2nd Assembly

The 2nd assembly of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Armenia took place on July 21, 2017.

During the assembly, Karen Zadoyan, President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and coordinator of the Coalition’s secretariat, presented the results of the Coalition’s activities over the past year.

After the four-day April war last year, the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Armenia presented a 6-point roadmap to the government: “We wanted to implement important anti-corruption reforms in Armenia, introduce new mechanisms that would help the effectiveness of the fight against corruption in Armenia,” said Karen Zadoyan.

These steps include criminalization of illicit enrichment, creation of an independent anti-corruption body, protection of whistleblowers’ rights, introduction of the institution of real owners, reactivation of anti-corruption centers to combat administrative corruption, and reduction of corruption risks in the business sector.

Speaking about the creation of an independent anti-corruption body, Karen Zadoyan reminded that the legal acts regarding this body were developed as a result of dialogue between the government and civil society.

He also informed that out of the two models on the table, the executive chose the model of an independent preventive anti-corruption body, but the coalition was inclined towards a universal model that performs preventive, educational, and law enforcement functions.

Nevertheless, the government entered into dialogue and in the 2017-2022 program also envisaged the issue of studying the universal model: “We believe that we should direct our efforts and use all our potential to ensure that by 2018 at the latest, when the preventive anti-corruption body starts operating, we have in parallel a unified investigative body investigating corruption crimes, because we may not record serious results if this approach is not comprehensive,” emphasized the ALA leader, detailing that the Coalition sees the implementation of this function in the Special Investigation Service.

The introduction of the institution of real owners in Armenia has been done partially. Karen Zadoyan announced, adding that the government has introduced the institution only in the procurement sector at this stage: “In the law on procurement, we have a provision that companies that win the tender are obliged to disclose their real owners, otherwise the state has the right not to sign the corresponding contract with them,” said the ALA leader, emphasizing that the field of economic competition remains open.

Another point of the roadmap is the reactivation of anti-corruption centers. Karen Zadoyan reminded that these centers operated in 2011-2014, during which 736 cases were sent to law enforcement bodies, and 916 applications to state and other bodies. In 2011-2014, Armenia had a positive shift in the Corruption Perception Index compared to the last 3 years. Therefore, in the Anti-Corruption Council, there was a proposal to take steps towards reactivating these centers, there was a corresponding instruction from the Prime Minister, and it is expected that an open competition will be announced for the operation of these centers.

After the report, continuing its work, the Coalition first elected the members of the management board, after which a meeting of the management board was convened, during which the chairman of the board was elected.

The following CSOs were elected as members of the Coalition’s Management Board:

 

Tevan Poghosyan was elected as the chairman of the management board of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Armenia. His candidacy was nominated at the management board meeting by Karen Zadoyan, coordinator of the Coalition’s secretariat and president of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association: “Very often, the Coalition is identified with my person, but it is a multi-faceted body. I want to nominate Tevan Poghosyan on behalf of our organization, a person who has been actively engaged in parliamentary activities, has represented the interests of the public sector, and stands at the origins of the creation of civil society organizations,” said Mr. Zadoyan.

The management board unanimously voted in favor of the candidacy of Tevan Poghosyan, president of the “International Center for Human Development”. According to him, the Coalition envisions the implementation of anti-corruption reforms in Armenia on institutional foundations. The new chairman of the board also announced his plans: “The first work will be to realize and understand, based on positive experience and successes, what style we need to change so that we can participate in solving the remaining issues. We must also realize that if we do not address the main issues of the fight against corruption – education, prevention – ourselves, it will not move forward,” said Mr. Poghosyan.

The chairman of the Coalition’s management board considers the elimination of the atmosphere of impunity a priority: “We must be able to reach the point where an impossible situation of avoiding punishment is formed in Armenia and we never have situations where the atmosphere of impunity continues like this,” he emphasized.

The Coalition has previously introduced a number of issues into the legal agenda as a result of dialogue with the government, such as the criminalization of illicit enrichment, the introduction of the institution of whistleblowers, and so on. Tevan Poghosyan assured that there will continue to be dialogue with the executive: “One way or another, dialogue is necessary. This country belongs to all of us. Dialogue does not mean that we will be satisfied with what the government has said; dialogue is respected when you not only know how to listen, but also your interlocutor listens to what you say,” said Mr. Poghosyan.

“The Coalition is the institution that currently, with conscious understanding and approach, can at least voice the problem and bring it to the attention of decision-makers, as well as take steps to ensure that decision-makers do not continue as they wish and take the Coalition into account,” Tevan Poghosyan expresses his conviction.

It should be noted that the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Armenia was founded on November 28, 2014, at the initiative of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, which is joined by about 95 CSOs from Yerevan and the regions of Armenia. The Coalition was founded with the support of the European Union.