OSCE co-organizes workshop on anti-discrimination litigation in Armenia

National and international instruments for protecting rights to non-discrimination were discussed by lawyers and human rights defenders at a one-day workshop organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and its partners on 23 October 2014 in Yerevan.

The workshop aimed to build the capacity of local lawyers and human rights defenders on the domestic application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in particular Article 14 on the Prohibition of discrimination. The aim is to enhance their skills in effective litigation and prove discrimination cases both in the domestic courts and at the level of the European Court to Human Rights (ECtHR).  

An international expert provided an overview of Council of Europe instruments on combatting discrimination, while local experts familiarized participants on how effectively they can use national instruments for protecting their rights against discrimination. Participants also took part in practical sessions and group work.

The workshop served as a useful platform for testing new types of arguments before national courts and encouraged lawyers and accordingly judges to refer more often to the ECHR and Revised European Social Charter (RESC). The participants also got the latest updates from an ECtHR lawyer about developments in Article 14 case law.

The event was a joint initiative of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, in co-operation with the Council of Europe, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation.

It was held within the Council of Europe and European Union joint programme on Strengthening the capacity of lawyers and human rights defenders for the domestic application of the European Convention on Human Rights and of the Revised European Social Charter.