First report dated 26
September 1995
Corrigendum dated 11 February 1997
Armenia was the first republic to declare independence from
the Soviet Union in September 1991. Since then, the country
has been in transition to a free market economy. The process
has been marked by a dire economic situation exacerbated by
internal political struggle and military conflicts in the region.
The 1995 and 1996 elections
In the last two years, Armenia has held its first post-independence
parliamentary, constitutional and presidential elections --
all of which were criticised by international observers.
As a result of the parliamentary election in 1995, the Armenian
National Movement (ANM), gained an overwhelming majority. 1
The UN and other observers declared elections "free but not
fair."2 Ten opposition parties,
including an influential radical nationalist party Dashnaktsutioun,
were barred from participating. Criticism also came from the
fact that the government-controlled media announced the results
even before the votes had been counted.3
Although observers admitted that the contested elections were
a step in the right direction, they criticised "the lack of
peaceful dissent necessary for liberal democracy to sink roots
and flourish."4 Some argue
that in Armenia there is "literally no civil society to liberate,"
because the country lacks centres of power independent of the
government.5 In the constitutional
referendum, also in 1995, thirty eight percent of eligible voters
supported the new Constitution,6
which gave nearly dictatorial powers to the President: the right
to dissolve parliament, call early elections and appoint a prime
minister.7
Levon Ter-Petrossian was reelected president by a narrow margin
in September 1996. Again, observers criticised irregularities,
procedural violations and breaches of the election law, combined
with the continued ban imposed on the opposition Dashnak party.8
The opposition rejected the official results and asked the Constitutional
court to invalidate the results and order a new election. Mass
protests followed. 9 The
main opposition candidate claimed to have gained sixty percent
of the votes.10 In April
1997, about 20,000 opponents of Ter-Petrossian protested again
in Yerevan and called for a new election.11
President Ter-Petrossian has been criticised for his drift
away from democracy in the last two years. Diminishing press
freedom and human rights violations have been reported. The
president has also been condemned for his avoidance of the press
and his tendency to take vital decisions in secret.12
But one political commentator noted that "very few people in
this country have any real idea of what democracy means. I doubt
things would have been much different regardless of who was
in power."13
Relations with Neighbours
In addition to internal political conflicts, Armenia has had
troublesome relations with some of its neighbours. The conflict
with Azerbaijan over the status of the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
started in 1988 when the area declared independence from Azerbaijan.
It gradually escalated following pogroms of Armenians within
Azerbaijan and Karabakh. Armenia supported the Karabakh Armenians
in the course of the war. Since the fighting began, some 25,000
people have died. The war also produced over a million refugees.14
Eventually, the Armenian army prevailed and, in addition,
the Armenians in Karabakh seized about twenty percent of Azeri
territory. The international community condemned these actions,
as well as human rights violations on both sides. The December
1994 cease-fire and subsequent peace talks have not yet resulted
in a peace agreement, and the situation in the region remains
unstable.
In April 1997, Azerbaijani and Armenian forces clashed along
the border and in the vicinity of Nagorno-Karabakh in the most
serious confrontation since the truce took effect.15
Although Armenia has not officially recognised Nagorno-Karabakh's
independence, the government of Ter-Petrossian has exercised
influence and supported the region both militarily and economically.
Opinion polls taken in Armenia have shown an overwhelming support
for the absorption of the region into Armenia.
Armenia's south-west neighbour, Turkey, has supported Azerbaijan
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by establishing an economic
blockade against Armenia. Turkey and Armenia have been traditional
enemies. The massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in
1915 are deeply imbedded in the collective memory of the Armenian
people. Over one million of their ancestors (out of approximately
two million Armenian population living in the area at the time)
perished, either killed or died of famine, disease of exhaustion,
during Turkish mass deportations in 1915-1918.16
Although the United Nations and several other international
organisations recognised the genocide, the Turkish government
has never officially admitted the crime.
Georgia, Armenia's northern neighbour, has been friendly but
has been dealing with its own unresolved war of secession in
Abkhazia. Also, the war in Georgia has resulted in cutting the
vital rail connection between Armenia and Russia. Russia has
kept a low profile in the Armenian-Azeri conflict, but it still
maintains 12,000 soldiers in Armenia to protect its borders.17
The relationship of Armenia with Iran has been good and the
countries are trading partners.
