OSCE Office in Yerevan

The security sector itself (the Defence Ministry and various law-enforcement agencies), the Parliament, civil society (including the ombudsman institution and non-governmental organizations) and the media all have an important role to play in the democratic oversight over the security sector in Armenia.

Co-operation with the Defence Ministry

Within the scope of its mandate, the Office closely co-operates with the Armenian Defence Ministry by providing comprehensive support to foster legal and institutional reforms aimed at improving the situation related to human rights in the armed forces and the education of military officers, as well as reducing corruption.

To address these issues the Office signed a co-operation plan for 2012-2013 with the Defence Ministry, which includes reviewing the draft Law on the Disciplinary Code of Conduct of the Armenian Armed Forces.

The Office also has supported the Ministry in improving leadership and management capacities in the Armenian Armed Forces. Within this framework, a textbook on leadership in the armed forces has been produced that addresses the specific problems of formal and informal leadership in the army.

Parliamentary oversight

In 2008, the Office signed a memorandum of understanding with the Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs of the Armenian Parliament to establish a basis for co-operation and to define the scope of the Office’s support to the Parliament.

Based on this agreement, the Office provides support to the Parliament by facilitating parliamentary hearings (e.g., on a draft law on evasion and on police accountability), working meetings on regulating private security companies, military recruitment, visits to call-up stations, military units, etc. The Office also provides legal experts and practitioners to help with drafting, reviewing and enforcing security-sector-related legislation. A number of high-level security-related seminars, forums and training courses have been organized jointly with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces and local NGOs.

Promoting the Code of Conduct in the Armed Forces

The Office has held a series of workshops on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security for senior military staff of the Defence Ministry and the members of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs.

In 2011, the Office, together with the Defence Ministry, promoted a publication entitled “Armenia and Democratic Control of the Armed Forces: Analysis and Perspectives”. The publication includes articles on the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, its history and political context, and the experience of Armenia and other countries in implementing the Code. The volume was prepared by experts from the Drastamat Kanayan Institute for National Strategic Studies under the Defence Ministry, as well as other institutions, including the Human Rights Defender’s Office and Yerevan State University.

Cybersecurity

The Office also assists the Armenian police in strengthening their professional capacities to effectively address cybersecurity issues.

In 2010, in close co-operation with the OSCE Anti-Terrorism Unit, the Office organized a workshop on a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. As a follow-up, a co-operation agreement was signed between the European Academy of Armenia and the NYS Center for Information Forensics and Assurance and the Associate School of Business University at Albany/State University of New York. As a result, a special training course was delivered by international experts in 2012 with the Office’s support. 

During 2011-2012, the Office and the Armenian police organized a series of events related to cybersecurity and cybercrime issues in Armenia. The events looked at current challenges in Armenia and international experience in fighting cybercrime with the aim of fostering co-operation between the private sector and law-enforcement agencies, as well as the international community.