The Human Rights Defender
of Armenia sent proposals on providing housing to military servicemen to the
Standing Committee on Defense and Security of the National Assembly.
In addition to the servicemen
of the Armenian Armed Forces, the proposals also refer to persons conducting
similar services, such as the servicemen of the NSS, penitentiary service and
the Police troops.
The complaints addressed
to the Human Rights Defender, the monitoring conducted by the Division for the
Protection of the Rights of Military Servicemen and Their Family Members, and
the visits to military unites evidence that providing housing for servicemen is
the issue that requires immediate solutions.
Practical and legislative
issue were raised.
In particular:
The issue of compensating
servicemen for renting a housing unit is widespread. In practice, a large
number of complaints are received when a serviceman actually has his own property,
which, however, is small or not in good condition, and it is objectively
impossible to live there. But due to regulations of the law, the serviceman
does not receive compensation (because he is, for example, within 30 km of the
military unit as provided by law).
2. There are cases where
that officer with 20 years of military service not only does not have his own
housing and live by renting a place, but as result of the disproportionate
compensation of the rent, they even have to pay from their salaries.
The issue is the fact
that the servicemen are allocated 20.000-85.000 AMDs as compensation for the
rent of a housing unit, depending on the number of family members and the place
of residence. This amount is usually not enough to pay the rent in full.
3. There are no
legislative regulations for cases when servicemen live more than 30 km away
from the military unit, but due to objective circumstances, do not or cannot
change their place of residence (for example, if they are engaged in
agriculture), and prefer to travel every day by their won means to the location
of their service.
In these cases, the
servicemen do not receive compensation of rent; however, servicemen with such
conditions are not provided with any other assistance (for example, the
opportunity to compensate travel expenses).
4. Another issue concerns
the state targeted program of long-term state mortgage loans with affordable
and privileged terms. This program is positive evaluated. However, in practice
there are some issues, as a result of which officers serving many years, and
who intend to retire, cannot benefit from the program.
At the same time, only
officers, and contract servicemen of senior non-commissioned officers can
benefit from the program mentioned in the current legislative regulations.
5. Issue related to
providing housing units for penitentiary servicemen were also raised. In
particular, although they have the right to be provided with a housing unit,
and although in some cases a number of servicemen have been assessed as in need
of improved housing conditions, however they have not been guaranteed this
right over several years.
6. Former servicemen on
the waiting list in need of improved housing conditions form a large number.
The issue is the fact that many servicemen have been registered for housing
improvement in the past, but have been waiting their turn for years. Moreover,
the amount provided by the purchase certificate of a housing unit is not
sufficient for people to purchase housing units that meet the minimum
requirements.
As a result, people have
to raise the financial means needed from other sources.
7 The legislation does
not provide for the regulation of compensation of rent for servicemen who have
not been provided with housing, and have been discharged from military service
due to health, age, or long-term service pensions.
Meanwhile, former
servicemen who do not have a housing unit and are discharged from their service
on the listed grounds are given the opportunity to live in that unit.
8. It is also important
for the servicemen that the service housing unit is equipped with the necessary
communal infrastructure.
Cases have been
registered where the service housing units that have been provided for
servicemen lack the basic living necessities (window, door, sewage system,
etc.).
As always, the Human
Rights Defender does not only point the existing problems, but also provides
concrete solutions.
Therefore,
to solve the mentioned issues, it is necessary to:
a.
Provide
a mechanism to discuss the issue of the possibility for contract servicemen to
live in the formally owned or rented housing units, and to discuss the issue of
providing compensation of rent, making legislative amendments if necessary;
b.
take
measure to increase the amount provided to contract servicemen as compensation
for rent;
c.
to
consider the issue of providing compensation for travel expenses for persons
living at a distance of more than 30
kilometers from the place of residence of those who do not receive compensation
for rent;
d.
make
an amendment to the law on Military Service and the Status of the Servicemen to
provide for the opportunity to use long-term state mortgage loans with
affordable and privileged terms for the contract servicemen of junior non-commissioned
officers;
e.
to
provide the opportunity to use the long-term state mortgage loans with
affordable and privileged terms for the servicemen of the National Security
Service, the Penitentiary Service, the Police, and ensuring the opportunity to
use their privilege defined by the law on Military Service and the Status of
the Servicemen;
f.
review
the amount of assistance provided to former servicemen registered on the
housing list, to ensure that they can obtain housing with minimum living
conditions;
g.
review
the regulations, to ensure that servicemen discharged due to health issues,
age, and long-term service pensions receive compensation for rent, if they do
not own a housing unit in Armenia;
h.
allocate
funds to improve the existing housing units on the balance sheet of the
Ministry of Defense, to build new buildings and to provide them with the
necessary communal infrastructure.
The proposals of the
Human Rights Defender will be officially sent to the National Assembly,
including to the relevant committees and factions, as well as to the Ministry
of Defense
The details are also
included in the 2020 Annual Report of the Human Rights Defender.
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