Statement regarding the RA draft law “About amendments to the RA law on “Equal rights and equal opportunities of women and men”

The RA draft law about amendments to the RA law on “Equal rights and equal opportunities of women and men” was presented by the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to have it included in the August 29, 2013 agenda of the RA government.

Paragraph 4 of Article 27.1 of the RA Law on “Legal acts” prescribes that the body elaborating the draft shall, alongside with the submission of the draft regulatory legal act to impact assessors, arrange public discussions on the draft, the aim of which is to notify natural and legal persons on the draft regulatory legal act, as well as to collect their opinions and to carry out the necessary adaptation works of the draft regulatory legal act based thereon.

Paragraph 6 of the order on organizing and conducting public discussions of regulatory legal act drafts endorsed by # 296-N decree of March 25, 2010 on “approving the order over organizing and conducting public discussions” stipulates that the term set for conducting public discussions is minimum 15 days, if the body elaborating the draft hasn’t defined a longer term.

The justification of the draft law reads that it was posted in the website of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs at www.mss.am on August 24, 2013, which means 4 days right before submitting the drat to the RA Government agenda (2 working days).

The RA law on “Equal rights and equal opportunities of women and men” of May 20, 2013 is already not a proper and full legislative act regulating the issues existing in the field. In the meantime, after the adoption of this law extreme and deforming opinions were voiced by certain groups and persons of the society regarding separate provisions of the law, whereas, by presenting a draft law of the aforementioned law, the RA Government merely makes concessions to those groups by failing to take account other opinions existing in society.

Taking into account the aforementioned, we demand urgent holding of public discussions on the draft law.

1. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor NGO
2. Public Information and Need of Knowledge NGO
3. Women’s Support Center
4. Journalists for Human Rights NGO
5. Socioscope NGO
6. Journalists’ Club “Asparez”
7. “Menk +” Social NGO
8. Arena of Education NGO
9. New Generation humanitarian NGO
10. Guarantee Center of Civil Society NGO
11. Borders of our Rights NGO
12. Yerevan Center for Human Rights Protection NGO
13. Yerevan Press Club
14. Shahkhatun NGO
15. Helsinki Committee of Armenia NGO
16. Women’s Resource Center NGO
17. Protection of Rights without Borders NGO
18. Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Speech NGO
19. Partnership for Democracy NGO
20. Social Justice NGO
21. Armavir Development Center NGO
22. “Rule of Law” Human Rights NGO
23. Coalition to Stop Violence against Women
24. D. Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Centre NGO
25. Victims of State Needs NGO
26. Martuni Women’s Community Council NGO
27. Goris Press Club
28. Unison NGO
29. Arevamanuk Fund
30. Spitak Helsinki Group NGO
31. Yerkink Social-Legal Support Center NGO
32. “Agate” center for women with special needs
33. Khoran Ard Intellectual Center
34. Real World Real People NGO
35. Society without Violence NGO
36. Transparency International Anti-corruption Center
37. Democracy Today NGO
38. ProMedia-Gender NGO