On 9 December 2022, the Council of Europe brought together representatives of Armenian state institutions and key professionals to mark the successful completion of the project “The Path towards Armenia's Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence” and to present the results achieved from March 2019 to December 2022.  The project aimed at strengthening the capacity of key stakeholders involved in preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, protecting victims, and prosecuting the perpetrators of violence as well as advancing gender equality. It shared knowledge about the relevant European standards, in particular the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, and its implication for the national policy and legal frameworks.

Martina Schmidt, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, thanked all project partners for their active cooperation over the past years and stressed the Council of Europe’s commitment to further support the Government of Armenia within the new Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026. “We can state that Armenia has made progress in improving the national legislation and enhancing services and support for victims of domestic violence”, Ms Schmidt stressed.  

Tatevik Stepanyan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, and Arpine Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Justice, thanked the Council of Europe for the continuous support and readiness for the future cooperation in line with Armenia’s international commitments and highlighted the importance of continuous and sustainable reforms. They expressed appreciation for the commitment and dedicated work on the side of all involved parties. Thanks to the capacity building component of the project over 540 legal professionals, 165 police officers and 180 social workers were trained on preventing violence against women and domestic violence.

Marta Becerra, Head of the Cooperation Unit of the Council of Europe Gender Equality Division, highlighted the areas of further cooperation discussed with the Armenian stakeholders during the needs assessment consultations. A new Council of Europe project based on the results of the closing one is planned to be launched in 2023. The next project will focus on gender equality, violence against women, domestic violence and women's empowerment.

The short film about the project achievements was shown during the event.

https://vimeo.com/781424216

The implementation of the Project was made possible by contributions from Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, and Romania to the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2019-2022.