On May 15 during the “LGBT Rights in Armenia: Silenced Reality” conference human rights activists and representatives of the international community discussed the situation of LGBT rights in Armenia.

The event was aimed at further raising public awareness on non-discrimination and the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and at discussing the issues of tolerance, acceptance and integration of LGBT people into society.

The local and international human rights experts discussed the survey on public opinion towards LGBT people, which was presented by the “Public Information and Need of Knowledge” (PINK) NGO.  Open debates were also about LGBT rights perception, issue of freedom of speech, and what should be done to further ensure that laws guaranteeing equal rights are properly applied.

Ambassador Traian Hristea, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia and Maria Dotsenko, Representative of the UN Department of Public Information spoke about the non-discrimination, tolerance, human rights and importance of protection of the rights of sexual and other minorities.

Respect and protection of human rights is the core value of the UN, defined at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the founding documents of the United Nations.

Sexual orientation and gender identity are sensitive subjects, but there is a need to speak out because lives and human dignity are at stake. The principle of non-discrimination requires that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The European Union is committed to defending the universal and indivisible nature of human rights. It actively promotes and protects them both within its borders and in its relations with partner countries.

The event was organized by the “Public Information and Need of Knowledge” NGO and supported by the UN Department of Public Information Yerevan office and the European Union.

“Public information and need of knowledge” NGO held a journalistic work competition called “Women of freedom” on the occasion of women’s month. Articles, which were written in Armenian language and were published in print and electronic media during March, 2012 were participated in the competition.

On April 7, the participants of competition were invited to the office of “Public information and need of knowledge” NGO, where the winners were announced.

Jury of the Competition were the members of “Coalition to Stop Violence against Women” and, by their decision, Anna Yeghiazaryan was awarded with the first prize for the article named “The tradition of “red apple” in the background of recovering virginity”. And in a result of public voting, Lusine Vayachyan’s article named “I am a feminist” was recognized the best.

We express our deepest appreciation to all participants of competition. We hope there will be many opportunities to collaborate and to evaluate journalistic work, which is hard but very important, and at the same time very interesting.

Protection for women and girls still failed to meet international standards.

Amnesty International Report 2011

In March, the government set up the State Interagency Committee to Combat Gender-Based Violence following a decree by the Prime Minister. However, no progress had been made by the government on enacting legislation specifically addressing violence against women and the setting up of shelters, contrary to a 2009 CEDAW recommendation. There was currently only one shelter in the country, run by the NGO, Women’s Rights Centre, with foreign donor funding.

In October, 20-year-old Zaruhi Petrosian, a victim of ongoing domestic violence, died, reportedly after being severely beaten by her husband and mother-in-law. According to her sister, Zaruhi Petrosian had approached police on two occasions to report the abuse and seek help but they reportedly dismissed her case as “unimportant” and “irrelevant”. Following extensive publicity about the case, the authorities arrested her husband and charged him with “causing wilfully heavy damage to health”.

Find the full report on Armenia here