US Department of State Report on LGBT Human Rights in Armenia

For the first time in 2017, the Armenian State Migration Service has accepted refugees who have been pressured in their countries on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the US State Department Human Rights Annual Report.

Referring to LGBT human rights in Armenia, the report states that the legislation does not protect LGBT people from discrimination, hate speech, hate crimes, and there are no judicial mechanisms for them.

The State Department also touched upon the removal of posters promoting tolerance towards LGBT people by the Municipality of Yerevan and the removal of the two LGBT theme “Listen to Me: Unpublished Stories “and” Apricot Gardens “films from the Golden Apricot Film Festival.

Referring to the “New Generation” NGO’s assessment in 2016, the report states that transgender individuals who undergo sex reassignment face difficulties: they do hormonotherapy without medical supervision, and surgeries are performed secretly, underground. In addition, there are difficulties in getting new documents after the sex reassignment.

In the report, referring to the “Right Side” transgender human rights defender NGO, it is mentioned that in 2017, On July 4, an employee of the Yerevan Municipality came to their office, attacked and insulted the president of the organization.

The report also addresses the problems of homosexuals in regard to the armed forces. The gay men who do not hide their sexual orientation are released from military service, but in their personal data is added a mental disorder as a reason, which hinders them from finding a job and getting a driver’s license. According to reports, the gay people who served in the army were subjected to physical and psychological violence and threats against them.