“Since 2002, when Armenia became a member of the Council of Europe, the more human rights protection structures we have had, (I mean the institute of an ombudsmen, now Standing Committee of Human Rights Protection), the worse the situation of human rights protection has become”- Arthur Sakunts, the coordinator of HCA Vanadzor, announced during the seminar “The Role of Human Rights Organizations in Human Rights Protection.”

Legal Mosaic of Vanadzor
The Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression organized a round table, discussions on the problems of freedom of speech in Vanadzor with the initiation of OSI Assistance Foundation-Armenia and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Taking the opportunity the newspaper “Aravot” got acquainted with legal problems in Vanadzor.

On March 21st, HCA Vanadzor organized a workshop entitled “The Future without Racism” devoted to the International Day for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. Participants included students of various public schools of Vanadzor and the volunteers of HCA Vanadzor.

On March 3rd, NGO Center/North organized a meeting with the representatives of “Migration Resource Center” of International Organization for Migration, Vanadzor regional Unemployment center and NGO-s. During the meeting, the representatives of “Migration Resource Center” familiarized the participants with their project “Informed Migration.”

On December 8th, 2006 a discussion on Human Rights Day took place at the office of HCA Vanadzor. The goal of the discussion was to present the situation of Human rights in Vanadzor. Representatives from human rights organizations and mass media participated in the discussion.

On November 2, 2006 a seminar-discussion on “Cooperation of Local Authorities and Civil Society in the Direction of Implementation of RA Anti-corruption Programs” took place in the office of HCA Vanadzor.