The report by NILS MUIŽNIEKS the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe addresses the Human Rights situation in Armenia as well as the criminal cases that are connected with the situation in the RA army.

Report by NILS MUIŽNIEKS commissioner for human rights of the council of Europe (2015)_EN (pdf)

Peace Dialogue NGO staff understands that some of the reasons for the many irregularities in the military are because of the fact that neither the officers nor the conscripts are well informed about their rights.
The responsibilities are the first thing the officers will teach the young conscripts.

This short cartoon will help young conscripts understand their rights.

The video was prepared in the framework of the Safe Soldiers for a Safe Armenia project of Peace Dialogue NGO supported by PAX organization.

Pax means peace. PAX brings together people who have the courage to stand for peace. Together with people in conflict areas and concerned citizens worldwide, PAX works to build dignified, democratic, and peaceful societies across the globe.

The RA Administrative Court has decided to proceed with the lawsuit filed by Peace Dialogue NGO over the requirement that the Ministry of Defense provide the requested information on the fatalities of persons serving in the military.

The administrative court had dismissed the lawsuit twice before. The first request to force the disclosure of the material was dismissed due to a missed deadline. The second time the suit was filed the court requested separating the lawsuit into two complaints.  The first case would obligate the Ministry of Defense to provide the requested information including the full names of the deceased soldiers, the location of the incident, the date, unit number, unit commander’s full name and title, the cause of death and all other publicly available information from the second part of the lawsuit which called for administrative penalties against Minister Seyran Ohanyan of the Ministry of Defense.

After we filed the two different lawsuits the court found that:

“After examining the motion and all the attached documents, this Court finds that there is no justification/reason for dismissing the lawsuit, returning it or readdressing it to any other institution. Therefore this lawsuit should proceed.”

These cases will be heard by a two judge panel including Judge Karen Zarikyan and Judge A. Dilanyan at the RA Administrative court.

Peace Dialogue has not been informed yet of the start date of the proceedings at this time.

Based on the observations of Peace Dialogue NGO, 46 fatalitieswere recorded in the RA and NK Armed Forces in 2014. 14 of the recorded cases occurred in the territory of Armenia, the other 32 cases in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Based on the preliminary information, 26 of the cases are the result of ceasefire regime violation:

1. Karen Galstyan,
2. Armen Hovhannisyan,
3. Garnik Torosyan,
4. Arayik Babayan,
5. Arthur Ohanjanyan,
6. Erik Gasparyan,
7. Garik Balayan,
8. Narek Poghosyan,
9. Boris Gasparyan,
10. Andranik Yeghoyan,
11. Armen Avetisyan,
12. Movses Gasparyan,
13. Sargis Abrahamyan,
14. Khachatur Baghdasaryan,
15. Ararat Khanoyan,
16. Ashot Asoyan,
17. Zorik Gevorgyan,
18. Sargis Movsisyan,
19. Aram Grigoryan,
20. Mher Hakobyan,
21. Davit Navasardyan,
22. Vitalik Poghosyan,
23. Sergey Sahakyan,
24. Azat Sahakyan,
25. Sargis Nazaryan,
26. Garik Ispiryan,

You can also download a high-resolution PDF version of the infographics under the link at the end of this article.

For the period from January to December of 2014, five murder cases were reported:

1. Grisha Khachatryan,
2. Derenik Manukyan,
3. Gevorg Avagyan,
4. Vladimir Hayrapetyan,
5. Gor Grigoryan.

Five soldiers died as a result of fatal accidents:

1. Yesayi Yesayan,
2. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan,
3. Meruzhan Harutyunyan,
4. Arevik Babasyan,
5. Pavlik Manukyan.

Four fatalities were the result of a safety rule violation:

1. Arman Ghukasyan,
2. Nerses Karapetyan,
3. Harutyun Safaryan,
4. Armen Hayrapetyan.

During the same period three suicide cases were recorded:

1. Samvel Harutyunayn,
2. David Koloyan,
3. Arthur Margaryan.

Three soldiers died because of health issues:

1. Edik Shahnazaryan,
2. Hayk Makaryan,
3. Arshak Zardaryan.

2014_infographic_eng

The website and database www.safesoldiers.am has been updated with information provided to Peace Dialogue NGO by private individuals along with information from public media. With this update, the website database now lists a total of634 fatalities in the Armenian armed forces since 1994.

For the period 2010-2014 the information can be considered with some exceptions, as the most complete in the database since the public media more actively and continuously covered fatalities in the armed forces during this period than it has been in previous times. The accuracy of the data regarding some of the incidents is still unclear however as there may not be any official report on the fatality. In some cases we have had to piece together details from a news story about someone who was posthumously awarded a medal by the RA or NK President, from these pieces it becomes apparent which person or incident is being talked about.

 The database therefore is still a work in progress particularly since the Ministry of Defense and other authorities constantly refuse to provide information to our organization regarding these tragic incidents. Peace Dialogue NGO has filed a lawsuit trying to force the Ministry of Defense to perform their duties and is waiting for the court’s decision on the admissibility and resolution of the case.

Based on the information in the database, of the 634 fatalities, the greatest number of cases 190 is cases of murder. We have already recorded several cases of data manipulation, such as fatal incidents, or murders in combat presented as murders by the enemy, or murders presented as suicides, etc, however one categorizes them, the number of murder cases in our website is the highest. Incidents are recorded in the database as murders guided by official reports however, the descriptions of the cases also include the findings which question the official report, such as the opinions and the testimonies of the relatives, as well as information provided by certain media outlets, watchdog groups or other experts.

126 cases are the results of fatal incidents, 112 cases are the result of ceasefire violations, 72 cases are the result of health issues and 71 cases are recorded as suicides.

Out of 634 cases, 313 were recorded in Nagorno-Karabakh, while 288 were recorded in Armenia. The organization has not been able to find out the exact location of 101 of the cases.

The greatest number of cases which resulted in death was recorded in the 2000 (77 cases). It should be taken into account that the organization does not have complete data for the year 2000.

Based on the data collected so far, the organization has attempted to map the geographical distribution of the cases. Based on the map, most cases in Armenia were recorded in the Tavush region (81). Those fatalities recorded in NK were recorded in the Martakert region (88). The regions with higher concentration of murder cases are Syunik (49), Hadrut (56), Martuni (44) and Gegharkunik (31).

Please review the material at www.safesoldiers.am and if you have any additional information on these or other cases please contact us Peace Dialogue NGO, Address: 40 ap. 12 Myasnikyan str., 2002, Vanadzor, Armenia; Tel: +374 (322) 21340;Mob: +374 (55) 820 632; (93) 820 632, E-mail:[email protected] ; [email protected]

The website is prepared within the project Safe Soldiers for a Safe Armenia supported by Dutch organization Pax. Pax means peace. PAX brings together people who have the courage to stand for peace. Together with people in conflict areas and concerned citizens worldwide, PAX works to build dignified, democratic, and peaceful societies across the globe.