The Constitution of Armenia may serve as an example for other countries if the proposed amendments are effectively used, Secretary-General of the European Ombudsman Institute, Josef Siegele, said today at the discussion ‘Human Rights in the Draft New Constitution’ organized by the Office of Armenian Human Rights Defender (HRD).
He said that everyone, including the HRD and civil society, should struggle so that the draft amendments – in the event of their adoption at the referendum in the winter – could be applied appropriately.
J. Siegele said they are following the constitutional reform process in Armenia and are familiar with the opinions of the Venice Commission.
According to him, the draft new Constitution contains many important provisions on human rights protection. He pointed out the lifting of restrictions on convicts’ electoral right is a positive move.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendment to the country’s parliament. The draft was developed by the Special Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to Armenian President. Following the debates, the Armenian parliament adopted on October 5 the draft decision of the National Assembly on its consent for the document to be put to a referendum. The decision was passed by a majority of the votes: 104 MPs voted in favor, 10 against, with 3 abstentions. The draft was supported by the factions of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), and opposition ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Opposition factions ‘Heritage’ and ‘Armenian National Congress (ANC), and 2 MPs of opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir’ voted against. The Armenian president set December 6, 2015 as the date for the constitutional referendum. The campaign for the constitutional reform in Armenia began on October 10 and will end at midnight of December 4.
Source: Panorama.am