Rights defenders point to domestic violence problems and LGBT people discrimination in Armenia

After the “velvet” revolution in Armenia, cases of domestic violence and discrimination against LGBT people and people with disabilities have not been eradicated, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated. The authorities do not deny these problems, but not everything is done to solve them, Yerevan rights defenders believe.

The HRW has published its 2020 World Report on the human rights situation in nearly 100 countries. Among Armenian problems, the HRW noted the use of force by the police to suppress peaceful protests; the closure of criminal cases of violence against demonstrators and journalists during the events known as “Electric Yerevan”; and the capture of the police regiment by “Sasna Tsrer” fighters, as well as the clash of opponents of the “Amulsar” field development with the police.

The report also included reviews on the issue of female violence, persons with disabilities and LGBT people. “After the ‘velvet’ revolution, new authorities began implementing ambitious reforms ... however, cases of domestic violence, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as discrimination of people with disabilities, were not eliminated,” the report says.

Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, has treated the reaction of Armenian authorities to the problems of human rights protection as unprecedented. In her opinion, the authorities should not hide behind the law, but solve problems based on the priority of human rights.

Arthur Sakunts, a rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, believes that Armenian authorities should adopt an anti-discrimination law and ratify the Istanbul Convention.