Economic Situation
Armenia is a small landlocked country with few natural resources
and small amount of arable land. In addition to the blockade
imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan, the country's economic situation
in recent years has been exacerbated by the closure of its only
nuclear power plant following the 1988 earthquake.18 Yet, despite
the energy crisis, according to the Economist, Armenia "performed
the sort of budget-tightening that makes officials of the IMF
glow with enthusiasm."19
A tough reform program instituted by Ter-Petrossian has helped
to steer the country towards a market economy, with low inflation
and foreign debt, and rising industrial production. It is estimated
that the GDP grew by 6.5 per cent in 1996. This "success," however,
has come at the cost of the deterioration of overall quality
of life of its citizens. A recent UNDP report characterised
the society as comprising a rich elite and "a vast army of poor
and deprived."20 According
to World Bank estimates, ninety percent of Armenians live below
poverty level,21 and unemployment
reaches fifty percent in some regions. Ter-Petrossian has been
increasingly criticised for his failure to improve living standards
of the country's 3.5 million population.22
For instance, according to commentators, his far-reaching privatisation
programme has mainly benefited the old Armenian elite.
Emigration
The harsh realities of everyday life in Armenia, high unemployment
and bleak prospects for the future have contributed to a huge
outflow of its citizens in recent years. It is estimated that
approximately 400,000 people, about one-sixth of its population,
have emigrated since 1991.23
Most have gone to Russia and to the United States. According
to the data provided by NGOs, men are the majority of those
who left. Consequently, women now constitute seventy percent
of the country's population.24
The following assessment of women's status in Armenia is based
in part on the document "Declaration Regarding the Status of
Armenian Women and Functioning of Non-Governmental Organisations"
which IWRAW received from the Women's Council of Armenia. Written
for the Beijing Conference in 1995, IWRAW received the document
with a 1997 update prepared in collaboration with the League
of Women Voters (LWV). The Women's Council of Armenia was established
in 1987 and is one of the largest women's NGOs in Armenia. The
Council states that it was established in order to defend the
rights of women and children of the Republic and increase women's
role in the political, socio-economic and cultural life of the
country. LWV was created in 1996 in an effort to promote women's
participation in the electoral process. IWRAW also received
information from the Centre for Gender Studies in Yerevan, and
the Association of Women with University Education.
MEASURES TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION - Convention Article
2
Following independence in September 1991, the Armenian Parliament
ratified most of the international treaties protecting human
rights. However, sources say that the government has been extremely
slow to begin establishing the mechanisms necessary to protect
women from discrimination.
The Women's Council reports that after a Russian study of
the various institutional mechanisms within the European Parliament
was presented to the Armenian government, noting that similar
structures existed in Russia and other CIS countries, a division
of "family matters" was formed within the Ministry of Employment
and Social Security. The Women's Council emphasises that this
mechanism does not have adequate authority or status to deal
with the problems assigned to it. The Council goes on to say
that, in their opinion, women's development issues will not
go forward without long-term projects in all spheres of government.
Also, without a national structure, at the level of a women's
ministry or office for women's affairs within the president's
office, to promote women's equality, women's status will continue
to deteriorate in all spheres of life.
BASIC RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS - Convention Article
3
Jails
Armenia's prisons are still run according to the rules of
the Soviet prison system. The government has proposed prison
system reforms which are to include the establishment of general
and high-security prisons for women, but no information is available
on the progress of these projects.
According to the Centre for Gender Studies, the conditions
of women in prisons reflect violations and discrimination against
women found in the Armenian society. The group conducted a study
in the women's jail at Abovian which found that the prison lacks
basic sanitary necessities and medical assistance. According
to our sources, women are not provided separate rooms which
would allow for a conjugal visit with their husbands while male
prisoners are allowed to stay with their wives for several days.
The group also reported that women incarcerated for simple crimes,
such as petty theft, were kept in the same cells with criminals
sentenced for more serious crimes. They claim that such a situation
demoralises the prisoners instead of contributing to their rehabilitation.
