The Civil Society-Government Forum entitled “The Possibilities of Introducing Mechanisms of Transitional Justice in the RA in the Light of International Experience” organised by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association in cooperation with the RA Government within the framework of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project funded by the European Union was held on 28 November 2018.
Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan thanked the organisers in his welcoming speech for organising such an event as transitional justice is interesting not only to professionals, but also to wider society. He noted that massive violations of human rights have taken place in Armenia throughout many years, and there had even been bloody pages, and today there is a possibility to disclose the truth.
“There must be criminal cases, the guilt, the crime and the names of the violators should be recorded, so that such these things are not repeated again, and they will be forgiven on behalf of the society through reconciliation,” A. Mirzoyan said.
H.E. Piotr Antoni Świtalski, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, noted in his welcoming speech that weather or not Armenia will proceed with introducing elements of the restorative justice is a sovereign decision of its people. However, if request is made to the EU, they are ready to support the Government in this process. “The EU – as the largest contributor to the transitional justice process, especially in its neighbourhood, can offer exchange of best experience and advice on how to connect this process with the overall justice reform,” he said.
“We will never try to give even a hint of advice on how TJ should be conducted it in Armenia… The comprehensive and transparent nature of the process is essential, otherwise any TJ efforts will end up with selective justice… I believe that Armenia should make all efforts to avoid this,” Świtalski said.
“We, as a committed project and organisation, undertook the organisation of this forum by involving Armenia’s independent strong expert potential. We have carried out extensive research on transitional justice, studying the experience of around 35 countries, both successful and failed,” Karen Zadoyan, the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project Manager and the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, said.
He mentioned that the first lessons to learn from the international experience is that the society should be aware of transitional justice, its objectives, and, most importantly, the people should know what will change in their lives as a result of this process.
The results of the study will be summarised after the conference, through adding all proposals that will greatly assist the government and political forces in making final decisions on implementation of transitional justice.
Ambassadors of foreign states, high-ranking officials and representatives of RA state agencies, international organisations, civil society organisations, lawyers and experts participated in the event.
