Human Rights. Defender’s platform. Civil Society

On 3-4 June 2011 Office of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia (HRDO) convened already third forum in series of forums entitled “Human Rights. Defender’s Platform”. This time forum entitled “Civil Society” was dedicated to the partnership with civil society organizations and brought together 130 participants from more than 85 human rights NGOs, international organizations, attorneys and media. Forum was supported by the European Union, World Vision Armenia and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The aim of the “Civil Society” Forum was to strengthen cooperation and promote active dialogue between the Office of the Human Rights Defender and leading human rights NGOs specialized in the issues of minorities, refugees, children, disabled people, women, military servicemen, rights of persons in detentions and penitentiaries, environmental rights, rights of the persons suffered from violence and torture as well as NGOs promoting the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression.

Followers of @pinkarmenia twitter had possibility to read live tweets of our representative, Mamikon Hovsepyan, who used #CSforum and #HRArmenia as hashtag for those tweets. Below you can read the most important ones.

Day one, July 3

starting the "Civil Society" forum in Tsaghkadzor, organized by Armenian Ombudsman

the Ombudsman takes the floor, presenting his welcome speech

Karen Andreasyan, Ombudsman, mentioned that they specifies 11 spheres to work with

Karen Andreasyan finalized his speech, asking for civil society's support for Ombudsman further work

Raul de Luccenberger, EU representative told that we should be proud to have such an important institution as Ombudsman office in Armenia

once students asked to EU representative, What is the way for Armenia to become an EU member, he answered "To believe"

OSCE will support Ombudsman office for its strengthening and cooperation with human rights defender organizations

representative of National Security Council presenting their strategic plan to protect human rights in Armenia

during the private conversation with Mamikon Hovsepyan, the National Security Council representative denied that Baghdasaryan is homophobe

now Civil Society representatives are presenting human rights violations in 11 spheres mentioned by Ombudsman

FYI: LGBT situation won't be presented, PINK was informed few days ago when the agenda was ready and no changes where available

changes: Ombudsman will sign a separate memorandum with PINK, before it was decided to have with national minorities

organizational side of the forum is a bit weak, but to compare with previous, this ombudsman is better

court, judges, police, juridical institutes... we need changes in this sphere, we need to monitor their work and demand JUSTICE

gender roles: women's participation in decision making, in parliament, in government and high levels is weak

Susanna Vardanyan from Women's Rights Center presenting 3 main types of violence against women: physical, psychological, sexual

S. Vardanyan also talks about the case of Zaruhi Petrosyan, CSVW coalition's work and CS initiatives about the changes of law

mass media representative where beaten, are being beaten and will be beaten until we dont have strong law for freedom of speech

A. Musheghyan: After car accident I couldn't walk anymore, i sent back home from hospital and couldn't reach the 5th floor

Musheghyan: If I become a parliamentarian how can I go to work, they have no conditions for handicapped people

there are 183000 handicapped people in Armenia and 100.000 of them are able to work but they don't work

Ombudsman left the room after the official part of the meeting, some participants call it lack of respect toward civil society

PINK: everybody at this forum talks about respect, tolerance and cooperation but do they all respect others and their rights? Not sure

Most of the speakers didn't understand that it is not an NGO presentation but situation presentation of their sphere

Artak Kirakosyan, CSI, asked the vise-president of Collaboration for Democracy, Mikayel Baghdasaryan to leave the forum as he violated women

As A.Kirakosyan mentioned, Mikayel Baghdasaryan, has beaten his female colleague & more

the last speaker, the main hate speech promoter Karine Danielyan

homophobe Karine Danielyan about human rights. Funny

Karine Danielyan is talking about her sphere, ecology. In other meetings she forgets about her responsibilities, promoting hate

 Day two, July 4

starting discussions with the working groups, felt ignorance & dislike from the side of national minorities toward LGBT issues

human rights defenders of national minorities do not want to see Muslim women with covered head in Armenia

they said national minorities should leave accepting Armenian rules but the still speak about xenophobia

national minorities put their problems next to general problems in Armenia and do not talk about nazism and racism

representative of Jewish minorities said that National Security Council should take care of LGBT issues in Armenia

national minorities want to raise the law of hate speech which was suggested Mamikon Hovsepyan

hardly but finally representatives of national minorities see their problems & in some cases put LGBT rights next to it

Yezidi representative demands places at national assembly, other national minority representative don't care about it

Mamikon asked the representatives of national minorities to accept diversity and respect all kind of human rights

working groups finalized discussions, presentation will be prepared and introduced to the Ombudsman and participants

K. Andreasyan: "There are many other human rights organizations in Armenia but we trust those who are here now"

1. human rights protection in armed forces

2. judicial rights: including issues of fair trials and justice

3. women's rights: women's involvement in politics, women's role in social advertisements, violence against women

