Annual Report of Human Rights Watch on Human Rights in Armenia
09:37, February 8, 2013 | News
Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization has published its annual report on the situation of human rights worldwide in 2012. It is 23rd subsequent report, which summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 counties across the world. Significant attention is paid to the situation of human rights after Arab Spring in countries which lived through it. The report is comprised of 655 pages and 392-397 pages touch upon the situation of human rights in Armenia. In the section of Armenia, a reference is made to May 6 parliamentary elections in 2012, where the ruling political party followed by abuse of administrative sources and intimidation of voters, observers and journalists.
The Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) monitoring report assessed that the parliamentary elections as competitive and largely peaceful yet marred by “unequal playing field” due to misuse of administrative sources, and party representatives and local authorities exerting pressures against voters, interfering in voting, and hindering the work of journalists. Several violent incidents occurred during the campaign in Yerevan. According to local human rights defenders, torture and ill-treatment in police custody persist. Activists still continue to be beaten. The authorities often refuse to investigate such ill-treatment allegations.
Politically motivated defamation lawsuits no longer seem to a serious issue. Trust towards judicial level is low and corruption prevails in the country. Armenian government has yet to offer conscientious objectors a genuine civilian alternative to military service and has failed to effectively investigate a troubling number of non-combat deaths in military.
According to local human rights defenders, the number of non-combat deaths was 44 during the previous year. In 2012, the court sentenced 16 Jehovah’s Witnesses to prison terms for refusal to serve.
Media pluralism is lacking. Some journalists covering May 6 parliamentary elections, suffered violent attacks by onlookers and some members of Armenia’s ruling political party. Violence and sexual discrimination based on sexual orientation are of serious problems, which are displayed in a workplace, in the army, in the public, in the family and in the field of healthcare.
Issues also exist in the field of healthcare and impediments are created for the procurement of medications. UN statistics from 2009-2010 suggest that approximately 7000 people die of cancer and HIV/AIDS annually in Armenia.