On June 12, the Final Steering Committee Meeting on the Implementation of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia with the purpose to summarize and evaluate the results of implementation of the CoE Action Plan for Armenia 2015-2018 aimed at reforms in the spheres of human rights protection, justice, rule of law and democratic governance, as well as to reflect upon the priorities of the next phase, the outlined Action Plan for 2019-2022.

Deputy Foreign MInister Garen Nazarian, CoE Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes Verena Taylor, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the Council of Europe Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Head of the CoE Office in Armenia Natalia Vutova, the high-level officials from the Armenian agencies participating in the Action Plan projects, representatives of the Armenian civil society, and representatives of the CoE Secretariat and the CoE Yerevan Office, who are in charge for the implementation of those projects, were among the participants of the discussions.

Garen Nazarian noted in his speech that the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia has an essential role in rooting democracy and ensuring fundamental freedoms in the country. The Deputy Foreign Minister commended the extensive legislative reforms, particularly in the judicial field implemented with the expert and advisory assistance from the Council of Europe.

CoE Director of the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes Verena Taylor welcomed the Government’s political will to effectively implement the components of the Action Plan, stressing that it is aimed at the future of Armenia that has entered the stage of mature democracy.

The Armenian side reiterated its willingness to continue the close cooperation aimed at completing the current Action Plan and effectively implementing the next four-year plan of 2019-2022.