OSCE Office-supported report on Armenian civil service recruitment encourages civil monitoring

YEREVAN, 2 November 2007 - Armenia could improve the transparency and effectiveness of its civil service system by reviewing tests used for applicants, increasing commission members' professional capacity, creating a mechanism for civil monitoring of the process and following other recommendations in a report released today with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The report and work leading up to it aims to improve procedures to minimize corruption risks, and to encourage civil society participation.

"A transparent and well-functioning civil service system is crucial for an efficient public administration," said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "We are ready to help both the authorities and the civil society in implementing the recommendations of the monitoring."

Observers from five non-governmental organizations - the Union of Armenian Government Employees, the Regional Centre for Development/Transparency International, the Young Lawyers' Association, the Centre for Precise Information, and the Armenian Helsinki Committee - monitored 67 hiring processes and 53 attestations during the period of 16 March - 1 October 2007. A total of 295 participants of competitions and attestations responded to questionnaires sent as part of the work to prepare the report.

Manvel Badalyan, Chairman of the Civil Service Council of Armenia, welcomed the initiative and stressed the importance of civil society oversight.

"This monitoring helped to identify the existing shortcomings and suggest practical solutions," he said.

Following the presentation of the initial report, the NGONGO
non-governmental organization Union of Armenian Government Employees and the Armenian Civil Service Council signed a co-operation agreement that reconfirmed the Council's commitment to implement the monitoring recommendations.

The project was implemented by the Union of Armenian Government Employees in co-operation with the Armenian Civil Service Council with support from the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Eurasia Foundation.