March 30, 2023, Yerevan

The Armenian National Platform of the EU Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum expresses its serious concern regarding the nomination of the Deputy Prosecutor General by the ruling “Civil Contract” party as the candidate for the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia. We regret to note that the authorities are paying less and less attention to the voice of the civil society and in their human resource policies rather than being guided by the need for effective functioning of public institutions, by the professional qualities of the relevant officials and finally, by the spirit and the letter of the Constitution and laws, are increasingly being guided by considerations of strengthening their own power.

The Armenian National Platform reminds of its earlier call to the authorities to nominate the Human Rights Defender from among persons with high public reputation, which is the requirement of the RA Constitution. Several other public figures joined us in this call.

 We believe that neither the candidate nominated by the ruling party nor the one nominated by the opposition meet the constitutional requirements set for the candidate of HRD. Therefore, we call on the RA National Assembly to urgently convene public discussions on this issue and be guided by the constitutional standards set for the Human Rights Defender’s candidate.