The Human Rights Programme of the OSCE Office in Yerevan closely follows the human rights situation in Armenia, assisting the national stakeholders in their efforts to implement OSCE Human Dimension Commitments. The Office’s activities are currently focused on the promotion of legislative and policy reforms, capacity building, experience exchange and awareness-raising activities.

Supporting the Office of the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman Institution)

The Office has been assisting the Human Rights Defender's Office (HDRO) since its establishment in 2004 through capacity-building activities, exchange of experience and organization of discussions on human rights issues to raise public awareness of the role of the institution. The Office facilitated the HRDO's establishment and operation of the National Preventive Mechanism to undertake a sufficiently focused programme of preventive visits with the broader involvement of the civil society. The Office through the EU-funded project strengthens the capacity of the institution in electoral processes and supports the establishment of six regional offices of the institution in Yeghegnadzor, Kapan, Gavar, Ijevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor.

Criminal justice and judicial reforms

The Office promotes criminal justice and judicial reforms by lending support to the judiciary, the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Chamber of Advocates to improve access to justice and strengthen judicial independence. In particular, it facilitates capacity building, supports legal and institutional reforms and networking opportunities. The Office in co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) provides legal expertise with respect to legislation and recommendations for strengthening the independence of the judiciary in the overall context of justice strategy reforms, and supports drafting the Criminal Procedure Code. In the framework of the Memorandum of Co-operation with the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Office provides expert advice and recommendations to further reforms in this area.  The Office co-operates with the Chamber of Advocates and the Judicial School on the training of judges and advocates on a wide range of human rights issues.

Penitentiary reforms

The Office co-operates with the Ministry of Justice in implementing penitentiary system reforms. Building on the strategy of justice sector reforms and striving to reduce the number of prisoners, various activities are being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Criminal-Executive Department and civil society organizations. The improvement of educational and vocational training, re-socialization and preparation for release schemes for convicted persons and capacity-building activities for penitentiary servants are among the areas of co-operation. Different projects are carried out to raise the awareness of detained persons of their rights. Special attention is being devoted to support juvenile justice administration, where the activities focus on promotion of child-friendly justice and provision of vocational training to convicted juveniles.

Human rights monitoring

The Office for many years supports the operation of civil society monitoring mechanisms: Public Observers Groups for Penitentiary Institutions (since 2004) and Police Detention Centres (since 2006). Specialized workshops and training courses are regularly organized for the members of these groups, to raise their capacity to monitor and report on the protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty and conditions in detention facilities. Opportunities are lent to share good practices on human rights in the administration of justice and raise the awareness of public on the activities of the Groups. The Office also co-operates with the Ministry of Justice and the Police, streamlining their efforts aimed at improving the conditions of detention and bringing them in line with international standards through joint activities and publications. The monitoring capacity and legal expertise of civil society organizations are also being strengthened through implementation of monitoring and research projects, contributing to fostered dialogue with line ministries and increased transparency of the respective systems.

Human rights education and awareness raising

On the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Office renders assistance in promoting human rights education through tailored capacity-building activities. Schoolteachers, young human rights defenders and journalists from all regions of the country are among the target groups of projects implemented in co-operation with civil society organizations. As a result of close co-operation with the Ministry of Defence, human rights training of trainers for armed forces personnel was organized in 2011. Different discussions and forums, capacity building activities and legal assessments were provided to strengthen the adherence to OSCE human dimension commitments.  Particularly, the Office facilitates an inclusive legislative drafting process through the organization of discussions and forums, and assists the Armenian Government in obtaining legal assessments of draft legislation from OSCE/ODIHR in such areas as freedom of religion or belief and alternative service.