Back Launch of the Council of Europe package of measures in response to the refugee influx in Armenia

Launch of the Council of Europe package of measures in response to the refugee influx in Armenia

The Council of Europe launched today a comprehensive response package to the refugee influx in Armenia of € 2.8 million.

As part of the package, the Council of Europe has launched four new initiatives and incorporated additional components into two ongoing projects. “The response package aims at protecting the human rights of refugees, resilience of the local communities, social rights, children and women, and support to human rights institutions”, underlined Claus Neukirch, Director of Programme Coordination of the Council of Europe. “The response package supports authorities with addressing capacity constraints in many areas that are critical not only to refugees but to all people with vulnerabilities”, said David Best, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees of the Council of Europe.

“Following the influx of refugees in September 2023, the Government of Armenia did its best to provide a quick response to the refugee. The response includes short-, mid-, and long-term measures of support. Now we are in the stage of long-term measures.  Cooperation with the Council of Europe is very important to us, and we highly value the support of the Council of Europe and its response package to the refugees’ influx", said the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Armenia Narek Mkrtchyan. 

New projects to be launched as part of the package:

  • Strengthening Human Rights Safeguards
  • Enhancing Social Human Rights
  • Protecting Children’s Rights 
  • Support to Host Communities

Ongoing projects with new components added:

  • Promoting Gender Equality and Ending Violence against Women
  • Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine

The package of measures is a result of the visit by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) in October 2023, during which specific areas for support were jointly identified with the national authorities. The package is in line with the Council of Europe's Action Plan for Armenia (2023-2026) and the Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons within the context of migration and asylum (2021-25).




 Council of Europe launches a package of measures in response to the refugee influx in Armenia

 Download the overview of the Council of Europe comprehensive response package to the refugee influx in Armenia in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan 2023-2026 for Armenia

 Visit the Directorate of Programme Co-ordination of the Council of Europe web page on Armenia

 Visit the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan website

 Press release

 
 
YEREVAN, ARMENIA 11 April 2024
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 Start date: 01 January 2023

 Duration: 24 months

 Funding: 975,000 EUR, Donors contributing to the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023–2026

Partners: Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia, The Human Rights Defender's Office the Republic of Armenia, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia/RA Police, Investigation Committee of the Republic of Armenia

The Council of Europe project aimed at strengthening the capacities and co-operation among stakeholders to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, including digital violence, as enshrined in the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), and at advancing de facto gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

The project built on the lessons learned from the project “Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Armenia: continuing the path towards ratification of the Istanbul Convention” which ended in December 2022.

The project provided support in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment (WE) and combating violence against women (VAW) and domestic violence (DV) by increasing knowledge, enhancing inter-agency co-operation line with European standards and best practices. The project's long-term impact expectation was that women in Armenia benefit from gender equality and protection against all forms of violence against women.

The project contributed to the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Armenia for 2023–2026 so that:

  • Armenia is better prepared for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention
  • The Armenian legal and policy framework on preventing and combating domestic violence is in line with Council of Europe standards
  • Women victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence, including the most disadvantaged, have better access to justice and support services
  • Law enforcement officers, social workers, and other relevant professionals have a better understanding of European standards and gender-sensitive approaches related to the work with victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence

The project acted in three areas: 

  • In Area 1 (VAW/DV), the Council of Europe focuses on supporting authorities in their efforts to align their policy and institutional framework to the Istanbul Convention, providing evidence-based knowledge and promising practices. Special emphasis is put on promoting inter-agency cooperation.   The project will initiate work on emerging forms of VAW following the adoption of the first GREVIO General Recommendation N.1 on the digital dimension of VAW.
  • In Area 2 (WE), the Council of Europe focuses on supporting authorities and civil society in their efforts to enhance women's empowerment, promoting participation of women in decision-making, and combating stereotypes and sexism which can result in gender inequality and are an obstacle to women’s full enjoyment of human rights. The support is based in particular on the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy (2018-2023) and its successor as of 2023, and the Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on preventing and combating sexism, as well as on promising practices from the Council of Europe member States. 

In January 2024 the project incorporated a new component to assist Armenian authorities in enhancing strategies and policies addressing the needs of refugee women and girls, raising awareness, and supporting their integration and empowerment.

  • In Area 3 (Refugee rights) the project specifically focuses on supporting authorities in formulating policies and practices for the rights of refugee women and girls. This support is guided by relevant European standards, recommendations and strategies. Furthermore, the project aims to promote gender-sensitive economic and social inclusion and integration of women and girls in local communities, establish a platform for civil society's advocacy about the rights of refugee women and girls, as well as expand media specialists’ skills in reporting on women refugees and victims of war. 
Reference documents
 Watch the film about the achievements of phase I of the project