Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished members of the Committee,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour for us to participate at this meeting on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide the Committee with further information on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

First, I would like to inform, that during the last two years Armenia has continued the submission of reports to the various UN Treaty Bodies, and at present all overdue reports have already been submitted to the relevant UN Committees.

The Republic of Armenia presents to the Committee its fifth and sixth periodic reports jointly as it was recommended in the Concluding observations of the Committee at its 61st session. The report addressed all points raised by the Committee and referred to legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures undertaken by the Armenian authorities for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Convention.

The report has been drawn up by the inter-agency working group established by the Decision of the Prime Minister of Armenia and composed of the representatives of relevant line ministries and agencies. With an aim of receiving observations and recommendations from various NGOs and the civil society representatives, that are active in this sphere, a round-table discussion has been organized.

Mr. Chairman,

The Republic of Armenia is a signatory to numerous international treaties including the fundamental international instruments in the sphere of human rights including instruments that protect the rights of national minorities and ensure freedom of religion and conscience – among those Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe.

The Government of Armenia condemns discrimination in all its forms and manifestations. The national legislation ensures equality of all citizens of the country in all spheres of life without any discrimination, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. In its daily activities, the Government of Armenia pursues a policy, which prohibits any manifestation of discrimination or its trends against individuals, groups or institutes. This policy is aimed at full implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other relevant international instruments.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the principles of the Durban Declaration and Action Plan guide the activities of State authorities of the Republic of Armenia dealing with the fight against racial discrimination. At the national level, they are taken into account in implementing both legal reforms and practical measures.

UN Human Rights Council considered the Universal Periodic Review of Armenia on May 6, 2010. 95% of the recommendations presented by the delegates from 47 countries enjoyed the support of the RoA Government and the majority of those are already in the implementation process. With a view to implementing the recommendations of the Working group on the Universal Periodic Review, the Government is planning to establish inter-ministerial commission comprising representatives from relevant State authorities and NGOs.

Armenia ratified UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on September 22, 2010. The ratification of this document created conditions for full realization of the right of disabled without any discrimination.

The comprehensive National Programme on Human Rights Protection is currently under development, and will be approved this year.

Armenia has taken a number of legal and institutional steps to strengthen the protection of women’s rights. Appropriate legislative and institutional measures have been taken by the State to improve the status of women in society, including means of eliminating all forms of discrimination that could affect the true equality between men and women. The new Family Code of Armenia, adopted in 2004, addresses the interests of both women and men. The Electoral Code establishes a 15-percent quota for women to be chosen from proportional lists instead of the former 5 percent quota, and at least one out of every 10 candidates on the list must be a woman. A gender focus has also been included in the Labour Code that took effect in June 2005. Among the recent achievements of our country in this field I should underline the inclusion in the Government Programme of Activity for the years 2008-2012 the principle of gender equality as a matter of priority. The Government approved “gender equality policy” concept paper on February 11, 2010.

The 2010-2012 National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in the Republic of Armenia with its implementation Timetable was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia on September 3, 2010. The national budget allocated almost 78 million Armenian drams (approximately 217 thousand USD) to finance anti-trafficking actions for 2010. The strategies and actions presented are targeted at organizing an efficient anti-trafficking response mechanism and fall under the following six main categories:
- anti-trafficking legislation and law enforcement
- prevention of trafficking in human beings
- protection and support of victims of trafficking
- cooperation
- carrying out studies, monitoring and evaluation
- coordination.

Now about the measures which have been taken in respect of the suggestions and recommendations of the Committee in connection with Armenia’s previous reports.

During recent years Armenia has undertaken concrete steps towards implementation of its commitments with the realization of a number of legal and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, including steps aimed at strengthening the protection of persons belonging to national minorities.

The Department for Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs and the Coordinating Council for National and Cultural Organizations of National Minorities continue to play an active role in raising awareness on issues affecting national minorities and in seeking to resolve outstanding issues. These are the principal bodies responsible for the implementation of the Government’s policy on national minorities.

There are no limits on the amount of time that the broadcasting stations may spend on the ethnic-minority programs. Moreover, in December 2008, an amendment was made to Article 28 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Television and Radio”, which prescribes an obligation for the Public Television Company to present such programs to the audience in which the interests of national minorities are taken into account.

