On April 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Steering Committees of the Armenia-Council of Europe Action Plan 2023-2026 and the CoE-EU Partnership for Good Governance 2023-2027, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan and Director of the Program Co-ordination of the CoE Claus Neukirch.

Head of the European Department Samvel Mkrtchyan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the Council of Europe Arman Khachatryan, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan Maxime Longangué, Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan, high-ranking representatives of the Armenian ministries and state offices, as well as members of the CoE Secretariat and civil society participated in the discussions.

The progress of implementation of the Armenia-CoE Action Plan 2023-2026 and the CoE-EU Partnership for Good Governance 2023-2027 Armenia, launched last year, was assessed during the meetings. Positive results were recorded in the projects aimed at improving the judicial system, increasing the efficiency of justice, combating corruption, cybercrime, complying with the European standards in the field of biomedicine, improving healthcare in penitentiary, developing the probation service, protecting the rights of women and children, and reforming the local governance. Further activities were also identified.

The participants highlighted CoE's comprehensive package for ensuring the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees included in the Armenia-Council of Europe Action Plan 2023-2026. Under the CoE comprehensive response package the CoE provides expert assistance to the Armenian authorities to address the mid-term and long-term needs of the forcibly displaced Nagorno-Karabakh population in the areas of social rights, health, education, housing and employment.

The participants reiterated the essential role of the CoE Action Plan in strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Armenia.