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To the Armenian Government:
Investigate
the use of excessive force by the police and other security forces on the night
of April 12-13, 2004. Bring to account all security officials who used
excessive force.
Cease the use
of explosives and electric shock equipment for the control of non-violent
public demonstrations.
Provide
training to all members of the security forces on international and domestic
human rights standards and hold accountable all members of the security forces
who deviate from these standards.
Investigate
all allegations of torture and ill-treatment in police custody and prosecute
those found responsible for such acts.
Comply with
Council of Europe’s calls to repeal the use of administrative detention and
cease using arrest as a means of pressuring the opposition.
Investigate
the attacks on journalists and prosecute those responsible.
Enact
legislation guaranteeing the right to peaceful assembly and establishing a
procedure to ensure that this right is respected. Request the Council of Europe
to review the draft legislation before it is enacted.
Cease the
practice of restricting travel of opposition supporters in order to limit their
right to freedom of assembly.
Repeal
criminal defamation provisions in the Criminal Code and drop all current
charges against opposition members for criminal defamation. Ensure the trials
against opposition members currently in pre-trial detention comply with
international fair trial procedures.
Comply with
the OSCE recommendations made in their final report on the 2003 presidential
election, in particular to bring to account those responsible for election
fraud and other violations.
To the International Community:
To the OSCE, Council of Europe, European Union,
European and United States Governments:
Strongly
condemn and demand an end to the abuses committed in Armenia described in this
briefing paper, and promptly condemn any new abuses that occur;
Call for all
officials implicated in abuses to be brought to justice;
Continue to
press the Armenian government to implement the OSCE recommendations in
the final report on the 2003 presidential elections.
The European
Union and the United States should closely monitor any funding
provided to the Armenian government, particularly security-related funding, to
ensure that it does not go towards security agencies implicated in abuses.
The European
Union should make better use of the periodic reviews of the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Armenia to urge the Armenian government to
bring its laws and practices into compliance with international standards, with
particular attention to the violations documented in this briefing paper.
To the Council of Europe:
The Council
of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Monitoring Committee
should send an ad-hoc mission to Armenia to investigate the recent abuses and present
its findings to the Assembly’s plenary session in June, formulating specific
recommendations for steps the authorities need to take to address the ongoing
crisis and setting a specific deadline for meeting them.
The Council
of Europe Committee of Ministers should put the ongoing crisis in Armenia on the agenda of its upcoming ministerial meeting and call on the Armenian
government take urgent measures to adhere with its obligations stemming from
its membership with the Council of Europe.
The Council
of Europe Secretary-General should appoint independent experts to
investigate the serious ongoing abuses taking place and call on the Armenian
government to take urgent measures to address them.
The Council
of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) should continue
to monitor closely torture in Armenia and should consider ad-hoc visits to Armenia with a particular focus on the places of detention where those arrested in
connection with the recent protests have been held.
To the European Bank on Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD):
Take into
account the findings contained in this briefing paper when assessing Armenia’s compliance with Article 1 of the Agreement Establishing the Bank, and make clear
to the Armenian authorities that the nature and level of engagement will be
contingent on measurable progress in human rights. In so doing, the EBRD should
set specific benchmarks for such progress.
To the World Bank:
The abuses
documented in this briefing paper undermine the World Bank’s goal of
eradicating poverty in Armenia. The 2003 Republic of Armenia Poverty Reduction Strategy highlighted the need to “protect the economic, social, and
legal guarantees of human rights and liberties,” and identified governance and
public participation in the political process as key elements in eliminating
poverty. In its engagement with the Armenian government, the World Bank should
reinforce OSCE and Council of Europe recommendations for reform that would
serve the broader goal of empowering the poor.
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