PACE co-rapporteurs recall ratification of Istanbul and Lanzarote Conventions

PACE co-rapporteurs on monitoring of Armenia Yulia Ljubochkina and Andrei Shirzel made a statement following the March 12-14 visit to Yerevan, which states that the Armenian authorities are well aware of the extremely high expectations of the population. Accordingly, they stress the importance of the current reforms to bring certain and tangible results.

The co-rapporteurs welcomed the desire of the members of the executive to improve the jurisdiction of the parliamentarians in allocating the central role of the Armenian National Assembly in the institutional system. It is noted that the tradition of “power of the government” has become obsolete in Armenia and any willingness to balance the balance of powers should only be welcomed, as it can help radicalization of real democracy in Armenia.

Co-rapporteurs in Armenia were informed during the meetings that in some areas such as gender equality and the fight against corruption, obvious changes have taken place and that there are the tangible results of the fight against corruption.

“We welcome major reforms that are related to the independence of the judiciary, the adoption of a new criminal policy and the establishment of institutions specifically designed to combat corruption and discrimination, and we welcome the announced intention to develop policies in that direction. We will follow closely the implementation of those reforms. We urge the Armenian authorities to take advantage of the present-day high public support in order to activate social reforms, including social services for all Armenians, as well as their efforts towards such delicate issues in the Armenian society, as fight against domestic violence, gender disparities or LGBT-related reforms”.

We also call for the ratification of the Istanbul and Lanzarote resolutions signed by Armenia. After the previous visit last May, we highly assess the maturity, in which the Armenian political forces and the Armenian people led a peaceful revolution and further political transformation. The transition has already been completed in 2018. All international observers and the overwhelming majority of Armenia’s politicians, whom we met, considered  December elections to be free and fair, “said the co-rapporteurs.

At the end, they added that the country is experiencing profound changes. “The Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly are at the disposal of the Armenian people and its representatives to ensure the successful preparation and implementation of these changes,” the Co-Rapporteur’s statement reads.