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HCA Vanadzor extends its congratulations to the Republic of Armenia nationals on the 24^th anniversary of the Armenian Army.

While the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia carrying on their functions to ensure security, protection and territorial integrity of the country have seen some reforms within the past 24 years, a number of systemic problems still persist. We are especially concerned over the increased rate of death cases in the armed forces and the continued violations of internal regulations. Other issues of concern are conscription of persons with health problems and corruption in the armed forces.

Most of the systemic problems above can be solved by establishing a military ombudsman’s institute, which still remains a high-priority issue.

In the recent year, we again spotted a number of human rights violations in the armed forces; this shows that the Armenian Army still has a long way to go to meet the requirements of a democratic society.

Despite the efforts aimed at the legal and social protection of servicemen, some issues in this area still remain unsettled.

We hereby admit the efforts in particular cases aimed at making the activities of the RA Defense Ministry more open and transparent year by year. At the same time, we believe that the RA Defense Ministry should consider the identified issues as problems in need of systemic solutions.

We highlight the need for developing public relations by the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces and its accountable and transparent activities in its capacity of an agency directly responsible for coordination of military service.

HCA Vanadzor once again expresses its congratulations on the 24^th anniversary of the Armenian Army and its willingness to contribute further to the effective protection of human rights and improvement of civilian oversight mechanisms in the Armed Forces.

HCA Vanadzor

January 28, 2016