Continuous contribution to the preservation, dissemination and development of the cultural heritage and culture of national minorities is one of the priorities of the cultural policy. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia closely cooperates with the associations and non-governmental organizations of national minorities and assists in arrangement of concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events. Despite economic difficulties the authorities allocate annual resources for promoting the traditions and cultures of national minorities. The funding allocated by the Ministry of Culture in the framework of the project “Support to the Culture of National Minorities” which was used to support art exhibitions and music festivals, has increased during the last years. A Cultural Centre of Nationalities was opened in 2006, in the centre of Yerevan, for the national minorities and was furnished and technically equipped with the support of the Government of Armenia.

Church property seized under the communist regime was returned to the Assyrian religious communities in the Arzni and Verin Dvin villages and to the Russian Orthodox community in Yerevan. Financial support has been provided by the Armenian authorities to the restoration of the historic Jewish cemetery in Vayots Dzor and the construction of a monument in Yerevan, dedicated to the memory of Assyrian victims of World War I.

All historical, architectural, cultural and religious structures located within the territory of the Republic of Armenia are under the state protection, irrespective of their ethnic or religious belonging. Among them there are more than 50 Azeri, Turkic and Iranian monuments in various marzes of Armenia that are registered and all of them are under state preservation. The efforts of promoting respect towards Islamic cultural heritage goes along with the overall policy of religious tolerance which is dully acknowledged by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance in the most recent report on Armenia published on February 8, 2011. It states inter alia in the para 44 “It is also encouraging that there is little or no evidence of anti-Muslim feeling. For example, the numerous Iranians who come to Armenia for studies, business or tourism do not encounter particular problems. ”

Mr. Chairman,

The adoption of constitutional amendments in a referendum held on November 27, 2005, paved the way toward strengthening the impartiality of judiciary. Conditions conducive to the fulfillment of many of the country’s commitments have been created, including better balance of powers. Following that referendum, Armenian authorities have implemented a legislative reform program, which provided for the adoption of new laws and amendments to the existing laws. The principle of equal treatment is emphasized in many articles of the Constitution.

The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia has been supplemented by Article 14.1, which particularly states: “Everyone shall be equal before the law. Discrimination on the ground of gender, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, outlook, political and other views, membership to a national minority, property status, birth, disability, age or other circumstances of a personal or social nature shall be prohibited”. Thus, pursuant to the constitutional provision, international treaties ratified by the Republic of Armenia are an integral part of the legal system of the Republic of Armenia and prevail over the national laws.

As a result of the amendments made in the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia by the mentioned referendum, the physical and legal persons also obtained the right to apply directly to the Constitutional Court of the country. They may lodge an individual constitutional complaint, when all means of judicial remedies have been exhausted, final judicial act on the specific case has been adopted and the person challenges the constitutionality of a provision of a law applied against him/her by that act. The Constitutional Court received 295 individual constitutional complaints lodged by physical and legal persons in 2009.

The reform of the criminal justice system initiated in Armenia in 1998 is well underway. With the adoption of the new Criminal Code in 2003, the new phase of reforms started aiming at the humanization of the criminal executive system, its mitigation and enrichment of the Armenian criminal legislation by best practices and standards of international criminal law. The new Criminal Code prohibits incitement to racial hatred. According to Article 226(1) of the Code, actions aimed at incitement to national, racial or religious hatred or hostilities are qualified as crimes and are punishable by a fine in the amount of two to five hundred times of the minimum wage or by maximum of two years of correctional labour, or by 2-4 years of imprisonment.

The Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia was adopted in 1998. It is regularly amended, becoming more compliant with the international commitments of the Republic of Armenia. Article 8 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia prescribes that discrimination concerning the rights, freedoms and responsibilities on the ground of race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, ideology, belonging to a national minority, or birth, is prohibited.

The Code of the Republic of Armenia “On Administrative Offences” provides for examination of a case on administrative offences according to the principle of equality of citizens. Particularly, according to Article 248, “Examination of cases on administrative offences shall be carried out according to the principle of equality of all citizens before the law and the authority conducting the examination of the case, irrespective of their origin, social and property status, belonging to a race or nation, sex, education, language, attitude towards religion, type and nature of occupation, place of residence, and other circumstances”.