4. freedom of speech: including involvement of NGOs in the work regarding freedom of speech

5. rights of handicapped people (people with fewer opportunities)

6. rights of people faced violence and torture: specified mainly in police stations, it was suggested to mention that National Security office is also violating people as in police stations

7. rights of people in prisons

8. children's rights: among other problems was mentioned violence, especially sexual abuse against children

9. Minorities: national, religious, sexual, though there was no representative from religious minorities

10. refugees

11. Environment

first time ever in official document Armenia will use Armenian word to refer LGBT issues

Environment group boycotts and will not sign memorandum, Hope it is not K. Danielyan's idea against LGBT rights protection

June 4, the first ever Armenian document with Armenian terms to protect the rights of LGBT people in Armenia

Historic memorandum between Armenia human rights Ombudsman and PINK Armenia on protection of LGBT rights

via Unzipped: Gay Armenia

Remember this date: 4 June 2011. On that very date, during Civil Society Forum in Tsaghkadzor, for the first time ever, Armenia human rights Ombudsman and PINK Armenia signed historic memorandum on collaboration in protection of LGBT rights. Another important milestone has been passed which could lead to the development of practical mechanisms and legal basis for human rights protection of LGBT people in Armenia. What is also extremely important, perhaps for the first time, acceptable Armenian terms to refer to gay/lesbian, bisexual and transgender people were used in the official document [նույնասեռական, երկսեռական, գենդերափոխ].

PINK Armenia (@pinkarmenia)
SIGNED!!! memorandum between PINK and Ombudsman to protect the rights of #LGBT people, historical moments of Armenia! #CSforum #HRArmenia

PINK Armenia (@pinkarmenia)
June 4, the first ever Armenian document with Armenian terms to protect the rights of #LGBT people in Armenia #CSforum #HRArmenia

Memorandum is signed for 6 years: 4 June 2011 till 1 February 2017.

read the full post here

Armenian music band VO.X: mutual understanding

VO.X frontrunner Aram Rian has re-edited and replaced the controversial portion of the band’s "I Love Armenia" music video, by removing the reference to homosexuality as “perversion”. We have reached a mutual understanding with the group and consider this matter resolved as dialogue has taken place. We no longer have reason to believe either Aram Rian or VO.X is homophobic, and we wish them success in their future endeavors.

Group of LGBT and human rights activists

We keep silence

The Day of Silence is an event that brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college take some form of a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior. The event is designed to illustrate the silencing effect of this bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT.

As a way of supporting the idea and those that are harassed in Armenia, we will undertake certain actions:

We apologize, but we won’t be available for the world on April 15: we will not respond to emails, phone calls, we will not have any activities and will not provide any direct service. on April 15, we will keep silence for…

Next day silence will be broken by launching our new e-mag “As you”!

***

History: In 1996, students at the University of Virginia, USA organized the first Day of Silence in response to a class assignment on non-violent protests. Over 150 students participated in this inaugural Day of Silence. In 2001, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educational Network (GLSEN) became the official organizational sponsor for the event. GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Report: discrimination and societal abuses

Section 6 of Human Rights Report by the U.S. Department of States. Armenia, 2010
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions in practice.

Women

Rape is a criminal offense and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment. There are no explicit laws criminalizing marital rape. According to police information cited by the Prosecutor General's Office, nine cases of rape and attempted rape were registered in the country during the year. In connection with these cases, nine individuals were prosecuted, seven were convicted, and two cases were still under investigation. According to official information, none of these reported cases constituted marital rape. Crimes such as rape continued to be underreported due to the social stigma attached to them.
There is no law against domestic violence. Few cases of spousal abuse or other violence against women were reported during the year, although such violence was believed to be widespread.
According to domestic observers, most cases of domestic violence continued to go unreported because victims were afraid of physical harm, were apprehensive that police would return them to their husbands, or were ashamed to disclose their family problems.
On October 1, police launched an investigation into the death of 20-year-old Zaruhi Petrosian, a resident of the town of Masis, who was hospitalized late on September 30 with a brain hematoma, a broken finger, and bruises on her body. The police subsequently arrested Yanis Sargisov, Petrosian's common law husband, on charges of willful heavy damage to health leading to death by negligence. The criminal investigation was later transferred to the investigation department of the Ministry of Defense in light of Sargisov's service in the armed forces. According to Hasmik Petrosian, Zaruhi Petrosian's sister, Zaruhi had long been physically abused by her husband and mother-in-law. Officials stated the investigation could not corroborate abuse by the mother-in-law. At year's end, the investigation of Sargisov continued while he remained in custody. Petrosian's child remained in an orphanage while the mother-in-law and Petrosian's sister both claimed custody of the child.
In March the domestic Women's Resource Center Armenia (WRCA) NGO launched a public awareness campaign to advertise its Sexual Assault Crisis Center and help hotline. The Yerevan municipality eventually rejected the organization's application to advertise the center on large commercial billboards, on the grounds that the billboard graphics would place unnecessary psychological stress on teenagers and women. The municipality then took steps to remove all WRCA's advertising. The WRCA asserted that, by limiting the billboards to providing only the help hotline number, the municipality reduced the effect of its advocacy against sexual assault of women.There were reports that women, especially those in rural or remote areas, faced insufficient access to adequate general and reproductive health-care services. Observers noted various efforts made to improve reproductive health care had not been effective.

