OSCE Office-supported conference discusses national minorities situation in Armenia

YEREVAN, 14 November 2007 - Armenia's implementation of its commitments to protect national minorities is the focus of a two-day conference supported by the OSCE Office that started today in Yerevan.

The event brings together state representatives from more than fifteen countries to share their experiences of putting into practice the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Silvia Pogolsa, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan, said: "We hope that today's conference will contribute to Armenia's implementation of its commitments and to further improvements of legislation and state practice in this field."

Hranush Kharatyan, Head of the State Department on Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs, said that the international conference was aimed at clarifying and finding the best practical application of some provisions of the Convention in Armenia.

The conference was initiated by the Armenian State Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs with support from the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Council of Europe.