Strengthening Good Governance and Democratic Practices in the Security Sector in Armenia

Following the closure of the OSCE Office in the Republic of Armenia in 2017, the Government of Armenia and the OSCE agreed to continue their project-based co-operation under the Armenia Co-operation Programme (ACP). Within the justice and security sector, the Armenian authorities identified two key priority areas: strengthening democratic oversight and advancing police reform.

The objective of the project “Strengthening Good Governance and Democratic Practices in the Security Sector in Armenia” is to support the Republic of Armenia in strengthening good governance and democratic practices across the security sector. It aims to promote accountable, effective, and responsive service delivery within the public safety domain, while enhancing transparency and institutional accountability, ultimately increasing public trust in security sector institutions and contributing to sustainable democratic oversight.

Policy development, monitoring and evaluation 

The project supports the development of a new strategic policy framework in the field of public safety. Policy monitoring and evaluation are supported to ensure informed and responsive policy-making. With a strong emphasis on enhanced accountability, the project also facilitates public consultation and increased public awareness of security sector governance and reform (SSG/R). 

Strengthened SSG/R stakeholders with a focus on democratic oversight 

The project delivers extensive capacity-building to ensure a long-term sustainable impact on the quality of public safety services, with a focus on oversight capabilities, addressing the issue holistically and supporting both internal and external oversight actors. 

Strong police-public partnerships through a modern community policing service

The project provides comprehensive support for modernizing the community policing service, through the elaboration of a regulatory and procedural framework, training, and capacity-building assistance. Activities include support for developing a community engagement strategy with a focus on digital solutions, and practical training to help police officers deliver high-quality, community-oriented policing services.

The project is part of the ACP and is implemented jointly by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD). It builds on six years of OSCE support to SSG/R in Armenia through the extrabudgetary projects “Strengthening Security Sector Governance in Armenia” (2019-2024), Strengthening Democratic Policing principles in Armenia through Enhanced Police-Public Partnership” (2021-2024) and “Strengthening Police-Public Partnership in Armenia” (2019-2021). 

Several activities will be implemented as part of the EU-funded joint OSCE-UNDP project “Accountable, Effective and Gender-responsive Institutional Systems for Policing and Rescue Service in Armenia (AEGIS)”, focused on institutional strengthening and professional development of the Police and Rescue Services of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs.