The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has efficiently organized the process of providing shelter to homeless persons, and people are facing complications due to the fact that the State has not provided timely solutions to the issues. The fact that the issue is related to the dignity and right of people in a difficult and vulnerable situation,
For a long period of time, the provision of temporary shelter for homeless persons in our country has been provided by the temporary shelter of homeless persons of the Armenian-Danish Hans Christian Kofoed (the Armenian-Danish Charitable Foundation) located in Vardashen.
As of December 13, 2021, it was evident to the Ministry that no organization had had submitted a bid in the tender for provision of temporary shelter services.
Moreover, the Ministry was informed earlier that the Hans Christian Kofoed Charitable Foundation, which was providing the service at the time, could not bid that year, because according to the official statement of the Ministry, the mentioned charitable foundation was included in the list of organizations not eligible to participate in tenders to receive grants from the state budget on August 24, 2021 by the Ministry of Finance, due to the fact of its improper provision of services within the framework of another program.
Therefore, the Ministry itself undertook the provision of shelter for homeless persons, which was to be located in the bundling of Yerevan N1 Social-Care Home SNCO.
According to the Human Rights Defender, the Ministry did not ensure sufficient conditions for the service in advance.
In particular, on December 30, 2021, the Office of the Human Rights Defender received alarming-calls from the beneficiaries of the shelter, stating that as the have the status of being in homelessness, the will remain without a shelter, as the contract between the state and the Hans Christian Kofoed Charitable Foundation was expiring.
The Office of the Human Rights Defender initiated an urgent analysis of the alarming-calls. It was revealed that previously cases were registered where the contract was expired, but the Foundation continued the provision of its services until a new contract was signed. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia clarified to the Office of the Human Rights Defender that the contract will not be extended, and as of January 1, 2022, the Ministry itself will ensure the provision of shelter for homeless persons
On the instruction of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, a rapid response group conducted a visit to the building of Yerevan N1 Social-Care Home SNCO on December 30, 2021, the study the conditions of the shelter.
During the visit conducted by the Office of the Defender, it was revealed that the building of the social-care home does not have the necessary conditions to ensure a dignified residence and the necessary needs of people.
In particular, although the Ministry had envisaged that 93 beneficiaries would be relocated there by December 31, as of December 30 renovation work was being done in the building, which would resume on January 3, 2022.
The Ministry assured the Office of the Defender that the repairs will be completed by the end of January, but the conducted study suggests that this may not be a realistic deadline for full repairs
At the time of the visit there was only one bathroom which was useable, envisaged to be used by both men and women, while the rooms were overloaded with beds. The beds were positioned so close to each other, that the minimum bearable conditions of privacy and private life are not guaranteed.
Due to the deficient information provided by the Ministry, the institution was not informed of the needs of the beneficiaries; for example, how many beneficiaries have disabilities, including mobility difficulties, and how many have the need of bed care.
It was registered that the building is not accessible to people with disabilities; moreover, there is no elevator.
Despite the fact that there is no proper information about the needs of the beneficiaries, a demand to increase the number of staff has been presented, which is problematic from the point of view of compatibility with the needs of the people.
The Office of the Human Rights Defender specifically notes that it has registered numerous systemic and individual problems in ensuring the rights of the homeless persons at the Hans Christian Kofoed Charitable Foundation.
However, the purpose of this statement is not to address those issues; the fact that the State does not fulfill its constitutional obligations towards a person, and does not solve problems in time, and at the same time person becomes the one “responsible” for all the negative consequences, is unacceptable.
With the attached pictures, the Office of the Defender presents the shelter proposed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia as of December 30. The beneficiaries were going to be transferred there on December 31.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia
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