OSCE supports workshop on integrating European best practices to fight corruption in Armenia
YEREVAN, 17 March 2009 - An OSCE-supported workshop on best practices to combat corruption, particularly based on experience from the Visegrad member states, was held at the Anti-Corruption Public Reception Centre in Yerevan today.
The workshop was organized by the Armenian Young Lawyers' Association, the non-governmental organization Agora Central Europe (Czech Republic) and the International Institute for Study of Culture and Education at the University of Lower Silesia (Poland), with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and under the auspices of the Visegrad Group of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It aimed to foster the exchange of experience on fighting corruption, and exploring European values in the context of the European integration process.
"Knowledge of European practices will help further the work of the Anti-Corruption Centre, which is supported by the OSCE and has been working to curb corruption in Armenia by providing legal advice to individuals," said the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos.
"Civil society organizations play a significant role in providing efficient tools for citizens to protect their rights," said Karen Zadoyan, the president of the Armenian Young Lawyers' Association.
At the workshop, experts from Poland and the Czech Republic shared the experiences of their countries with anti-corruption activities in the context of the European Union accession process. Representatives from relevant Armenian state structures discussed anti-corruption and legislative and judicial reforms.
The OSCE-supported Anti-Corruption Public Reception Centre provides legal, procedural and practical advice to citizens on different issues.