Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

In September 2022, D.S., participant of the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan on 27 September 2020,  applied to HCA Vanadzor. During the war operations, D.S. received serious injuries. After being early released from military service, D.S. was diagnosed with a disability of second degree as a result of medical-social expert examination. A year later, as a result of an additional expert examination, the disability degree was shifted to the 3rd degree. Almost 5 months after the disability degree change, D.S. had not received his military pension in the prescribed manner, despite having provided all the necessary documents to the competent bodies.

HCAV addressed a letter to Minister of Justice S. Papikyan and the Unified Social Service. As a result, D.S. was paid his military pension only for the period of August-November 2022. Actually, he was paid since the moment his right to disability pension was restored, i.e., since August. However,, according to the RA Government’s Decision 665-N “On State Pension”, D.S. was supposed to be paid from the day following termination of his previous disability group, i.e., the military pension of the previous three months. HCAV again applied to the Unified Social Service. This time, again only after applying to the competent authority did the former serviceman get his military pension and a bonus in the form of an additional payment.

Once again as a result of inaction and unconscientious work of state organizations, citizens are unable to exercise their rights enshrined in the relevant legal acts, particularly, in this case, the right to military pension. We hereby record that this workstyle of state organizations is unacceptable, since in case a citizen does not know his rights, he is deprived of the opportunity to exercise them, while the state has an obligation to organize social actions in a way that citizens be properly informed and thus fully exercise their rights established by law.