The Law on the Human Rights Defender was adopted in October 2003, and it came into force on January 1, 2004. According to Article 83.1 of the new Constitution, the Ombudsman shall be elected by the National Assembly for a period of 6 years. This Article also underlined that the Human Rights Defender is an independent official, who implements the protection of the violated human rights and freedoms by state and local self-government bodies, and their officials. The Human Rights Defender examines with care complaints from various minority groups. In the period extending from 2004-2009, 24 application-complaints have been addressed to the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia by representatives of 11 national minorities residing in Armenia. The examination of the above-mentioned applications shows that the violations of their rights were of general nature and had no connection with their belonging to a national minority; their complaints covered such issues as are generally covered in application-complaints of the Country’s population.

Article 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia stipulates that “Everyone shall have the right to preserve his or her national and ethnic identity”. Any person belonging to a national minority in Armenia, freely chooses to be treated or not to be treated as such.

The Armenian authorities continue to approach the Yezidi/Kurdish issue on the basis of the principle of self-identification.

Mr. Chairman,

Right to education is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, in particular, Article 39 of the Constitution defines that “Everyone shall have a right to education”.

The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Public Education” was adopted in July 2009. Article 4 of the Law stipulates that public education of national minorities of the Republic of Armenia may be organized in their mother tongue or national language with mandatory teaching of Armenian language.

According to the same law basic general education shall be compulsory in Armenia. Secondary education in the state educational institutions is free of charge. The law defines the principles of autonomy in higher educational institutions. All citizens have the right to free higher and professional education in the state higher and other professional educational institutions on the basis of competition as prescribed by the law. Priority in admitting candidates belonging to national minorities, who have passed the university entry exams, has significantly improved access of such candidates to the relevant higher educational establishments.

In accordance with the Order issued by the Ministry of Education on December 21, 2007, children of citizens belonging to national minorities are admitted to a general education school where education is carried out in the national language/mother tongue of the child or to a school which has courses taught in that language. Whenever it is not available, the choice of the language of teaching shall be made by the parents of the child (or his/her lawful representatives). At the same time, based on students request there is a possibility of extracurricular activities for studying some minority languages, and it is important to mention that the quantitative threshold for the creation of classes is very low – 4-5 students.

Some of the national minorities living in Armenia, such as Assyrians, Kurds and Yezidis do not have a kin state which means that they need even special attention and protection. Incorporation of these minorities within the palette of minorities is equally both an asset enriching Armenia’s culture and measure of responsibility for the state committed to stipulate the preservation and development of this ethnic group unambiguously regarding Armenia as their homeland. Textbooks for different grades for Yezidi language and literature were elaborated and published during recent years and distributed for free to the students of the Yezidi Community. An Assyrian ABC book was elaborated, which was published in 2007, and is distributed since for free to the relevant schools.

These textbooks were elaborated with participation of representatives of national minorities, with an aim of providing a balanced response to their specific needs and ensuring their equitable access to the resources available.

Following the principle of self-identification since the problem relating to the Yezidi and Kurdish ethnic self-identification had caused, it has been decided to satisfy the requests of both peoples, i.e. to publish textbooks in the Yezidi language for the Yezidis in Cyrillic alphabet, and in the Kurdish language for the Kurdish people in Latin alphabet. The government encourages programs directed on preparation of teachers who are members of national minorities.

Mr. Chairman,

State policy in the field of employment is aimed at creating conditions for ensuring full and efficient employment. The implementation of the policy contributes to improving the skills of the unemployed and enhancing their competitiveness in labour markets, as well as triggers the employer to maintain the existing work places, create new ones and fill the vacant positions with informed, skilled specialists knowledgeable in modern sciences, including technologies. The objectives and principles of labour legislation are laid down in the Labour Code of the Republic of Armenia (Articles 2 and 3).

According to Article 5(1) of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Foreign Nationals” adopted on December 25, 2006, by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, foreign nationals in the Republic of Armenia shall have rights, freedoms and responsibilities on an equal basis with the nationals of the Republic of Armenia, unless otherwise prescribed by the Constitution, laws and international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.

National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia adopted the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Employment and Social Protection in Case of Unemployment” on October 24, 2005. The new law stipulates legal grounds for employment in the Republic of Armenia, state policy principles in the field of employment as well as social protection in case of unemployment, state guarantees for social protection for the unemployed and for the free choice of work and occupation.

