Recap | February 2025
About important reports
Human Rights Watch published its annual World Report in January 2025, providing a comprehensive overview of Armenia’s human rights landscape throughout 2024. The report highlights both advancements and ongoing challenges in areas such as law enforcement accountability, privacy rights, freedom of expression, equality, disability rights, and protections against gender-based violence.
The report addresses the cases of violence against LGBT individuals. Fear of discrimination and humiliation due to public disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity—combined with a lack of trust in official investigations—prevents many from reporting hate crimes. Investigations into such crimes are often inconclusive or ineffective, and charges frequently fail to reflect the homophobic or transphobic motives of the perpetrators.
ILGA-Europe has also released its Annual Review, shedding light on the state of LGBTI rights across Europe and Central Asia. The report states that the human rights situation for LGBTI people in Armenia remained precarious in 2024, with persistent discrimination, violence, and legal shortcomings impacting the community. Cases of bias-motivated speech and violence, denial of services, and institutional failures underscored the challenges faced by LGBTI individuals throughout the year.
Referring to the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), it should be noted that Pink, in collaboration with The Advocates for Human Rights, prepared and submitted a shadow report last year. Recently, a representative of the organization participated in the UPR pre-session nd called to adopt an anti-discrimination legislation that explicitly includes sexual orientation and gender identity in the list of protected grounds, grant CSOs the legal standing to bring public interest cases on behalf of marginalized communities.
Pink published two important position statements
We found it important to respond to the growing disinformation and manipulation around LGBT+ issues in recent times. It is evident that the 47th U.S. president’s policies have harmed democratic values and human rights, encouraging extremist groups.
We are convinced that the termination of USAID funding would have serious consequences for Armenia, affecting not only LGBT+ organizations but also the country’s socio-economic development. Our organization became a target of disinformation and manipulation, especially after the U.S. Republican Senate released information that was later exploited for political purposes.
We have always operated openly and transparently, providing reports to the government, donors, and beneficiaries. We firmly believe that human rights should not be subject to political manipulation, and we urge all stakeholders to fight against hate speech and disinformation for the sake of Armenia’s development and democratic values.
You can read our response to the new exploitation of LGBT+ issues here.
Pink also expresses deep concern over reported cases of sexual harassment, violence, abuse of power, blackmail, and artificial competition within the LGBT+ community and the human rights sector. The organization strongly condemns such incidents and reaffirms its commitment to human rights, equality, and the creation of a safe environment.
While we refrain from publicly disclosing specific cases to protect the personal data of beneficiaries, we emphasize that some individuals who claim to be human rights defenders have abused their positions of power, obstructed beneficiary support, and spread disinformation.
Sexual exploitation and abuse of power by human rights defenders represent some of the most severe breaches of trust. We call for an end to the culture of impunity and insist on cooperating only with individuals and organizations that uphold human rights.
Pink continues to implement mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, and discrimination, ensuring a safe and transparent environment for its team, beneficiaries, and partners.
You can read Pink’s position on human rights violations in the field of human rights protection here.
The AIDS Response Movement in Armenia
The history of the fight against HIV and AIDS in Armenia dates back to the 2000s. At that time, the issue remained largely unknown to the wider public. However, a group of dedicated individuals initiated an important movement aimed not only at saving lives but also at ensuring a dignified life for people.
Watch the video in Armenian about the history of the movement.
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