Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On 23 June 2022, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor presented the Green Paper on the Reforms in the Armed Forces, which is co-authored by PhD Eduard Abrahamyan, lecturer and doctoral candidate at the University of Leicester, and Armine Margaryan, expert of political and military matters. After the presentation, a discussion was organized with representatives of state authorities, security and military experts, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations. 

In the opening speech, HCA Vanadzor Chairman Artur Sakunts noted that the Paper is important not only in the context of the 44-day war, but also in the context of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, as a result of which the Republic of Armenia is facing geopolitical issues globally and regionally.

“We have a whole bunch of challenges that need to be resolved, and a clear vision should be presented to the public as to the Armed Forces we want to see”, A. Sakunts noted.

The grave consequences of the 44-day war essentially changed the security environment of the Republic of Armenia and also generated a deep crisis in the security architecture of Armenia. Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor initiated this paper due to the need for withstanding those challenges. The paper proposes to have the scientific approach of the “small state” military strategy adaptation in the basis of the concept of the reforms of the RA Armed Forces. 

During the presentation of the paper, co-author of the paper, expert Eduard Abrahamyan expressed his hope that the paper would serve the state and the reforms processes, and would form a platform of dialogue with the state,

“The army, the Armed Forces are a part of the state, the society, and cannot develop on their own, it’s a two-way process”.

The paper addresses the existing mechanism of civil, democratic oversight of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, the tools of the parliamentary oversight of the security sector, the need for the formation of effective new mechanisms aimed at ensuring the principles of transparency and accountability, and reduction of corruption risks.

Co-author of the paper, expert Armine Margaryan stressed the importance of the democratic, civil oversight of the Armed Forces,

“In a democratic governance, the Parliament, judicial authorities, independent media, and civil society conduct oversight of the activity of the Armed Forces, and thus ensure transparency and accountability of the Armed Forces”.

Representatives of the state authorities and experts, who were participating in the discussion after the presentation of the paper, noted that the paper is exceptional in its substance and the scope of matters it discusses, it raises important issues, identifies problems and presents recommendations.

We expect active discussions around the presented draft concept with the involvement of defense agencies, as well as authorities in charge of developing the security policy, in particular, the RA Security Council. 

The document has already been shared with the RA state authorities, which have presented their observations.

The full paper is available HERE (in Armenian).