having endured one of the worst genocides in written history and then being occupied by iron Soviet rule with intermittent wars and battles throughout, Armenia was able to finally break free and gain its independence on September 21, 1991.

Like most new nations in the last century, Armenia sought to adopt a Constitution that would allow it to glimpse at its unfortunate history and ensure it did not get repeated again in the future. Armenia’s Supreme Council Constitutional Commission approved a draft Constitution to be voted on in a referendum and on July 5, 1995, the Constitution was approved by the people with 68% voting in favor of it according to official statistics. Years after the birth of an independent Armenia, the country finally had a framework and foundation for democracy, citizenship, and the rule of law.

The Constitution provided for freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly among other things. It also had a number of shortcomings, such as concentration of power in the presidency and a lack of independence of the judiciary. Calls for political reform as well as Armenia’s international obligations led to the proposal of constitutional amendments. Numerous drafts were submitted and it was the draft written by the coalition of ruling parties, as well as the recommendations of the Venice Commission, that was voted on and passed in another referendum on November 25, 2005.

The amended Constitution was a huge step towards democratic reform. Though far from perfect, the amendments introduced a separation of powers, more independence of the judiciary, and higher regard for human rights and human dignity. It opened up dual citizenship, abolished the death penalty, and gave Yerevan community status-allowing for election rather than appointment of the mayor.

Reflecting on the current state of human rights in Armenia, and especially the treatment of LGBT people, it is important to revisit what the Constitution says about human rights and discrimination.

The first chapter of the Constitution starts by boldly asserting in Article 3 that “the human being, his or her dignity, fundamental rights and freedoms are the highest values. The State shall ensure the protection of fundamental human and citizen’s rights and freedoms, in conformity with the principles and norms of international law. The State shall be bound by fundamental human and citizen’s rights and freedoms as directly applicable law.”

The Constitution then begins to outline these rights in Chapter 2 beginning with Article 14.1 stating that “all human beings shall be equal before the law. Discrimination based on sex, race, skin colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, ideology, political or other views, membership to a national minority, property status, birth, disability, age, or other personal or social circumstances shall be prohibited.”

Though there is nothing constitutionally that explicitly protects the rights of LGBT people, the spirit of the language on human rights outlined in the Constitution clearly is something that is applicable to all. Additionally, Armenia adopted the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in 2008. Yet discrimination claims currently fall on deaf ears and there remains institutionalized discrimination against the LGBT community, despite the Constitution’s initial language above swearing to uphold fundamental rights “in conformity with the principles and norms of international law.”

Armenia’s history gave birth to the idea of establishing a Constitution that would once and for all to give its people what they havehistorically lacked over the last few hundred years: fundamental inalienable rights. However for several reasons, we are yet to see the effects of this Constitution take hold. Armenia is no different with respect to many lands and peoples across the world in that culture is harder to break than the new rules that govern it. There is also the problem of the authorities having no desire to uphold the Constitution and often acting in opposition to the spirit of it. Thus on Constitution Day, it is important for Armenians to reflect on the meaning of the Constitution and to fight for the rights of all, especially the most vulnerable groups, to finally be realized.

Same-sex binational couples in America: You can marry, but don’t leave your state

On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States of America decided the fate of over 25,000 same-sex binational couples in America in the case of U.S. v. Windsor. The ruling struck down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which for federal purposes had defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ [as] only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.”

This federal definition had meant that for years same-sex couples had to pay federal estate tax when one spouse died, couldn’t receive normal spousal benefits if one spouse was employed by the federal government, and worse, couldn’t apply for a green card for the foreign spouse, even if their state recognized them as married. In fact, DOMA denied same-sex couples access to more than 1,000 federal programs and benefits available to opposite-sex married couples.

