Following a visit to Armenia between 9-15 August 2016, the Monitoring Mission of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) on the civil society, media and human rights situation in Armenia published a report on the events of 17-31 July, which took place in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan.
The report contains a series of recommendations to the Government of the Republic of Armenia, intergovernmental organizations, international nongovernmental organizations, as well as the donor community (which includes the EU). The recommendations were developed on the basis of fundamental treaties and standards for protection of human rights and human rights defenders which are as follows:
- The UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
- The Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Council of Europe action to improve the protection of human rights defenders and promote their activities
- The European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders
- OSCE/ODIHR Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
The Monitoring Mission was established by the Steering Committee of the EaP CSF following the 17-31 July events in order to assess the situation of non-governmental organizations and the media in the aftermath the crisis and to establish a complete and accurate picture of information about the situation in particular fields of human rights during the period from the beginning of the crisis until the start of the Mission’s work. It was supported by the Armenian National Platform of the EaP CSF and included leading experts in the field of human rights from four EaP countries: Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