Every citizen of Armenia has the right to choose his/her profession and work. Groundless refusal to hire a person is prohibited. Citizens of Armenia as well as representatives of other nations and stateless persons residing on the territory of the Republic of Armenia are entitled to free choice of their work and out-of-work activity. The same persons are entitled to free choice of being employed and unemployed, except for cases defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia (the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Employment and Social Protection in Case of Unemployment”, Article 3).

Armenian authorities have been granting equal opportunities of effective participation in public affairs to all social strata and groups without discrimination.

Mr. Chairman,

Armenia has always taken all possible measures to ensure comprehensive and equal protection of the rights and freedoms of persons seeking asylum and recognized as refugees in the Republic of Armenia. The law “On Refugees and Asylum” was adopted in 2008, which is in full compliance with requirements of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its Protocol, and other international instruments. Armenia has continuously pursued a policy of full integration of refugees. Refugees granted asylum in the territory of the Republic of Armenia have the right to benefit from the social services envisaged for the Armenian citizens as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, to receive state allowances and other financial assistance, free medical aid and care guaranteed by the State, as well as the right to pension insurance specified by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, and the right to social protection in case of unemployment, provided that they meet the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia regulating the relevant field.

In accordance with the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia, everyone shall have the right to apply to courts for protection of his/her rights; this provision extends also to refugees and asylum seekers. The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Refugees and Asylum” guarantees the right to judicial protection for rejected asylum seekers. In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On State Duty”, the decision on rejection may be appealed before the courts without payment of state duty. Despite the immense efforts made for years with the purpose of resolving the problems of more than 400 000 refugees exiled from Azerbaijan, Armenia has not yet fully resolved the housing problem of refugees. In addition to this, the Government also deals with the problem of the internally displaced persons who have been displaced due to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Azerbaijani military activity on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

In order to solve the problem of housing of the refugees, the Government of the Republic of Armenia has decided to hold an International donors conference in Yerevan on May 17, 2011 – with a sole purpose of raising the required financial resources for permanent housing for the remaining group of some 1500 refugee families that currently live in temporary dwellings. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Antonio Guteres will participate in this important gathering.

Mr. Chairman,

Armenia as a country with historical traditions and religious tolerance, since gaining independence in 1991 has expressed firm commitment to guarantee, within the framework of the overall democratization of the society, freedom of thought and conscience and made significant steps to that end, particularly toward prevention of any kind of discrimination based on religion and belief. The legal system of the state provides for a wide framework of laws and regulations ensuring enjoyment of relevant freedoms. The “Law on freedom of conscience and religious associations” adopted in 1991, which is still in force, gives the opportunity for both national minorities and religious communities to practice their national or other religion, to establish religious associations. The evidence of maintenance of religious pluralism in the country is well-demonstrated by the fact that in 1997, only 14 religious organizations were registered as legal entities in Armenia. This number reached to 66 in 2010.

In 2001, after membership in the Council of Europe, Armenia has committed itself to passing the law on alternative service, thus providing equal opportunities for performance of duty by serving military or alternative service, despite the fact that there are no accepted international standards regarding either mandatory introduction of alternative service or its length.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I would like to pay your attention to the fact that on numerous occasions Armenian side has expressed its concern regarding the facts of State-sponsored systematic large-scale anti-Armenian propaganda and hate-speech by Azerbaijani leadership. Armenia has expressed these concerns at the highest international fora, including the Durban Review Conference.

Unfortunately we have seen such evidence once again when the civil society executing Government’s political order and commands by directly engaging into anti-Armenian propaganda, we regret that this time the Committee official website has been used for distribution of such material. Unfortunately, the policy of Azerbaijani Government which has begun real witch-hunt against persons of Armenian origin and everything else Armenian is well-known. In this regard deep concern has been expressed by well-known human rights organizations and first of all by watchdogs monitoring the implementation by Azerbaijan of its obligations assumed in the field of human rights, including CERD, ECRI, CoE Human Rights Commissioner and Advisory Committee of the CoE Framework Convention on National Minorities.

I would kindly request, Mr. Chairman, that this part of statement also be included in the summary record of meeting.

Mr. Chairman, we would like to express our hope that the information provided by the Government of the Republic of Armenia has proven to be satisfactory and we are at your disposal to discuss the issue in more details.

Thank you.