TEMPORARY SPECIAL MEASURES - Convention Article 4
Women constitute the majority of students in institutions
of higher education, but this has not translated into meaningful
employment opportunities following graduation. Few women can
be found in executive positions. The prevalent attitude in the
society, echoed in the government report, is the belief that
women's foremost role is as wives and mothers. The government's
report to CEDAW repeatedly refers to women's traditional and
natural role as mothers. Sources say that this is consistent
with the fact that the government has not taken any substantial
initiatives to promote the advancement of women in the public
sphere. The National Commission on Women was formed only after
pressure from the UN.
According to the Association of Women with University Education,
after 1990 the government has adopted no laws aimed at the improvement
of women's status in the society. To the contrary, especially
in the last four years, laws that have been passed have reduced
social guarantees and eliminated several important social benefits
and services directly impacting women. The government lowered
salaries and at the same time cancelled subsidies for children
over 5 years old, which put women in an even more precarious
position than before.25
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - Convention Articles 3,5,6,12,5 and
16
The old Soviet legal code is still in use in Armenia. It cites
specific punishments for rape, forced abortion and forbidding
a woman from marrying. There is, however, no specific law banning
violence against women. According to the U.S. Department of
State Country Report on Human Rights Practices, in the first
nine months of 1996, the Interior Ministry registered 32 cases
of rape and attempted rape. The actual numbers are thought to
be much higher. Armenian society is traditional and patriarchal,
and consequently the majority of cases go unreported. The government
report to CEDAW states that the "amount of such cases may be
higher and those who have suffered assault do not turn to the
help of law-enforcement bodies, because they would prefer to
talk about their case with female personnel." At the same time,
the government does not explain whether there has been any effort
to hire female staff who would be more appropriate to work on
these cases.
SEX ROLES AND STEREOTYPING - Convention Article 5
According to the Association of Women with University Education,
the government has done nothing to overcome the stereotypical
understanding of women's role and place in the society. In fact,
government officials continue to refer to the "natural" roles
of women. Several other Armenian women IWRAW interviewed felt
that this government's emphasis on the maternal role of women
is meant to distract from the problems that women face in the
society, which include their minimal role in political decision-making
and lack of professional opportunities.
POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE - Convention Articles 7 and 8
In the Soviet period, women's participation in the legislative
and executive branches of the government reached 36.6 per cent.
When the first free parliamentary elections were held in Armenia
in 1990, the percentage of women in the legislative body decreased
tenfold. Women in municipal and regional councils decreased
to about 10.7 percent and in the executive branch even more.
At present, there is only one woman minister, three deputy ministers,
and one chief executive in a local authority is a woman. Only
12 out of 190 deputies in the parliament are women. Out of 124
judges, only 23 are female. In the Public Prosecutor's office
women account for 20.7 percent of employees.
Although the women's party Shamiram won eight seats in recent
elections and became the second largest group in Parliament,
the overall number of women in this body still does not exceed
five percent. The government explains that, unlike in Soviet
times, "[they] are really engaged in the legislation making
process and are not only formally registered as such for the
sake of making the statistics look more 'democratic' ... ."
Nevertheless, women's NGOs have expressed alarm at this situation
and have called for the establishment of quotas to increase
women's participation in the executive and legislative branches
of the government.
Women's NGOs
According to Barbara Hall of the NGO Training and Resource
Centre in Yerevan, women actively participate in the political
life of the country through various non-governmental organisations.
Currently, there are thirty registered women's non-governmental
organisations and several unregistered organisations which deal
specifically with issues affecting women.
Aragast
Armenian NGOs have attempted to promote women's human rights
by making the international human rights treaties known and
available to the public. To serve this purpose, in 1994 they
founded a women's weekly Aragast. In 1995, President Ter-Petrossian
issued an order to close down the publication. In January 1995,
women's organisations wrote a letter to the President explaining
the importance of the newspaper for the advancement of women
and its role as a unifying force for all Armenian women's organisations
before the Beijing Conference. Despite repeated appeals from
the Women's Council and other NGOs, the government has never
responded.
