In an online discussion assessing the state of democracy in Armenia, Freedom House hosted an event on 11 February 2021 entitled, “The Current Narratives about the Correlation of Democracy, Human Rights and Security in Post-War Armenia: True or False?” The event on Armenia included opening remarks by Marc Behrendt, the Director of the Europe and Eurasia Programs (EEP) of Freedom House, followed by a brief presentation about the project and presentation of the topic by Sossi Tatikyan, the Project Coordinator of Freedom House in Armenia.
The online session then featured two thematic briefings, starting with Arman Tatoyan, the Human Rights Defender, or Ombudsman, of Armenia, whose presentation focused on “The correlation of Human Rights, Rule of Law and Security in Armenia.” Following Tatoyan, Richard Giragosian, the Director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), then offered his presentation, “The End of Armenia’s Post-Revolution Honeymoon?” (see the presentation notes below).
After the two thematic briefings, the online discussion then featured a panel discussion moderated by Sossi Tatikyan with five speakers: Styopa Safaryan, the Head of Public Council of Armenia; Zhanna Aleksanyan, Journalist for Human Rights; Arthur Sakunts, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly- Vanadzor; Edgar Khachatryan - Peace Dialogue; and Armen Grigoryan, Centre for Policy Studies.
The event organizer, Freedom House, is a U.S.-based, U.S. government-funded non-profit non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House is founded on the core conviction that freedom flourishes in democratic nations where governments are accountable to their people.
Agenda: https://regional-studies.org/images/pr/2021/february/11/Freedom_House_agenda_2.11.21.pdf
Presentation notes: https://regional-studies.org/images/pr/2021/february/11/presentation_notes_Freedom_House_2.11.21.pdf