Implementation by Armenia of Assembly Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 27 January 2009 (3rd Sitting) (see Doc. 11786, report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee), co-rapporteurs: Mr Colombier and Mr Prescott; and Doc. 11799, opinion of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities
and Institutional Affairs, rapporteur: Mr Greenway). Text adopted by the Assembly on
27 January 2009 (3rd Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. In its
Resolution 1620 (2008) on the implementation by Armenia of Assembly
Resolution 1609 (2008), adopted on 25 June 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly
considered that progress had been insufficient, despite the political
will expressed by the Armenian authorities to address the requirements
laid out in
Resolution
1609 (2008) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia,
adopted on 17 April 2008, following the crisis that ensued after
the presidential election of February 2008. The Assembly therefore
addressed a series of concrete demands to the Armenian authorities
and resolved to consider the possibility of suspending the voting rights
of the members of the Armenian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly
at its January 2009 part-session if the requirements set up in Resolutions
1609 and 1620 were not met by then.
2. With regard to the requirement to ensure an independent, impartial
and credible investigation into the events of 1 and 2 March 2008,
the Assembly welcomes the establishment by the President of Armenia,
on 23 October 2008, of a “fact-finding group of experts to inquire
into the events of 1-2 March 2008”, following a proposal by the
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. It equally
welcomes the decision of the opposition to participate fully in
the work of this group.
3. The Assembly stresses, however, that it is the manner in which
this group will conduct its work, as well as the access it will
have to information by the relevant state institutions at all levels,
that will ultimately determine its credibility in the eyes of the
Armenian public. The Assembly therefore:
3.1 calls upon all political forces to refrain from politicising,
or interfering in, the work of this fact-finding group;
3.2 calls upon the Armenian authorities to ensure that the
fact-finding group will be given the fullest possible co-operation
by, and full access to information from, all state bodies and officials,
without exception, including those officials that have left office
or have been replaced since the events on 1 and 2 March 2008; the
fact-finding group should be allowed to obtain any clarification
needed with regard to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of
persons related to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008.
4. The Assembly regrets that, until the last moment, only limited
progress was made by the Armenian authorities with regard to its
earlier demands, as expressed in Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620
(2008), concerning the release of persons deprived of their liberty
in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008. It notes in particular
that, contrary to Assembly demands:
4.1 a significant number of prosecution cases and convictions
was based solely on police testimony, without substantial corroborating
evidence;
4.2 a very limited number of charges under Articles 225 and
300 of the Criminal Code of Armenia has been dropped.
5. The Assembly notes that doubts have been voiced, including
by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, regarding
the nature of the charges brought under Articles 225 and 300 of
the Criminal Code, as well as with regard to the legal proceedings
against those convicted in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March
2008. The Assembly therefore considers that, under such conditions,
the charges against a significant number of persons, especially
those charged under Articles 225, paragraph 3, and 300 of the Criminal
Code and those based solely on police evidence, could have been
politically motivated. The Assembly is seriously concerned about
the implications of this situation if left unaddressed.
6. The Assembly welcomes the decision of the Speaker of the National
Assembly of Armenia, of 22 January 2009, to establish a working
group within the National Assembly within a one-month period which
shall be mandated to draft, in co-operation with the relevant bodies
of the Council of Europe (notably the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (Venice Commission) and the Commissioner for Human Rights) amendments
to Articles 225 and 300 of the Criminal Code of Armenia in order
to address the legal shortcomings in these articles as noted, inter alia, by the Assembly and
the Commissioner for Human Rights, and to bring them in line with
Council of Europe standards. The Assembly also notes the assurances
given by the Speaker of the National Assembly that these amendments
will be adopted and sent to the President of the Republic of Armenia
for promulgation approximately one month after the working group
has finalised its work. The Assembly notes that, under the Constitution
of Armenia, any positive changes to the law would be retroactive
with respect to the charges brought against the persons deprived
of their liberty in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008.
7. The Assembly considers that this initiative of the Speaker
of the National Assembly of Armenia, although belated, is a signal
indicating the readiness of the Armenian authorities to begin to
address the concerns of the Assembly in relation to the situation
of the persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events
of 1 and 2 March 2008.
8. The Assembly welcomes the increasing number of pardons, 28
to date, that have been granted by the President of Armenia and
notes that more are under consideration. The Assembly expresses
its expectation that this process will continue unabated. It regrets,
however, that the authorities have not so far availed themselves
of the possibility to use all other legal means available to them,
such as amnesty, pardons or the dropping of charges, to release
those who were deprived of their liberty in relation to the events
of 1 and 2 March 2008 and did not personally commit acts of violence
or intentionally order, abet or assist the committing of such acts.
It therefore urges the authorities to consider favourably further
opportunities to this end.
9. In these circumstances, the Assembly will continue assessing
the political will of the Armenian authorities to resolve the issue
of persons detained in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008,
in line with earlier Assembly demands.
10. The Assembly expresses its satisfaction with respect to the
efforts made by the Armenian authorities to initiate reforms in
several other areas, as demanded by the Assembly, in particular
in the fields of media, electoral legislation and the judiciary,
and calls upon the authorities to pursue the co-operation developed
with the relevant Council of Europe bodies in these fields. With
respect in particular to media pluralism and freedom, the Assembly:
10.1 welcomes the proposals made
with a view to ensuring the independence of the media regulatory bodies
in Armenia and calls upon the authorities to fully implement the
forthcoming recommendations of the Council of Europe experts in
this regard;
10.2 takes note of the adoption of amendments to the Law on
Television and Radio that cancels all tenders for broadcasting frequencies
until 2010, when the introduction of digital broadcasting in Armenia will
have been completed. Without pre-empting the merits of this decision,
the Assembly underlines that the technical requirements for the
introduction of digital broadcasting should not be used by the authorities
to unduly delay the holding of an open, fair and transparent tender
for broadcasting licences, as demanded by the Assembly.
11. Notwithstanding the recent positive development in this area,
the Assembly remains dissatisfied with, and seriously concerned
by, the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in relation
to the events of 1 and 2 March 2008 and who may have been charged
and imprisoned for political reasons. Nevertheless, it considers that
the recent initiative of the National Assembly to revise Articles
225 and 300 of the Criminal Code in accordance with Council of Europe
standards, the number of pardons granted, as well as the positive
steps taken towards the establishment of an independent, transparent
and credible inquiry, should be seen as an indication of the readiness
of the Armenian authorities to address the demands of the Assembly
contained in Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008). Therefore,
the Assembly decides, at this stage, not to suspend the voting rights
of the members of the Armenian parliamentary delegation to the Assembly,
under Rule 9, paragraphs 3 and 4.c,
of the Rules of Procedure. It decides to remain seized of the matter
and invites its Monitoring Committee, at its next meeting, before
the April 2009 part-session, to examine the progress achieved by
the Armenian authorities with regard to the implementation of this
and the previous resolutions and to propose any further action to
be taken by the Assembly as required by the situation.