EDUCATION - Convention Article 10
Women's right to education was incorporated into Armenia's
constitution seventy years ago.26
Education is highly prized in the society, and Armenia has one
of the highest literacy rates in the world. Both boys and girls
receive equal educational opportunities, and at present more
women receive university and postgraduate education than men.27
Unfortunately, this has not led to meaningful professional opportunities
for women.
EMPLOYMENT - Convention Article 11
The Centre for Gender Studies reports that men are routinely
the preferred candidates in hiring, which is conducted by predominantly
male bosses. An overwhelming number of women in Armenia occupy
low-skilled positions. According to Barbara Merguerian of the
Armenian International Women's Association, almost as a rule,
even the most educated women are left out of the highest-paid
and executive positions. Women predominate in non-managerial
positions in manufacturing, primary and secondary education,
and in health centres -- jobs which typically pay the lowest
salaries. Women with higher education are often forced to work
as restaurant cooks, provide cleaning services or do handicrafts.28
Moreover, there are no mechanisms to enforce the anti-discrimination
labour laws -- labour rights violations are commonly not reported
and no measures are being taken to improve the situation.
Women NGOs state that the increasing social inequality and
poverty in the country has affected women more than men. For
example, women are the first victims of growing unemployment.
The government report explains higher unemployment among women
by the fact that "traditionally women are more oriented towards
family and children." The NGOs, however, estimate that eighty
percent of women who would like to work cannot find employment.
In April 1997, the Director of the employment centre in Yerevan
reported that 78 percent of the unemployed registered with his
office are women, most of whom have higher education.29
Sources indicate that the highest paying positions are out of
reach for the majority of women in Armenia. Those who find jobs
earn about 75 percent of men's salary.
Health care is one of the fields where women are in the majority.
According to the Centre for Gender Studies, women comprise seventy
percent of the doctors in Armenia. However, among doctors occupying
senior positions, only about twenty percent are women.30
Informal Sector
According to the Centre for Gender Studies report, women who
do not fit into the official labour market have been forced
to seek other ways to generate income. In recent years, there
has been a growing trend for Armenian women to engage in unofficial
trade. These women travel to neighbouring countries, such as
Turkey, and bring merchandise for sale back to Armenia. Our
sources say that the government is well aware of the extent
of this phenomenon, but has done nothing to regulate or upgrade
the growing industry. As a result, these businesses have no
legal protection, cannot obtain insurance, and its owners are
not entitled to health protection or social benefits. These
women are often exposed to sexual violence and crime.
HEALTH CARE AND FAMILY PLANNING - Convention Article 12
Armenia has a high abortion rate -- 2.7 abortions per woman.
Due to the lack of contraceptives and effective family planning
information and services, abortion remains the primary means
of fertility control in Armenia. The government report refers
to these statistics, but states that, although higher than in
most Western countries, the rate is the lowest among the other
newly independent states. According to IWRAW sources, the government
does not promote any programmes which would aim at improving
the quality of family planning services.
NGOs also report on the poor condition of prenatal services.
As a result, there has been a considerable increase in the incidence
of anaemia in pregnant women in recent years, as well as deficiencies
in breast-feeding, and other related health problems. As women's
health deteriorates, the children are born weaker. Also, our
sources report that, contrary to the government's official claims,
malnutrition affects increasing numbers of children under the
age of 5 years old.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION - Convention Article 13
Women's organisations have called for the establishment of
special programmes in order to stimulate women's involvement
in the privatisation process. According to the Women's Council,
women have been generally left out of privatisation. Sources
say that during the process of land privatisation, for example,
land was registered in women's names only in cases where the
man in the family was absent. The Association of Women with
University Education claims that the government has violated
women's economic rights by their exclusion from the process.
RURAL WOMEN - Convention Article 14
According to information received from the NGOs, the difficult
economic situation of the country has particularly affected
rural women. The overwhelming majority of rural women work as
agricultural labourers. The countryside is plagued by constant
shortages of water and cultivation equipment. The government
report to CEDAW dismisses the severity of women's situation
in villages by the fact that many of them are refugees "unaccustomed
to rural life." Women NGOs emphasise the deteriorating physical
and psychological condition of women living in the countryside
and urge that it merits special attention from the government.
Several NGOs felt that the government needs to take more committed
action to improve the availability of health care services in
rural areas.
