Search Results for: Armenia

The UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls on Wednesday called on Armenia to use political momentum from recent policy and legislative reforms to advance from formal gender equality measures to substantive gender equality in the country. Following a 10-day trip to Armenia, the Working Group released a statement commending the government for [...]

The Investigative Committee of Yaroslavl Oblast initiated a criminal proceeding on Thursday against Russian LGBTQA+ activist Yaroslav Sirotkin on the charges of participation in an “extremist organization,” according to local media. According to the investigation, Sirotkin posted 14 social media posts and videos that included “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” between December 2023 and January [...]

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) raised  serious concerns Thursday about prison conditions and psychiatric care practices across Europe. The 34th General Report highlights issues pertaining to prison overcrowding, the continued influence of informal prisoner hierarchies, and the excessive use of pharmacological treatments [...]

Nineteen Armenian human rights NGOs and individual advocates on Friday jointly appealed to international organizations and foreign ambassadors in Azerbaijan, urging them to oversee the trials of Armenian detainees in Baku. Criminal hearings are currently underway in Baku involving former leaders of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. All the defendants, who are ethnic Armenians, face charges [...]

The Republic of Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Thursday at the regular cabinet meeting that the government has approved a bill to launch the European Union accession process,. The Cabinet also proposed some amendments to keep the bill in line with the law on normative legal acts. The bill will be debated in [...]

In a significant move, the Swiss parliament has officially recognized the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) against Iraq’s Yazidi community as constituting genocide. The motion, passed on Tuesday, condemns the systematic expulsion, rape and murder of Yazidis, and the destruction of their cultural sites. The majority of the Swiss National Council voted in [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear competing racial discrimination allegations raised by Armenia and Azerbaijan against each other under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Armenia alleges that Azerbaijan has committed acts of murder, torture and inhuman treatment, arbitrary detention, and [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that the Armenian government’s proposed surveillance bill raises significant concerns regarding privacy rights and civil liberties. HRW cautioned that the mere presence of surveillance systems in public areas can create a chilling effect on fundamental rights, including freedoms of assembly, association and expression. The rights group added that [...]

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement on Monday highlighted the disproportionate harm that children with disabilities in Gaza are suffering as a result of Israel’s violations of humanitarian law, which include military strikes against hospitals, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and the 16-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. HRW states that the unlawful conditions being imposed [...]

The UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) condemned Israel’s violation of rights protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on Thursday, citing Israel’s “indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks” which have killed, injured and orphaned high numbers of Palestinian children. According to customary international humanitarian law, children affected by armed conflict are entitled to [...]