The Model Code of Conduct for Public Servants was presented at a high-level conference on 4 July 2022. The Event also launched the development process of specific Codes of Conduct for all Armenian public institutions, based on these model rules. This code is of key importance in the development of the corruption prevention system of Armenia.

A series of six grants were implemented from December 2021 to June 2022, strengthening the capacities of Civil Society Organisations with the aim to increase access to justice for groups that experience discrimination, hate speech and hate crime:

In Armenia we aimed to empower the right of Yezidi girls and women to education by making their voices heard within their families and the society (work carried out by the NGO Armavir Development Center) and to challenge stereotypes against disabled people and ensure their full inclusion in the Armenian society (work carried out by the NGO EREO).

In the Republic of Moldova we aimed to change the negative attitude towards Roma people and other ethnic minority groups and to increase equal opportunities without sexism.

In Ukraine we helped to strengthen the access to justice for #LGBTQI persons (with the work carried out by the NGO Insight) and combat discrimination affecting persons with disabilities (work carried out by the NGO Fight for Right).

On 20 June 2022 the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law on the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

The Convention was ratified on 18 July 2022 and will enter into force in Ukraine on 1 November 2022. 

The Council of Europe, through targeted actions organised under the PGG framework, have continuously supported Ukraine on the path toward ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Ukraine became the 36th State to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES

Co-operation among equality bodies/Ombudsperson institutions from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions was strengthened on the topic of combating hate speech and hate crime through a series of regional meetings. The second of four modules on “Addressing hate speech through improving data collection,” was organised online in July, ensuring further and in-depth discussion on appropriate responses, highlighting the needs for addressing the issue at both local and global level.

GEORGIA

A roundtable focusing on the role of awareness-raising, counter-speech and education in combatting hate speech in Georgia, brought together representatives of the Public Defender’s office, Prosecutor’s office, Central election commission, education and training practitioners, various human rights and minority civil society organisations in the country.

ARMENIA

Students from various universities in the country participated in a summer school on arbitration, co-organised with the Arbitrators’ Association of Armenia on the types of arbitration and its main advantages, the key legal tools used in the field of arbitration, as well as relationship between arbitral tribunals and domestic courts. Students also had the opportunity to improve their verbal and written advocacy skills.

During four two-day training seminars on “Selected issues of the new Criminal (CC) and Criminal Procedure (CPC) Codes of Armenia” organised in July and August 2022, staff of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia before the European Court of Human Right, investigators and prosecutors acquired new skills on the new Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Armenia that entered into force on 2 July 2022.

The draft law amending Georgia’s procedure for the use of covert investigative measures was adopted in a hasty procedure and requires both impact assessment and more detailed justification, according to an urgent opinion from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission of legal and constitutional experts. The opinion concludes that the overall oversight mechanism of secret surveillance measures in Georgia seems to be inadequate and there is a need for a comprehensive revision of existing covert surveillance systems.