Your trusted source

Having secured a parliamentary majority in December 2018 snap elections, the Armenian government embarked on an ambitious reform agenda in 2019, including tackling corruption and reforming the economic and justice sectors, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual World Report 2020 released on Wednesday. However, some human rights issues continued persisting in Armenia last year.

Investigations into past violence and excessive use of force by law enforcement remained limited. Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, discrimination against and segregation of people with disabilities, and domestic violence persisted, the report said.

According to HRW, domestic violence persisted as a serious problem. According to official data, during the first half of 2019, authorities investigated 331 criminal domestic violence cases, including 176 that were newly initiated. They brought charges in 209 cases and sent 45 cases to courts.

But in most cases, authorities do not protect women and child survivors of domestic violence, jeopardizing their lives and well-being.

The report says LGBT people often face harassment, discrimination, and violence in Armenia. Fear of discrimination and public disclosure of their sexual orientation prevent many LGBT people from reporting crimes.

According to World Report 2020, Azerbaijan’s authorities continued to maintain rigid control, severely curtailing freedoms of association, expression, and assembly in 2019.

The government released over 50 human rights defenders, journalists, opposition activists, religious believers and other perceived critics imprisoned on politically motivated charges. But at least 30 others remained wrongfully imprisoned, while authorities regularly targeted its critics and other dissenting voices.

Other human rights problems persisted, including torture and ill-treatment in custody, violations of freedom of assembly, undue interference in the work of lawyers, and restrictions on media freedoms.

Political tensions and sustained protests over electoral reforms marked 2019 in Georgia, HRW said. The government used excessive force to disperse a largely nonviolent protest in June, detaining and injuring scores, and pursuing largely one-sided accountability for it.

Other areas of concern included lax labor regulations resulting in labor practices that undermine workers’ safety, threats to media pluralism, unjustifiably harsh drug laws, etc.