PACE Monitoring Committee receives report on Armenia

The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has received the report from the Human Rights Commissioner regarding his visit to Yerevan from 13 to 15 July 2008 and is extremely alarmed about its findings and conclusions that show that only limited progress has been achieved regarding key demands of the Assembly.

The committee therefore invited the Human Rights Commissioner to return to Yerevan and report back to the Committee at its meeting in Paris on 17 December 2008, APA reports.

The Committee regrets that the Armenian authorities did not consider the possibility of amnesty, pardons, or any other legal means available to them, to resolve the situation regarding persons deprived of their liberty in relation to the events on 1 and 2 March 2008. The Committee is of the view that Armenia is on a threshold regarding the implementation of Resolutions 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008). In December, on the basis of that report, the Committee will make its decision on the actions, and possible sanctions, it will recommend to the plenary of the Assembly in January 2009.