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Resolution 1620 (2008)
Implementation by Armenia of Assembly Resolution 1609 (2008)
1. On 17 April 2008, the Parliamentary
Assembly adopted Resolution
1609 (2008) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia,
in which it set out four concrete requirements for the resolution
of the political crisis that ensued after the presidential election
in Armenia:
1.1. to revoke, in line
with the recommendations of the European Commission for Democracy
through Law of the Council of Europe (Venice Commission), the amendments
made on 17 March 2008, to the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies,
Rallies and Demonstrations;
1.2. to initiate immediately an independent, transparent and
credible inquiry into the events of 1 March 2008 and the circumstances
that led to them;
1.3. to release all persons detained on seemingly artificial
and politically motivated charges who did not personally commit
any violent acts or serious offences;
1.4. to initiate an open and serious dialogue between all political
forces in Armenia on the reforms demanded by the Assembly in paragraph
8 of the resolution with regard to the political system, electoral process,
freedom and pluralism of the media, freedom of assembly, the independence
of the judiciary and police behaviour.
2. In Resolution 1609, the Assembly considered that Armenia’s credibility
as a member of the Council of Europe was put into doubt as long
as these conditions were not met, and therefore resolved to consider
the possibility of suspending the voting rights of the Armenian
delegation to the Assembly at the opening of the June 2008 part-session
if no considerable progress on the requirements had been made by
then.
3. The Assembly welcomes the fact that, in the immediate aftermath
of the adoption of Resolution
1609, several high-level representatives of the authorities,
including the President of the Republic and the Speaker of the National
Assembly, publicly expressed their political will and their intention
to comply with the requirements of the Assembly.
4. As regards compliance by the authorities with the demands
set out in its Resolution
1609, the Assembly:
4.1. welcomes
the adoption of the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Law on
Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations in line
with Council of Europe standards and considers that the condition
of the Assembly in this respect has been met by the authorities;
4.2. reiterates its demand that freedom of assembly should
also be guaranteed in practice in Armenia. It therefore insists
that the Armenian authorities should ensure that no undue restrictions
are placed on rallies organised by the opposition in compliance
with the Law on Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Rallies and Demonstrations,
especially with regard to the venues requested. In this respect,
it welcomes the fact that the opposition rally of 20 June 2008 took
place unimpeded;
4.3. welcomes the constitution, albeit at a very late stage,
of an ad hoc committee within the National Assembly of Armenia “to
conduct an inquiry into the events of 1 and 2 March 2008, as well
as the causes that lead to them”;
4.4. welcomes the possibility for the inquiry committee to
invite national and international experts to participate in its
work, which should increase the credibility of its investigations;
4.5. considers that, as a result of the recent constitution
of the inquiry committee, the Assembly cannot evaluate, at this
moment, the criteria of independence, transparency and credibility.
It also notes that the format and composition of the inquiry committee
do not per se guarantee its independence and impartiality, and therefore
its credibility, in the eyes of the Armenian public. The Assembly
therefore considers that the following conditions should be met:
4.5.1. as a rule, the committee should
aim at a consensual decision-making process in its working methods
and voting should be used only as a last resort, in particular as
regards the subjects the committee wishes to investigate and persons
it wishes to hear. The working methods applied by the National Assembly
Working Group on the Reform of the Election Code, which as a rule
takes its decisions on the basis of a consultative vote, should
be seen as an example for the functioning of the inquiry committee;
4.5.2. the terms of reference of the committee should clearly
state that it has the right to investigate the circumstances that
led to the events of 1 March 2008, as well as the right to investigate
the events in its immediate aftermath, especially as regards the
detention of opposition activists and the charges that were brought
against them;
4.5.3. the Human Rights Defender should be invited ex officio to participate in the
work of the committee with the right to a consultative vote;
4.6. calls upon all political forces to participate constructively
in the work of the inquiry committee;
4.7. welcomes the recent developments with regard to the release
of persons seemingly detained on artificial and politically motivated
charges, who did not personally commit any violent acts or serious offences.
