Armenian Civic Groups Protest Racist Killings In Russia

06 June 2006

Several dozen people staged a rare demonstration outside the Russian embassy in
Yerevan on Monday to condemn and protest against the continuing racially
motivated killings of Armenians and other dark-skinned residents of Russia.

The protesters, most of them representatives of several Armenian civic groups,
accused Moscow of connivance and even complicity in the xenophobic violence
widely blamed on tens of thousands of neo-Nazi skinheads operating across
Russia. They also denounced the Armenian government’s reluctance to bring the
Kremlin to task over the killings...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15989

Rallies against RF National Hostility in Britain

06 June 2006

A rally of protest was initiated by the Armenian students of Great Britain in
connection with the increase of murders, racism combat and hatred of mankind
apparent in the Russian Federation. The site of the rally was the territory
opposite the Russian Embassy in Great Britain.

“We, the students of Great Britain, express our deepest regret on these events
and on the increase of xenophobia in Russia. We call on the Russian authorities
to take drastic measures and to punish the initiators in order to prevent
suchlike cases in future,” this is a quotation from the students’ statement
which was given to the Russian Embassy of Great Britain. The students also claim
that “the outcome of racism and xenophobia in the recent years has been very
appalling. About 28 foreigners were murdered in 2005 and more than 402 people
were beaten and attacked by the racists. They were mainly from Caucasus and
Middle Asia including many Armenians. 6 Armenians were killed in Moscow in 2006
because of their nationality.”


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15994

U.S. Keeps Armenia On Human Trafficking ‘Watch List’

06 June 2006

The United States has placed Armenia on its human trafficking “watch list” for a
second consecutive year, citing the Armenian government’s failure to take tough
action against prostitution rings and law-enforcement officials allegedly
connected with them.

In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report released Monday, the U.S. State
Department said Armenia remains a “major source and, to a lesser extent, a
transit and destination country for women and girls trafficked for sexual
exploitation largely to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey”...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15995

Armenia Ratified The Optional Protocol to UN Convention against Torture

02 June 2006

On May 31 the National Assembly of Armenia ratified the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (OPCAT). The treaty will come into force on June 23.

The Protocol defines international and national mechanisms for regular
monitoring in the closed institutions. Armenia will be able to nominate two
candidates to the International Subcommittee...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15988

No to Violence against Children: CoE Information Office and Future is
Yours NGO Organized an Event Devoted to Children's Rights

01 June 2006

Following the decisions of the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of
the Council of Europe (Warsaw 2005) a Council of Europe’s programme "Building a
Europe for and with children", was launched in Monaco on 4 and 5 April 2006. The
aims of this three-year programme are to promote and protect children’s rights,
and to ensure the protection of children from all forms of violence...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15981

Armenian Army ‘Scapegoats’ Facing Life In Prison

01 June 2006

Three Armenian army soldiers are facing a life in prison, accused of a double
murder which they say they did not commit and which their lawyers believe was
the work of their military commander in Nagorno-Karabakh.

An appeals court in Yerevan convicted this week Razmik Sargsian, Musa Serobian
and Arayik Zalian of killing two fellow conscripts in December 2003, in a trial
denounced by Armenian human rights organizations as a parody of justice...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15984

Torosyan Became the NA Speaker

01 June 2006

Tigran Torosyan, the sole candidate in the NA Speaker’s elections was elected
the NA President.

The results of the elections were made public at 5:33PM. 97 deputies
participated in the balloting and 94 of them voted for Tigran Torosyan, 1
against and two ballot-papers were considered invalid.


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15985

Ombudsman Refuses To Intervene In Opposition Party Eviction

31 May 2006

Armenia’s top state human rights official refused on Wednesday to intervene in
the controversial eviction of opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian and his
supporters from the government-owned offices of their Zharangutyun (Heritage)
party.

Ombudsman Armen Harutiunian was among several senior officials to whom
Hovannisian sent a written complaint following a fresh closure of his Yerevan
headquarters on Tuesday. The letter, titled “A report about a crime,” alleged
that governments agents illegally accessed Zharangutyun computers last March to
retrieve confidential information about thousands of party activists...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15978

Ombudsman Renders a Press Conference

31 May 2006

On the hundredth day of his office RA second Ombudsman Armen Haroutyunyan
rendered a press conference to inform the society about what he has done.

During the three months of his office Armen Haroutyunyan received about 770
complaints half of which has been qualified as «beyond the authorizations of the
Ombudsman», As for how many citizens have restored their rights, the Ombudsman
mentioned that he will give correct figures in about six months...


www.hra.am/eng/?page=issue&id=15973