"The government took only limited steps to investigate and punish alleged abuses by former and current government officials and law enforcement authorities," according to a new report on Armenia released by the US Department of State and spanning the years 2021.

According to the study, there were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.

Respect for the Integrity of the Person

“Human rights NGOs have continued to voice concern over noncombat deaths in the army and the lack of law enforcement agencies to undertake meaningful investigations into those deaths. The practise of classifying numerous noncombat fatalities as suicides at the start of investigations, according to civil society organisations and victims' relatives, made it less likely that violations would be discovered and investigated. The destruction or non-preservation of critical evidence, both by the military command (in cases of internal investigations) and by the specific investigative body working on a case, according to human rights attorneys, was the main hurdle to investigating military killings,” report flagged.

According to report, “three conscripts were found dead with gunshot wounds at a military base in the southeastern Syunik district near the Azerbaijan border on August 19, according to the Ministry of Defence. The ministry then reported the arrest of a soldier on suspicion of murder later that day. The post commander was arrested on August 23, according to the Investigative Committee, for "inciting the unlawful deliberate killing of troops and conducting violent sexual actions against a serviceman." The murders, according to civil society, were the result of years of official inaction in the face of several watchdog reports of army disciplinary issues, impunity, and corruption. The inquiry was ongoing, according to official sources, and both individuals remained in custody.”

The U.S. State Department also said that there were no credible reports of political prisoners or detainees.

Conflict-related abuses

“At year’s end authorities were investigating two unlawful killings during the intensive fall 2020 fighting involving Armenia, Armenia-supported separatists, and Azerbaijan,” report added.

The report underlined that “according to a joint report released in May by the NGOs the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and Truth Hounds, When Embers Burst into Flames – International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law Violations during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, there was prima facie evidence that members of ethnic Armenian armed forces unlawfully executed two wounded and captured Azerbaijani combatants. The evidence consisted of two videos. As IPHR and Truth Hounds were unable to confirm the videos’ authenticity,” the report stated. “If these killings are confirmed through further investigations, they would clearly violate the [International Humanitarian Law] prohibition on violence to life and person and would constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The killings of wounded Azerbaijani soldiers would equally violate … Armenia’s Penal Code and constitute gross violations of the right to life under … the [European Convention on Human Rights].”

According to the report, eight videos from social media appeared to show “the ill-treatment and despoliation of dead Azerbaijani soldiers by members of Armenian/Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces.” The videos were not independently verified, and the conduct that they purported to show required further investigation. Nevertheless, the report described the videos as constituting “prima facie evidence of multiple cases of despoliation” of the dead by Armenian/Nagorno-Karabakh forces. The report concluded, “All credible allegations of despoliation of the dead require further investigation. If proven to the applicable standard, this conduct would violate the [International Humanitarian Law] prohibition on despoliation and degrading treatment and may also violate … Armenia’s Penal Code.”

Freedom of expression

"The constitution and law provide for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media. While the government generally respected this right, parliament enacted several restrictions during the year, amending the law to dramatically raise the maximum civil penalties for insult and defamation in March, criminalize grave insults and obscene or foul language in July, and significantly restrict accredited journalists covering of parliament in August," the report said on the above-mentioned issue. 

According to a study, "individuals were generally free to criticise the government without fear of reprisal. On July 29, however, authorities indicted Yezidi human rights activist Sashik Sultanyan under Article 226 of the criminal code, which prohibits ‘actions aimed at the incitement of national, racial, or religious hatred or humiliation of national dignity’ for expressing his view that the government was not doing enough to protect the country’s Yezidi minority from discrimination. If convicted, he faced three to six years in prison."

"On August 18, citing security concerns, the National Assembly’s leadership adopted changes in procedures for accrediting journalists working in parliament, restricting them to certain areas of parliament and no longer allowing them to interview lawmakers coming out of parliament chambers or approaching their offices. Even before the official changes were adopted, parliament’s administrators applied the restrictions to journalists," the report reads.

Freedoms of peaceful assembly and association

Report stated that while the government generally respected freedom of assembly during the election campaign, local observers reported inconsistencies throughout the year in authorities’ approach toward peaceful gatherings. For example, on August 23, NGOs issued a joint statement condemning police for excessive use of force when they disrupted a peaceful protest against the construction of a high-rise building in a Yerevan neighbourhood. According to the statement, on August 20-21, special police units used disproportionate force against citizens, seriously injuring participants, including minors and elderly persons, two of whom were taken to the hospital.

Elections and political participation

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation mission reported, “fundamental rights and freedoms were generally respected, and contestants were able to campaign freely.” The October 27 final report noted that amendments to the electoral code made in April and May “had been publicly debated… and were supported by most political parties and civil society groups, and public outreach on the proposed electoral reforms was largely perceived as inclusive. However, the late adoption by parliament and subsequent entering into force of the amendments left limited time for the implementation of regulations and raising voters’ awareness of the new procedures.”

The final ODIHR report also noted that “high levels of harsh, intolerant, inflammatory and discriminatory rhetoric in the period leading up to election day tainted the debate.” Other shortcomings identified by ODIHR included incidents of pressure by political actors and employers on private-sector and public employees to attend campaign events, a number of allegations of vote buying, blurring of the line between the ruling party and state, allegations of the misuse of administrative resources, continued shortcomings regarding campaign finance, notably the absence of organisational expenses in the legal definition of campaign expenditures, and the narrow legal standing for submitting electoral complaints.

Corruption

"The country had a legacy of systemic corruption in many areas, including construction, mining, public administration, parliament, the judiciary, procurement practices, and provision of state assistance. There were allegations of embezzlement of state funds and involvement of government officials in questionable business activities," the report said.

Rape and Domestic Violence

"In March 2020 the Ministry of Justice launched a two-year campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence and encourage the public to call police to report signs of domestic violence. The campaign included public service announcements, two social experiments (to see if individuals would react to signs of domestic violence and call for help), posters, and a social media campaign that reached more than 4.2 million viewers.

According to the Coalition to Stop Violence against Women, gaps in legislation and improper enforcement of the law made it difficult for domestic violence survivors to access services. Police continued to offer warnings to abusers without taking any measures of protecting the survivor. Police may grant emergency protective orders, for up to 20 days, when one member of a family has committed violence against another and there a reasonable belief of imminent risk of repeated violence; individuals must apply to a court for longer-term protective orders," U.S. State Department underlined.

On Nagorno-Karabakh issue report added that "as a result of the intensive fall 2020 fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, approximately 100,000 persons were displaced into Armenia, an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 of whom were expected to remain in the country permanently, the majority of them women and girls. The fighting exacerbated the country’s deeply rooted gender inequities. Women and girls directly impacted by the fighting, including women and girls displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and family members of those who were killed, injured, or missing in the fighting, were among the most vulnerable groups and were at imminent risk of further marginalisation, exploitation, and gender-based violence."