The Council of Europe held a roundtable that brought together over 40 representatives from relevant ministries, state institutions, and civil society to discuss measures and further steps to strengthen the protection of children from sexual exploitation and abuse in Armenia. The event centred on the presentation of a comprehensive draft Gap Analysis Report on Armenia’s compliance with the Lanzarote Convention.

While acknowledging important legislative progress and recent reforms, the Report identifies areas where further efforts are needed to strengthen implementation in practice. These include underreporting of sexual abuse cases, the need for clearer operational guidance for frontline workers, stronger institutional co-ordination, and improved access to specialised support services. Consultations with a wide range of stakeholders also highlighted practical barriers faced by professionals in education, healthcare, and social sectors.

Addressing the roundtable, Svetislav Paunović, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, called for a child-centred approach.  He referred to the European Court of Human Rights judgment in A.P. v. Armenia and welcomed the recent transfer of the supervision of this judgment’s implementation from enhanced to standard procedure, noting the progress achieved by the Armenian authorities.

The event also featured opening remarks by the Deputy Minister of Justice Ms Anna Karapetyan and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Ms Tatevik Stepanyan, who underlined the importance of analyses in identifying existing gaps and supporting ongoing reforms to strengthen Armenia’s child protection system.

The event also included a certificate award ceremony for a new cohort of professionals who have successfully completed the Council of Europe HELP course on “Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse”, further enhancing national expertise.

As a next step, contributions provided by participants during the discussion will be reflected in the final version of the Gap Analysis Report providing an evidence-based overview of Armenia’s child protection system.

The event was organised by the Council of Europe as part of its project “Protecting the rights of children in Armenia” implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan 2023-2026 for Armenia.* Background information: The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) supports the Council of Europe member states in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights. Its main objective is to enhance the capacity of judges, lawyers and prosecutors, in all 46 Council of Europe member states and beyond, to apply the European human rights standards in their daily work.