Recap | August 2025
The Ministry of Health has begun exerting pressure on the founder of Pink NGO
We express our deep concern and strongly condemn the unlawful and unfounded pressure against human rights defender Mamikon Hovsepyan, related to a decision of the Ethics Committee of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The CCM Ethics Committee abused its authority, violated the principles of due process, and imposed a sanction without any legal basis. It is clear that this process is aimed at weakening civil oversight. Civil society plays an important role in demanding transparency and accountability from state bodies.
Read the statement.
National Day for LGBT+ Human Rights Protection
August 3 marks the National Day for LGBT+ Human Rights Protection. This day is important because it highlights the ongoing struggle for equal rights and protection for LGBT+ people in Armenia.
The day remembers an event in 2018, when nine young people, including LGBT+ activists, were attacked by more than 20 people in the Shurnukh community of the Syunik region. They were attacked because of their real or supposed sexual orientation and gender identity. And the investigation continues to this day.
We published two videos
In August, we produced and published two videos in Armenian. The first one is about the visibility of LGBT+ people, since being visible can be difficult, but change begins with visibility. In the video, Hripsime and Mamikon talk about LGBT+ visibility, the obstacles and advantages related to it. Why is visibility important, and what has their personal experience been like?
The second video is a short story about elections, since it is important to talk with our community about the right to vote. Elections are the only way to form a government in democratic countries. Many people, especially young people, for different reasons do not participate in elections and therefore remain outside the process of shaping power. This leads to a situation where governments do not reflect the needs of young people and very often do not represent them. This short story is about what can happen when the majority of people do not participate in elections and what consequences that can have.
We are starting language courses
With the financial support of the European Union, we have launched the project “Supporting Migrant, Asylum-Seeking, and Displaced LGBT+ Persons in Armenia.” Within this project, we are organizing Armenian language courses designed for individuals who communicate in Persian, English, or Russian.
We are also organizing English language courses at levels B1 and B2. These are intended for beneficiaries who have beginner-level English knowledge and are Armenian-speaking internal migrants or forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Needs and issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health services: survey in Armenian
Pink, in collaboration with the Network on Reproductive Health and Rights, is conducting a short survey to better understand the existing needs and issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health services.
If you are an LBT+ woman, queer, or non-binary person in Armenia and in recent years have consulted a gynecologist, urologist, dermatologist, or another specialist regarding sexual and reproductive health, we kindly ask you to share your experience by filling out the survey.
Your personal data will remain confidential. The information will be presented in a generalized form, summarized in a brief report to highlight issues within the professional field and among state authorities.
