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Secretary General at the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) Barbara Bernath  sent an open letter to the Speaker of Armenian Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan on the draft of a law on funding guarantees for the Armenian Ombudsman's work. The letter was published by the Office of Armenian Ombudsman.  

According to the document, the government 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 and that these changes have been initiated without proper consultation or discussion with the Human Rights Defender.

"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," the letter said. 

"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," the letter said, adding: "hWile 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." 

The concluded that in the light of the relevant international standards and Armenia’s obligations as a state party to the OPCAT, APT 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.