Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, organised three round-table discussions on the new law on Police Guard and associated legal acts, on 21, 23 and 30 November in Yerevan. The objective of the round table discussions was to bring together the relevant state authorities, key professionals, policy makers and experts, civil society and international organisations, as well as members of the National Assembly to discuss the new legislative initiative that was drafted with the Council of Europe expert support.
In line with the RA Government Programme of Activities for 2021-2026, the RA Police Reform Strategy, and the RA National Strategy for Human Rights Protection, the Council of Europe addresses the issue of the protection of the right to peaceful assembly through legislative support and capacity building of relevant stakeholders.
Police reform in any state is a long-term and complex process that requires a clear vision and outlining the ways of its realization. The implemented reform assumes demilitarization of police forces, appraisal of their status and the necessary competencies, together with the development of solutions that would allow to effectively realise the function of maintaining public order, including the implementation of the right to freely participate in peaceful assemblies.
It is planned that the police forces, formed on the basis of the new law, should also have the functions of protecting the public order during mass public events. Therefore, the legislation should also regulate the legality and proportionality of the use of force, of special measures and weapons by police officers in compliance with the international standards and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Articles 2, 3, 5 and 11 of the European Convention, including the judgments in respect of Armenia in Mushegh Saghatelyan and Virabyan groups of cases)
The events were organised by the Project “Support to the effective execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Armenia”, funded by Human Rights Trust Fund and implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia for 2023-2026.