From:
Association For The Prevention Of Torture
To:
Mr. Ararat Mirzoyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia
Dear
President Mirzoyan,
The
Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an international non-governmental
organisation that is at the origin of the international torture prevention
system established by the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention
against Torture (OPCAT). This system opens all places of deprivation of liberty
to independent monitoring by both an international body – the United National
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) – and national preventive
mechanisms (NPMs) in over 90 states. We work closely with both the SPT and NPMs
around the world to strengthen this system and to prevent torture and
ill-treatment. In this context, we have a long history of close and
constructive cooperation with the Armenian Human Rights Defender / NPM.
I am
writing to you in relation to the proposed amendments to the Constitutional Law
on the Human Rights Defender, submitted by the Armenian government on the 11th
of March 2021. I understand that the current proposals would remove Article
8(5) of the Constitutional Law, which provides that the amount of funding in
the state budget for the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and the
National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) cannot be below the amount provided in the
preceding year. I further understand that these changes have been initiated
without proper consultation or discussion with the Human Rights Defender.
These
proposals must also be considered in the context of other reported actions with
a negative impact on the resources and technical capacity available to the NHRI
and NPM, including restrictions on the use of government vehicles, which are
essential to its work, including its ability to effectively monitor places of
deprivation of liberty across the country.
As
you are no doubt aware, Article 18(3) of the OPCAT, to which Armenia became a
party in 2006, contains a positive obligation on states parties to provide both
the necessary resources and adequate funding for the effective functioning of
NPMs.
In
line with the Paris Principles, financial autonomy is a fundamental requirement
of NPM independence. It underpins the essential ability of NPMs to take
operational and other decisions free from undue pressure or influence. As the
United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) notes in its 2010
Guidelines on NPMs, “the NPM should enjoy complete financial and operational
autonomy when carrying out its functions under the Optional Protocol.”
The
current constitutional guarantee against a regressive provision of funds to the
Armenian Human Rights Defender has been widely considered an international best
practice and is commonly cited by us in our advice to other countries in the
process of establishing NPMs. Indeed, it is this and other guarantees of
independence that have made the Armenian Human Rights Defender such a strong
and reliable partner in the fight against torture and ill-treatment. Our
cooperation over many years is built on the foundation provided by the NPM’s
independence and technical expertise.
While
many states face budgetary constraints, particularly in the difficult times of
the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also at such times that the most vulnerable in
society are at the greatest risk. It is thus essential that institutions
mandated with their protection are not only supported but further strengthened
at such moments in time.
In
the light of the relevant international standards and Armenia’s obligations as
a state party to the OPCAT, we thus recommend that the current Article 8(5) of
the Constitution of Armenia is retained – as a best practice among NHRIs and
NPMs – and that the Human Rights Defender is fully consulted in relation to any
further discussions relating to amendments to its founding legislation.
We
remain available for further information and discussion.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bernath Secretary General
Հայերեն