Children

On January 11, the Prosecutor General's Office began a criminal investigation of allegations of sexual and physical abuse of female students by a teacher at Special School No. 11 for children with special needs. This action reversed the office's August 2009 determination the allegations were unsubstantiated. A group of youth activists who served as volunteers at the school raised the initial alarm of abuse in 2008. On May 24, the trial court convicted former teacher Levon Avakian, who admitted his guilt, to two years in prison. On May 31, the Ministry of Education and Science dismissed the principal, Meruzhan Yengibarian, citing lack of trust in his capacity to head the school. The youth activists considered the teacher's punishment to be too lenient and called for further investigation into the role played by the principal and other teachers, who were reportedly aware of but did not prevent the abuse. On August 4, following an appeal by the victims, the court of appeals increased Avakian's sentence to three years.
A 2009 study by the domestic NGO Armenian Helsinki Committee monitored 12 special education schools and four boarding institutions. Many children indicated that, among other forms of punishment, they had been slapped or beaten, shut in a classroom, or prevented from going home. Some teachers admitted resorting to violence for discipline. The study also noted that most institutions lacked proper central heating, and that sanitary and hygiene conditions were substandard. In a study of 12 general education schools in the Syunik Region during the same period, the NGO found that physical or psychological violence, including beating, slapping, pulling ears, and other degrading treatment were used regularly as punishment. Treatment of students at schools was unequal and depended on teachers' relations with students, whether students pursued private classes with a teacher, and whether students had influential parents. The results of studies in 2007 and 2008 by the same organization were substantively the same.

Persons with Disabilities

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of other state services; however, discrimination remained a problem. The law and a special government decree provide for accessibility to buildings, including schools, for persons with disabilities, but in practice very few buildings and other facilities were accessible to these persons. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but failed to do so effectively.
In spite of the large number of officially registered persons with disabilities in the country, disabled persons are seldom seen outside the home due to the social stigma associated with disabilities. In extreme cases the social stigma sometimes prompts families to hide their disabled children completely from public view, depriving them in the process from access to education and integration into society.
Persons with all types of disabilities experienced problems in virtually all spheres of life, including health care, social and psychological rehabilitation, education, transportation, communication, access to employment, and social protection. Access to information and communications was a particularly significant problem for persons with sensory disabilities. Hospitals, residential care, and other facilities for persons with serious disabilities remained substandard. According to official data, more than 90 percent of persons with disabilities who were able to work were unemployed.

Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality remained highly unfavorable, with society generally viewing homosexuality as an affliction.
Persons who were openly gay were exempted from military service, purportedly because of concern they would be abused by fellow servicemen. However, the actual exemption required a medical finding via psychological examination that gays possessed a mental disorder, which was stamped in their documents and could affect their future.
According to human rights activists, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons experienced some of the most humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they were forced to do some of the most degrading jobs and separated from the rest of the prison population.
Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation continued to be a problem with respect to employment, family relations, and access to education and health care for sexual minorities.
In an interview with the Iravunk biweekly that appeared in the newspaper's December 24 to 27 edition, Artur Baghdasarian, secretary of the National Security Council that advises the president on national security matters, answered a question on homosexuality stating that, "Such conduct does not fit in with our society. Family and Armenian traditions prevail for people who were the first to adopt Christianity. Those unnatural things are unacceptable to us. I am against limitations of human rights in general. However, I consider homosexuality is extremely dangerous for Armenia."
In an interview in the Hraparak daily on December 6, National Police Chief Alik Sargsyan answered a question on the gathering of homosexuals in one of Yerevan's central parks, stating that, "We try to take them to such a place where they won't be seen, but they like to appear in public. We do not practice any violent measures, do not violate human rights, it is their business, but in our city, it is not appropriate for people…I cannot bear them physically."

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

There were no reports during the year of acts of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Many employers reportedly discriminated against potential employees by age, most commonly requiring job applicants to be between the ages of 18 and 30. While this discrimination appeared to be widespread, authorities did not take any action to mitigate it. After the age of 40, workers, particularly women, continued to have little chance of finding jobs appropriate to their education or skills.

for the full version of the report, please click here