However, it considers that progress on this issue is not sufficient
to ensure that the requirements of the Assembly are fully met. In
addition, the Assembly considers that:
4.7.1. the cases still under investigation should be closed or
promptly brought before the courts to ensure the right to a fair
trial within a reasonable time in compliance with the case law of
the European Court of Human Rights (the Court);
4.7.2. the cases under Articles 300 and 225 of the Criminal Code
should be dropped unless there is strong evidence that the accused
have personally committed acts of violence or ordered, abetted or
assisted the committing of such acts;
4.7.3. a verdict based solely on a single police testimony without
corroborating evidence is not acceptable;
4.7.4. the National Assembly should take into account the negative
opinion of the Venice Commission on the proposed amendments to Articles
225, 2251, 301 and 3011 of
the Criminal Code.
4.8. welcomes the series of initiatives taken by the authorities
to initiate a dialogue on the reforms demanded by the Assembly;
4.9. highlights that the modus operandi of the National Assembly
Working Group on the Reform of the Election Code could be an example
for dialogue on other reforms demanded by the Assembly;
4.10. urges all political forces to seize the opportunity given
by the authorities to enter into an open, constructive and serious
dialogue on the reforms demanded by the Assembly;
4.11. as regards compliance by the opposition with the demands
set out in its Resolution
1609, the Assembly:
4.11.1. regrets
that not all opposition forces have recognised the Constitutional
Court’s decision, which confirmed the results of elections as announced
by the Central Electoral Commission;
4.11.2. regrets that, also as a result of the decision of part
of the opposition to boycott the dialogue with the authorities,
participation of the opposition in the formulation of these initiatives has
been somewhat limited.
5. The detention and conviction of opposition supporters in relation
to the events of 1 March 2008 is a point of contention that will
continue to strain the relations between the opposition and the
authorities and could hinder constructive dialogue on the reforms
needed for Armenia. The Assembly urges the Armenian authorities to
consider all legal means available to them, including amnesty, pardons
and dismissal of charges with respect to all persons detained or
sentenced by a court in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March
2008, with the exception of those who have personally committed
acts of violence or ordered, abetted or assisted the committing
of such acts or those who committed other serious criminal offences,
as an expression of goodwill in order to foster confidence in Armenian
society and dialogue between all political forces.
6. The Assembly recalls that there is a need for a pluralistic
electronic media environment in Armenia and, referring to the decision
of the Court concerning the denial of a broadcasting licence to
the television channel A1+, calls on the licensing authority to
now ensure an open, fair and transparent licensing procedure, in
line with the guidelines adopted by the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe on 26 March 2008, and with the case law of
the Court.
7. The Assembly welcomes the progress achieved by the Armenian
authorities in addressing the demands expressed in Resolution 1609. However, despite the political will expressed by the
authorities, this progress is at present insufficient to meet the
requirements outlined in the resolution.
8. While regretting the delay in implementing the concrete measures
to comply with its demands, the Assembly acknowledges that the time
given to the Armenian authorities was short. The Assembly therefore decides
to review at its January 2009 part-session the extent of Armenia’s
compliance with the requirements of Resolution 1609. If these requirements, as well as those set out above
in paragraphs 4.2, 4.5, 4.7 and 6, are not met by then, the Assembly
will consider the possibility of suspending the voting rights of
the Armenian delegation to the Assembly at the opening of its January
2009 part-session.
9. The Assembly invites:
9.1. the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe to speed up the procedure
for the appointment of a new Special Representative of the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe (SRSG) in Yerevan and to liaise
on a permanent basis with the inquiry committee through the SRSG’s
office in Yerevan;
9.2. the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
to contribute to the participation of international experts in the
work of the inquiry committee of the National Assembly into the
events of 1 and 2 March 2008 and the circumstances that led to them,
should the conditions regarding independence, transparency and credibility
be met. The Assembly invites the Human Rights Commissioner to inform
the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by
Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), at
its meeting in September 2008, on the progress regarding the inquiry
committee as well as the release of detainees.
10. The Assembly will continue to follow the situation in Armenia
closely on the basis of information provided by its Monitoring Committee,
in particular as regards progress in the fulfilment of the above-mentioned conditions.