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The Armenian Interior Ministry has suspended a bill on the mandatory installation of video surveillance systems with 24-hour police access throughout Yerevan.

The bill, which passed its first parliamentary reading in June, requires private entities in Yerevan to install the cameras and provide police with live video feeds and access to recordings on demand.

In late October, Human Rights Watch criticized the bill as “unjustified”, warning that it “interferes with privacy and other rights”.

“The authorities should scrap the bill, or at the very least suspend consideration of it, until it is amended to comply with international human rights standards. They should also consider requesting the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, to assess the bill,” the group said.

In a statement on Monday, the Interior Ministry underscored that the new measure was aimed at strengthening the security of public spaces.

Citing their studies, the authorities stated that surveillance in public spaces and access to public data would not constitute disproportionate interference with private and family life if prescribed by law and pursuant to a legitimate aim.

At the same time, the ministry said that “not all concerns among various groups in the public have been dispelled yet.”

“Taking this into account and attaching importance to the necessity to develop a common perception and agenda of action to ensure public safety, the Interior Ministry deems it expedient not to submit the bill for second reading without broad public consensus. It confirms that the bill does not have any pretext and pursues exclusively public interests,” the ministry said, adding that it is suspending the further consideration of the draft law pending new discussions with stakeholders.