Regarding the draft decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia “On approving the urgent social support measure and provision procedure for socially vulnerable families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and making an addition to the Government of the Republic of Armenia Decision N 1833-L of November 21, 2024” submitted for public discussion on the e-draft.am website on March 6, 2025
1. Observations on the draft justification
The justification of the presented draft states that its adoption is conditioned by the fact that the support provided by the Government of the Republic of Armenia Decision N 1763-L of October 12, 2023, will be terminated from April. It is noted that there is a need to ensure the continuity of social support to prevent the possible deterioration of the socio-economic situation of socially vulnerable families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and the risk of finding themselves in a difficult life situation.
However, after examining the content of the draft, it should be noted that it cannot fully achieve this goal for the following reasons:
Insufficient amount of proposed support
The amount of support provided by the draft – 40,000 drams for the first forcibly displaced family member, and 10,000 drams for each subsequent member – is clearly insufficient in the socio-economic conditions existing in the Republic of Armenia. This conclusion is conditioned by the following objective circumstances:
- Average rental payments in the current housing rental market exceed the proposed support amount,
- There are manifestations of age discrimination in the labor market that limit the employment opportunities of displaced persons,
- The continuous increase in consumer goods prices, which adversely affects socially vulnerable groups.
Therefore, the proposed support amount cannot serve the purpose declared by the draft – to prevent the possible deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the aforementioned families and the risk of finding themselves in a difficult life situation.
2. Terminological inaccuracies
The wording “for the first forcibly displaced member of the family” used in the draft is not precise and may give rise to misinterpretations in practice. It is more appropriate to use the wording “the person who submitted the application” or “the main member of the family,” which are clearer and correspond to the terminology accepted by the RA legislation.
3. The problem of a limited number of beneficiaries
The draft envisages providing support to only 3,000 beneficiaries, which implies that not all persons meeting the established requirements will have the opportunity to benefit from this program. This limitation may serve as a basis for rejecting applications.
This approach is problematic from the perspective of a number of fundamental legal principles:
- Limiting the provision of assistance by the state only on the basis of numbers violates the fundamental principle of equality before the law. If a person has the appropriate legal status, they should also have the right to receive support from the state, regardless of the time of application or the number of other applicants.
- The social protection system is based on the principles of targeting, proportionality, and equal protection of rights. According to these principles, social support should be provided according to need and vulnerability, not conditioned by a predetermined numerical limitation.
- The selection of a limited number of beneficiaries creates an element of arbitrariness, where persons with the same legal status may receive different approaches, conditioned only by the time of application or other non-essential circumstances.
Under conditions of a limited number of beneficiaries, additional administrative responsibilities will arise:
- Clear time limitations for accepting applications
- Complex criteria for evaluating applications – who should receive support
- Appeal and review mechanisms
The quantitative limitation of support provision not only violates fundamental legal principles but also creates serious risks of social tension among already vulnerable groups. This is particularly unacceptable considering the fact that we are talking about forcibly displaced persons who have found themselves in an extremely difficult situation for reasons beyond their control.
Limitation of the list of beneficiaries
The draft envisages providing social support only to those families whose at least one member’s data is present in the lists of beneficiaries or provided by the Operational Headquarters within the framework of the measure approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia Decision N 1675-L of October 3, 2023.
This approach excludes those persons who have been actually forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, but for various reasons their data has not been included in the aforementioned lists. This problem has already been repeatedly recorded during the implementation of previous decisions, but has not received a legal solution.
Absence of the definition of family concept
The draft lacks a definition of the concept of “family,” which in the future may lead to different interpretations and practical problems. Given the special situation of displaced persons, it is necessary to clarify who constitutes the circle of family members for the purpose of this decision.
Summarizing the above observations, it is necessary to emphasize that mechanisms for the protection of socially vulnerable families already operate in the RA legal system. In particular, the RA Law “On State Benefits” establishes a multi-factor system for assessing family insecurity, through which a comprehensive and objective assessment is carried out for the purpose of providing social support. However, in the case of persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, the following legal and factual circumstances arising from their special status should be taken into account:
- Forcibly displaced persons have a special status recognized by international law, which creates additional obligations for the state.
- The Republic of Armenia, as a subject of international law, is obliged to ensure the temporary protection of forcibly displaced persons, including the realization of their socio-economic rights.
- Unlike other socially vulnerable groups, forcibly displaced persons have lost their homes, property, jobs, and other means of livelihood directly as a result of the conflict.
In the context of the above, the proposed new draft, with its insufficient support amount and limited range of beneficiaries, cannot ensure an adequate level of social protection for displaced persons. Taking into account these circumstances, we propose to continue the social support for accommodation and utility expenses established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia Decision N 1763-L of October 12, 2023, under the same conditions, as a more adequate and effective solution for overcoming the socio-economic problems of displaced persons. This decision more comprehensively reflects the real needs of forcibly displaced persons and ensures the satisfaction of their basic necessities for housing conditions.