As states reintroduce extraordinary measures to deal with recent increases in the COVID-19 virus, PACE’s Political Affairs Committee has again warned that “democracy, human rights and the rule of law cannot be allowed to become the collateral damage of the pandemic”. While supporting States and public authorities in giving priority to saving lives and protecting …
Legal
In its first report on implementation by Belgium of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the “Istanbul Convention”), the Group of Experts (GREVIO) highlights how gender-based violence against women is relatively invisible within Belgian policies. Gender neutrality in the titles of laws, circulars or action plans is perpetuated or …
The PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean (Romania, SOC) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), have taken note of the amendments to the law on the Common Courts regarding the process for appointing Supreme Court judges proposed by the ruling majority. “In our previous statements, we have consistently called on the authorities to …
The “Public Relations And Information Center” of Staff of The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia presents a documentary “The Assassination in Karvachar” in frames of the “Ordinary Genocide” project. The documentary can be found on Karabakhrecords Youtube channel. “Murder in Karvachar” represents the story of the murder of a 17-year-old Karvachar resident Smbat …
In order to avoid freedom of expression being limited in a discriminatory manner while at the same time making efforts to take down illegal content on the internet, the PACE Standing Committee today proposed establishing an Ombudsman institution (or equivalent) with the requisite “independence, powers and authority to assess whether internet content is legal or …
Moldova should take resolute action to put an end to inter-prisoner violence and intimidation linked mainly to informal hierarchies in the country’s prisons, says the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in a new report. (see executive summary) In the report, based on a visit to the country from 28 January to 7 February 2020, the CPT acknowledges …
A little while ago on Raffi Street in the Malatia-Sebastia district of Yerevan, a fight broke out. Several police officers caught a woman for not wearing a mask. She claimed that she was wearing a mask. The police did not allow the woman to leave; they told her to wait until the police car arrived. …
On 8 September, a member of the Armenian National Assembly brought forward a legislative proposal on insult and defamation that aims to increase fines for publishing insults and defamatory comments in the media and social networks. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) join their affiliate, the Union of Journalists of Armenia …
Armenian citizens who have not served in the army, are currently under criminal investigation, and who are not in Armenia can return to Armenia by paying the equivalent of a contract soldier’s 2-year salary and bonuses. According to preliminary calculations, this will amount to between 5 and 5.5 million AMD. My Step deputy Mkhitar Hayrapetyan …
The Committee on Legal Affairs expressed its concern by the numerous cases of violations of lawyers’ rights, including attacks on their safety and independence, in recent years. Lawyers continue to be targeted for their involvement in human rights-related cases, or for their work denouncing government unaccountability or corruption. “Lawyers have also been identified with their …
