Open discussion on the voluntary report submitted by Armenia in accordance with United Nations Universal Periodic Review process

14 December, 2022

On December 14, at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the support of the UNDP office, a discussion of the 3rd voluntary mid-term report prepared by Armenia in accordance with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process was held.

The purpose of the voluntary report is to present the current stage of implementation of the recommendations issued in 2020 and accepted by the Republic of Armenia within the framework of this UN monitoring mechanism. Within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, recommendations are issued to the countries on various human rights issues, which are being reviewed by the UN at certain periodicity.

Maintaining its previously adopted approach to prioritize the implementation of the recommendations by international monitoring bodies, Armenia, by the end of 2022, will voluntarily submit its 3rd mid-term UPR report to the UN on the steps taken by the country in the field of human rights. 

Ms. Karine Sujayan, Head of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, and Ms. Natia Natsvlishvili, Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Armenia, delivered opening remarks at the discussion. 

Ms. Sujayan drew attention to the fact that over the past three years, Armenia had to make changes in the the content of its programs in the field of human rights, taking into account the aggressive war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh in the fall of 2020, as well as the urgent need to address the humanitarian consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia on September 13-14, 2022. She noted that at the time of the discussion, Azerbaijan was keeping closed the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and cut off the gas supply, causing humanitarian disaster to the civilian population of Artsakh. The Permanent Representative of the UNDP highlighted the importance of Armenia's commitment to submit its voluntary UPR report, and reaffirmed the UN bodies’ willingness in providing continued assistance to Armenia in the implementation of the UPR recommendations.

The opening remarks were followed by the sectoral discussion with the participation of all stakeholder ministries and NGOs.

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, and the Ministry of Health presented thematic reports on the recommendations and specific details on the implementation of the recommendations issued to the country. The representatives of the Prosecutor's Office, the Police, and the Central Electoral Commission presented related reports.

After each session, the officials of the Ministries and other state bodies  answered the questions of the representatives of the international organizations and local NGOs.

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