Haykuhi Harutyunyan, BC Project Leader, Chairperson of the Corruption Prevention Commission of Armenia; H.E. Mr. Viktor Richter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia; Silja Kasmann, Deputy head of Cooperation , EU Delegation to Armenia; Edgar Mkrtchyan, Head of Deputy Prime Minister’s office; Nvard Vardanyan, Deputy Secretary General, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia; Klāvs Sniedze, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Latvia to Georgia and Armenia (from left to right) Armenien
IRZ, together with its junior partner, the Latvian Ministry of Justice, held a Kick-Off meeting on October 4, 2022 in Yerevan to present the Twinning project "Fostering integrity and preventing corruption in the public sector in Armenia". The main beneficiaries of the project are the Corruption Prevention Commission and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
The Kick-Off event was opened by the Head of the Deputy Prime Minister’s office of Armenia, the Deputy Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Armenia, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Latvia to Georgia and Armenia, and the Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia.
The project leaders from Armenia, Germany and Latvia as well as experts from the Armenian, German and Latvian project partners presented the project components:
In order to improve the environment for corruption prevention in the Republic of Armenia, this project aims develop anticorruption (integrity) education and public awareness programmes and related institutional capacities, and assist in their implementation. This target will be pursued in close cooperation with the main beneficiary of the project, the Corruption Prevention Commission of Armenia, established in 2020. The implementation has the full support of the Armenian Ministry of Justice and the Armenian Prime Minister behind it. The Twinning project works closely with other international actors in Armenia, such as the Council of Europe, Transparency International and the United States Agency for International Development.
The Twinning Project aims to advance the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy, in particular by strengthening the monitoring capacity of the Anti-Corruption Policy Development and Monitoring Department of the Armenian Ministry of Justice.
Corruption entails profound social problems, posing a serious threat to the rule of law and democracy. Inequalities are exacerbated, social justice dwindles, good governance and citizens' trust in public institutions are systematically undermined. Corruption also has a negative impact on the prosperity and economic growth of any country by unsettling businesses, lowering investment levels and hindering fair competition. Therefore, the EU underlines the urgent need to focus on the prevention of corruption at a global level.
This Twinning Project aims to support the ongoing efforts of Armenian public institutions, civil society and people to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity in the country.
Persons in Photograph (left to right): German Ambassador to Armenia Viktor Richter, European Commission DG NEAR Team Leader Bella Nestorova, Head of Anti-corruption policy elaboration and monitoring department at Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Hasmik Tigranyan, Beneficiary Project Leader and Chairwoman of the Corruption Prevention Commission Haykuhi Harutyunyan, European Union Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin, Project Leader Ingo Sorgatz, Resident Twinning Adviser Diana Stepina Armenia
The “Fostering integrity and preventing corruption in the public sector in Armenia” Twinning Project will run for 24 months, starting in June 2022, and has a budget of EUR 1 million. The project is being implemented by the IRZ in lead, together with the Latvian Ministry of Justice – in co-operation with the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau – as a junior partner.
In the last five years, Armenia has made significant strides towards tackling corruption in the country. The establishment of the Corruption Prevention Commission in 2020 and the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period 2019-2022 are just a few examples that highlight the progress that has been made in the field of corruption prevention policy.
However, despite this progress, these efforts have only had a limited impact thus far and corruption remains a significant problem in critical areas of public administration.
This Twinning Project aims to support and enhance the reform process and ensure the effective functioning of the anti-corruption measures in place.
The overall objective of this project is, as the name states, to foster integrity and prevent corruption in the public sector in Armenia. Specifically, the project aims to develop and assist the implementation of anti-corruption education and public awareness programmes targeted at government officials as well as the general public. The project further aims to advance the implementation of Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Strategy, in particular by enhancing the monitoring capacity of the Anti-Corruption Policy Development and Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Justice.
The main project beneficiary is the Corruption Prevention Commission.
An Opening Event was organised on 13.06.2022 in Yerevan, with the participation of representatives of the Beneficiaries as well as the German Ambassador and the IRZ project team. An official Kick-Off event for the project is planned for fall 2022.
The project has four components:
First component: Build the institutional capacity of the Corruption Prevention Commission to develop and assist in the implementation of anti-corruption (integrity) education and public awareness programmes
The first component of the project focuses on enhancing the capacity of the Corruption Prevention Commission to develop integrity education programmes and/or training courses. It will do so by improving the existing infrastructure and by developing and publishing materials for such courses which can be introduced in the general and higher education systems. It will also put in place a professional development system for government officials in the field of integrity, and develop and publish related materials and a code of conduct.
Second component: Establish strategic communication and collaboration mechanisms
The second component is concerned with improving the communication channels and collaboration mechanisms between the Corruption Prevention Commission, the civil service and media, so that the general public has a better understanding and a greater awareness of the mandate and functioning of the Commission. The aim is to put in place mechanisms that allow the Corruption Prevention Commission to effectively cooperate with external stakeholders, including anti-corruption state institutions.
Third component: Support the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy by building the capacity of the Ministry of Justice to monitor
The third component of the project focuses on the Anti-Corruption Strategy and its implementation. Activities under this component aim to improve the legal framework around the Anti-Corruption Policy, to increase public awareness about anti-corruption measures in Armenia, and to develop and introduce an effective methodology for monitoring the measures put in place. Finally, the component also aims to enhance the implementation of international anti-corruption commitments generally.
Fourth component: Improve business integrity
The fourth component looks at anti-corruption measures in state-owned enterprises. It will conduct an assessment of the existing anti-corruption measures in such enterprises, and will develop and introduce additional anti-corruption measures in state-owned and public enterprises.
Andrea Wiktorin, EU Ambassador to Armenia (on the left), Yeranuhi Tumanyants, Deputy Minister of Justice Armenia
IRZ brought the EU Grant “Consolidation of the Justice System in Armenia” to a formal conclusion on 21 July 2022 with the high-level expert conference “Judicial Reform and Access to Justice” in Yerevan. The conference addressed the role of judicial reforms in the development of democratic structures and the challenges that emerge in these processes.
Andrea Wiktorin, EU Ambassador to Armenia, used her welcome address to stress the central importance of a reliable judiciary for the country’s economic development. Deputy Minister of Justice Yeranuhi Tumanyants pointed out that the Armenian government has already undertaken efforts in the field of judicial reform, for instance its decision to continue the judicial reform strategy, which was reached on the same day. A study on the public perception of the quality of the judiciary in Armenia was designed and commissioned as part of the project and is expected to yield important impulses. The findings were presented during the conference.
The project included three components targeting the Ministry of Justice of Armenia as well as the central judicial actors – so the Supreme Judicial Council, the Justice Academy, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Bar Association, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption as well as the judiciary itself – which supported the fundamental judicial reform under the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU.
In addition to extensive training components and the development of a court assessment programme, the last few months of the project focused on a number of legal reforms with contributions from the project.
The results of the project were presented to a larger audience at the conference, which was also attended by the cooperation partners Expertise France, the Latvian Court Administration, representatives of several embassies of EU states and other judicial projects and funding bodies, as well as law firms and companies. Ongoing implementation is now in the hands of the Armenian actors.
