Recap | February 2026

Human Rights Watch published the report

The Human Rights Watch 2026 new report confirms that no meaningful progress has been recorded in protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Armenia. Despite repeated calls from civil society and international bodies, LGBT people in Armenia remain vulnerable, unprotected, and subject to widespread discrimination across state institutions, including law enforcement, education, and healthcare.

The report details that discrimination and police inaction or abuse continue to deter many LGBT individuals from reporting hate crimes. Even when complaints are filed, investigations are often ineffective or superficial, and charges rarely reflect homophobic or transphobic motives. Armenia’s criminal code does not recognize sexual orientation or gender identity as aggravating factors in crimes, making it harder for law enforcement to treat bias-motivated attacks as hate crimes.

ILGA-Europe’s annual review

ILGA-Europe’s annual review reports ongoing human rights challenges affecting LGBTI people in Armenia. In November, the European Commission presented a Visa Liberalization Action Plan calling for reforms in human rights, anti-discrimination and access to justice. At the same time, asylum seekers continue to face long interview delays and limited shelter capacity.

Addressing the legal situation in Armenia, the report highlights a case of Minasyan and Others vs. Armenia in which the European Court of Human Rights found violations related to LGBTI-phobic media attacks, exposing weaknesses in domestic safeguards against hate speech. According to monitoring by Pink Armenia, 56 violations were documented in 2025, including violence, discrimination, and shortcomings in investigations. Courts and law enforcement bodies rarely treat bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity as an aggravating factor.

Conference: LGBT+ migrants in the region and their challenges

A conference titled “LGBT+ Migrants in the Region and Their Challenges” was held in Yerevan.

The event was dedicated to migration trends in Armenia, Georgia and Sweden and the challenges faced by LGBT+ migrants. During the discussion, specialists presented the characteristics of migration flows, the main challenges faced by LGBT+ migrants, barriers to social integration, the impact of state policies, and a number of other important issues.

“Merontsov” Forum

This year, the first “Merontsov” (With Ours) Forum will take place on March 27-29. It is dedicated to discussing the issues, needs and increasing visibility of LGBT+ people living in the regions of Armenia.

The title of the Forum is “From Region to Region, from Heart to Heart,” because we want this event to become a space where voices from the regions will sound louder and more confident, encouraging participants to express their true colorful identities.