The two-day interactive training offered the participating 25 prosecutors the possibility to learn more about the best European practices in identifying, qualifying and prosecuting hate crimes and hate speech cases, in line with European standards and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The participants had opportunity to exchange on key concepts, relating experiences and ideas with their peers. The training programme also covered practical aspects related to the identification of prejudices and stereotypes, legal practice in prosecuting discrimination cases, as well as respectful and non-discriminatory treatment of victims.
Particular attention was paid to the challenges of holding accountability for hate speech in the online environment and hate speech in public discourse. Trainers worked with participants on drawing the line between the hate speech and freedom of expression, on how to address hate speech against public figures and examining hate speech in the media. Also, good practices in combating hate crime were discussed, as well as tools available to combat it, based on international standards.
In his welcoming remark, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, Vedran Ian-Kjeldsen expressed his gratitude to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia for their request and interest to enhance prosecutors’ capacities in the subject concerned.
“Combating hate speech and hate crimes has always been one of the priorities of the Council of Europe”, Mr Ian-Kjeldsen stated referring to the European Convention of Human Rights, Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations to Member States on Combating Hate Crime (2024) and Hate Speech (2022) as well as other relevant legal and methodological frameworks. “It goes without saying that you, prosecutors, play a crucial role in combating hate crimes, investigating hate speech cases, and advocating for tolerance and understanding—thus contributing to social cohesion”, Mr Ian-Kjeldsen concluded.
Addressing the goals of the training, Ms Narine Gasparyan, Advisor to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, underlined the work done to identify the needs of the participants and tailor those to the organised training. She expressed her gratitude to the Council of Europe for a proactive approach and mobilisation of international expertise, and urged the participants to use the translated CM Recommendation on hate speech, distributed among them, as a necessary toolkit in their working practice.
At the end, participants of this event, organised in partnership with the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia, highlighted need to continue with training activities and the importance of an approach based on dialogue and collaborative solutions by different actors, contributing to effective processing of the cases of hate speech, hate crime and discrimination.
The training was organised in the framework of the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination in Armenia”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe in their joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”.