Human Rights Situation of LGBT People in Armenia During 2021

Pink human rights defender NGO is launching “Human Rights Situation of LGBT People in Armenia During 2021” annual report. This report summarizes the human rights violations accompanied by discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity that were documented by the organization in 2021. Of course, the documented cases do not fully reflect the violations of the rights of LGBT people, as the victims do not often turn to legal protection or human rights defenders. Victims of discrimination often do not have the confidence to prove the real motives of what happened to them as, on the one hand, the process of proving cases of discrimination contains certain complications, and on the other hand, there is a pattern of courts not always using the tools provided by law to conduct a full, complete and objective investigation of cases. In such circumstances, state bodies make no effort at all to identify and document violations of the rights of LGBT people as discriminatory.

The second part of the report, in particular, presents hate speech, its concept, and essence as a basis for possible restriction of freedom of expression. The section illustrates various manifestations of hate speech on public platforms during the year, such as social networks and the media.

The process of adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation was pushed out of the government’s agenda, and no progress has been seen in this regard. At the same time, the new Criminal Code was finally sent to the National Assembly for a vote, and although it is again incomplete in addressing the existing problems and gaps, it contains some provisions that allow for a broader and more effective application of the Code. The report also presents the relevant legislative changes that took place in 2021, and the analysis of the policy, shortcomings, and gaps of state bodies.

Based on the analysis of the information contained in the report, recommendations have been developed for state agencies, international organizations, the media, and Human Rights Defender. In frames of Pink’s advocacy efforts, the recommendations are regularly submitted to different actors on various platforms. The package of recommendations is presented at the end of the report.