Same-sex couples who wanted to live together in America had limited options. Some of the foreign spouses managed to live legally in the U.S. on student visas, paying enormous sums of money in order to have legal immigration status. Some from countries known for homophobia and/or criminalization of same-sex sexual acts sought asylum in the U.S.. Many had no legal immigration status, forced to live in constant fear of being deported and separated. Without green cards, none of the foreign spouses could adopt their US citizens’ children, even in states that allow same-sex couples to adopt.

The Supreme Court decision is a step towards changing this. The federal government will now recognize same-sex marriages from states that offer them. Unfortunately, only 13 states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, and California) and the District of Columbia currently allow same-sex marriage. Same-sex foreign spouse recipients of green cards will then be eligible to co-adopt in states that have gay marriage (so that the spouse can get a green card) and allow this (Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, California, and the District of Columbia).

As this small list of states that will have actual legal equality shows, the new Supreme Court ruling is far from actually granting same-sex couples actual equality. Same-sex couples whose states do not permit same-sex marriage will still be ineligible to apply for green cards, and foreign spouses without green cards will still be ineligible to adopt. (Since the Supreme Court ruling doesn’t address whether or not same-sex civil unions will qualify as “marriages” for federal purposes, one can expect many heated cases about this in the near future.)

Even those same-sex couples who can get married will face problems if they chose to move to another state. Section 2 of DOMA, which the Supreme Court did not rule on, allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed under the laws of other states. What that means is that a couple who legally marries in New York and then moves to a different state that refuses to recognize their New York marriage will no longer be considered legally married, leading to a taxing and benefit nightmare for the couple.

One can only hope that at some point in the near future the Supreme Court will use actions instead of soaring rhetoric to prove their commitment to equality and strike down the rest of DOMA. However, this may take a while. In the meantime, congratulations to the binational couples of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, and Washington D.C. on your new rights—go get married!! Just don’t leave your state…

Carrie Tirrell

Armenian human rights activist Lilit Poghosyan is chosen as the face for the EU anti-discrimination poster

Do you know your rights?

53% of Europeans don’t know they’re protected from discrimination in the workplace. [Eurobarometer survey on discrimination in the European Union – Perceptions, experiences and attitudes (July 2008)]

Laws exist throughout the EU to protect everyone against discrimination based on race or ethnic origin, age, disability, religion or belief, or sexual orientation in the workplace.

*This poster has been produced as part of the EU-wide “For Diversity. Against Discrimination” information campaign. Organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the campaign aims to raise awareness of discrimination and the EU laws which exist to combat it, and to promote the benefits of diversity.

What is even more pleasing for me regarding this poster is that Lilit Poghosyan is a good friend of mine. Well done, Lilit jan! I am proud of you and of being your friend.

Lilit joined Europe’s main gay rights group - ILGA-Europe (as Programmes & Policy Officer) in October 2008.

Lilit is responsible for the Advocacy Project which aims to strengthen the advocacy capacities and competences of project partners. She also monitors the developments in the field of human rights of LGBT people in Western Balkans and Turkey and channels the information on human rights violations on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity to relevant EU institutions in order to ensure that LGBT people enjoy equal rights and protection in candidate and potential candidate countries for the accession to the EU.

Lilit holds a degree in Psychology and Education and has completed her MSc in Human Rights at London School of Economics in 2005. She has eight years work experience in field of sexual, reproductive and mental health of which around six years in Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) field projects in Armenia, Kashmir/Pakistan, Zambia and Uganda.

source: Unzipped: GayArmenia

This world is for everybody

Here we present another social ad, which is created by the students of Yerevan State University. This video is one of their final term works, as they will graduate the University and become social workers. Marine, Nvard, Nare, Anna and Lusine started to shoot this video from December 1st, we managed to find time and take part in it, though all of us where so busy especially that day.
We appreciate their professionalism and proud of their bravery, happy to see more real social workers next to us.

English text of the video*

- Being homosexual is not a choice,
- Being infected with HIV, doesn't stop me being your friend,
- By denying me, you don't help me to leave drugs
- I am a sex worker...
- My mother is the best mother in the world
- We all are equal, this world is for everybody