VIII. Recommendations

To the Armenian Government

Regarding the dispersal of and attacks on protestors

• The Office of the Public Prosecutor should conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the dispersal of protestors on March 1 at Freedom Square, and into the police actions against protestors in the vicinity of the Miasnikyan monument. The investigation should:

oPay particular attention to allegations of assault and the excessive use of force by law enforcement agents, including force leading to death;

oMake use of all available video and photographic evidence as well as witness testimony;

oDetermine whether the use of force and firearms was consistent with national law and international human rights law and standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials;

oExamine the rules of engagement, including the risk assessment made in advance, orders given to the law enforcement units involved, and the equipment they had at their disposal, including firearms;

oCarefully examine not only individual responsibility for use of excessive force but also the command responsibility of those overseeing operations in which force was found to be excessive;

oIn accordance with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights, the investigation should be open to public scrutiny and the participation of the victims and their families, and capable of leading to the prosecution of any determined to be responsible for causing injuries in violation of article 3.

• The Police of the Republic of Armenia (PRA) should immediately suspend from active duty any law enforcement personnel under investigation for possible crimes committed on March 1. 
• Where there is evidence that law enforcement personnel were responsible for crimes on March 1, they should be promptly prosecuted with a fair trial.
• The Police should conduct a thorough internal investigation into the conduct of the operations to disperse protestors on March 1. This investigation should seek to determine whether law enforcement agents acted in full accordance with international and Armenian law and regulations on the use of force. The results of the investigation should be made public. 
• In order to ensure full transparency and accountability for the actions of law enforcement officers on March 1, the Police should, without delay, make public the exact composition of forces engaged in the dispersal of protestors on Freedom Square and the attempted dispersal of protestors in the vicinity of the Miasnikyan monument.
• Without delay, the government should enact legislation that requires all law enforcement agents, including riot police and members of the special forces, to wear identification, and provide all law enforcement agents with uniforms that include appropriate identification.
• The government should review all legislation related to policing and crowd control and ensure that all laws relating to use of force are in full accordance with the ICCPR, the ECHR and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.
• The government and Police should make public the nature of the training in crowd control received by all of the forces on duty on March 1. They should review all such training given to law enforcement officials to ensure that it fully integrates established human rights principles and obligations. To this end the government and Ministry of Interior should consider drafting a Manual on the Use of Force, incorporating the obligations set out under the ICCPR, the ECHR and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, with the assistance of international and Armenian experts and members of civil society.

Regarding the treatment of people during arrest and in custody

• The Office of the Public Prosecutor should conduct a thorough, independent and transparent investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment by police officials during arrest and in custody. The investigation should be capable of leading to the identification and prosecution of offenders.
• Pending the investigation Police authorities should ensure that police officers against whom there are allegations of ill-treatment during arrest and in custody are suspended from active duties.
• Authorities should adopt legislative changes granting unimpeded access to a lawyer of one's choice from the moment of detention. No impediments should be imposed on exercising this right.
• Armenia acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in September 2006.  In accordance to the OPCAT Armenia should strengthen the Ombudsman's capacity, as an independent national body, to carry out regular and ad hoc unannounced visits to all places of detention.

Regarding the conduct of elections

• Continue cooperation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and other European bodies on improving the conduct of electoral processes in Armenia. Implement all recommendations that remain relevant and are outstanding from OSCE/ODIHR reports on its observation of Armenian elections, including its final report on the February 19, 2008 presidential election, which calls on state and electoral authorities to seriously address the manifest lack of public confidence in the electoral process.

To the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)

Continue monitoring the PACE Resolutions 1609 (2008) and urge the Armenian government to ensure an independent, thorough, impartial and credible investigation into the events of March 1 and 2, as well as into allegations of violations of due process rights, including ill-treatment,in the aftermath.

To the United States and the European Union

The US and the EU must make clear to the Armenian government that their engagement with Armenia depends fundamentally on Armenia's demonstrating its genuine commitment to the rule of law, human rights, accountability for human rights abuses, and free and fair elections, including through the following specific steps:

• A thorough investigation of the actions of law enforcement officials on March 1.
• Ensuring that all law enforcement personnel receive practical training on the use of force and the limits with regard to established human rights principles.

• Full uptake of the recommendations of international election observation bodies, notably those in the final report on the February 19, 2008 elections by the OSCE/ODHIR, which calls on state and electoral authorities to seriously address the manifest lack of public confidence in the electoral process.