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The RA draft law about amendments to the RA law on “Equal rights and equal opportunities of women and men” was presented by the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to have it included in the August 29, 2013 agenda of the RA government.

Paragraph 4 of Article 27.1 of the RA Law on “Legal acts” prescribes that the body elaborating the draft shall, alongside with the submission of the draft regulatory legal act to impact assessors, arrange public discussions on the draft, the aim of which is to notify natural and legal persons on the draft regulatory legal act, as well as to collect their opinions and to carry out the necessary adaptation works of the draft regulatory legal act based thereon.

Paragraph 6 of the order on organizing and conducting public discussions of regulatory legal act drafts endorsed by # 296-N decree of March 25, 2010 on “approving the order over organizing and conducting public discussions” stipulates that the term set for conducting public discussions is minimum 15 days, if the body elaborating the draft hasn’t defined a longer term.

The justification of the draft law reads that it was posted in the website of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs at www.mss.am on August 24, 2013, which means 4 days right before submitting the drat to the RA Government agenda (2 working days).

The RA law on “Equal rights and equal opportunities of women and men” of May 20, 2013 is already not a proper and full legislative act regulating the issues existing in the field. In the meantime, after the adoption of this law extreme and deforming opinions were voiced by certain groups and persons of the society regarding separate provisions of the law, whereas, by presenting a draft law of the aforementioned law, the RA Government merely makes concessions to those groups by failing to take account other opinions existing in society.

Taking into account the aforementioned, we demand urgent holding of public discussions on the draft law.

1. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor NGO
2. Public Information and Need of Knowledge NGO
3. Women’s Support Center
4. “Journalists for Human Rights” NGO
5. Socioscope NGO
6. “Spitak Helsinki Group” NGO
7. Journalists’ Club “Asparez”
8. “Menk +” Social NGO
9. “Arena of Education” NGO
10. New Generation humanitarian NGO
11. Guarantee Center of Civil Society NGO11. “Borders of our Rights” NGO
12. “Yerkink Social-Legal Support Center” NGO
13. “Yerevan Center for Human Rights Protection” NGO
14. Yerevan Press Club
15. Shahkhatun NGO
16. Helsinki Committee of Armenia NGO
17. Women’s Resource Center NGO
18. Protection of Rights without Borders NGO
19. “Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Speech” NGO
20. Partnership for Democracy NGO
21. Social Justice NGO
22. Armavir Development Center NGO
23. “Rule of Law” Human Rights NGO
24. Coalition on Violence Against Women
25. D. Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Centre NGO
26. “Victims of State Needs” NGO
27. Martuni Women’s Community Council NGO
28. Goris Press Club
29. “Unison” NGO
30. “Arevamanuk” Fund
31. Khoran Ard Intelectual Center
32. Real World Real People
33. Society without Violence NGO
    
34. Transparency International Anti-corruption Center
    
35. Democracy Today NGO
    
36. ProMedia-Gender NGO
37. EcoLur
38.  Ecological Right NGO
39. Spiritual Armenia NGO
40. Sose Women Issues NGO