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Armenia - Second periodic reports of States parties due in 2000: Addendum [2003] UNCRCSPR 17; CRC/C/93/Add.6 (17 July 2003)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/93/Add.6 17 July 2003
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Second periodic reports of States parties due in 2000
ARMENIA*
[Original:
RUSSIAN]
[21 February 2002]
* For the initial report submitted by the Government of Armenia, see
CRC/C/28/Add.9. For its consideration by the Committee, see
documents
CRC/C/SR.603 and 604 and CRC/C/15/Add.119.
GE.03-43131 (E) 050903
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 - 4 5
I. INFORMATION ABOUT THE COUNTRY 5 - 23 5
A. Geography 5 - 10 5
B. State structure 11 6
C. Economy 12 - 16 7
D. Measures to enhance the situation of children
in Armenia 17 -
23 7
II. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6, of
the Convention) 24 - 38 9
III. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1) 39 - 60 12
IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 61- 107 16
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 61 - 69 16
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3) 70 - 84 17
C. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 85 - 93 19
D. Right to express one’s views (art. 12) 94 - 107 21
V. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 108 - 160 23
A. Name and nationality (art. 7) 108 - 127 23
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8) 128 26
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 129 - 135 26
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14) 136 - 141 28
E. Freedom of association and of peaceful
assembly (art. 15) 142 -
146 29
F Protection of privacy (art. 16) 147 - 152 30
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 153 - 154 31
H. Right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or
degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a)) 155 - 160 31
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
VI. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 161 - 213 32
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 161 - 167 32
B. Parental responsibility (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2) 168 - 179 33
C. Separation from parents (art. 9) 180 - 183 34
D. Family reunification (art. 10) 184 - 186 35
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 187 - 188 35
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4) 189 -
192 36
G. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20) 193 - 198 36
H. Adoption (art. 21) 199 - 203 37
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 204 - 208 39
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19); physical and psychological
recovery
and social reintegration (art. 39) 209 - 213 39
VII. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 214 - 325 40
A. Disabled children (art. 23) 214 - 235 40
B. Health and health services (art. 24) 236 - 307 43
C. Social security and childcare services and facilities
(arts. 26
and 18, para. 3) 308 - 313 57
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3) 314 - 325 58
VIII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 326 - 361 60
A. Education, including vocational training and
guidance (art. 28)
326 - 346 60
B. Aims of education (art. 29) 347 - 352 66
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art. 31) 353 - 361 67
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
IX. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 362 - 432 71
A. Children in situations of emergency 362 - 370 71
1. Refugee children (art. 22) 362 - 366 71
2. Children in armed conflicts (art. 38); physical
and
psychological recovery and social
integration (art. 39) 367 -
370 72
B. Children involved with the system of administration
of juvenile
justice 371 - 396 72
1. The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40) 371 - 387 72
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any
form of
detention, imprisonment or placement in
custodial settings (art. 37 (b),
(c) and (d)) 388 - 393 75
3. The sentencing of children, with particular reference
to the
prohibition of capital punishment and life
imprisonment (art. 37 (a))
394 - 395 77
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of
the child (art. 39) 396 77
C. Children in situations of exploitation; physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration 397 - 420 77
1. Economic exploitation of children and child
labour (art. 32)
397 - 406 77
2. Drug abuse (art. 33) 407 - 412 78
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34) 413 - 417 79
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35) 418 - 419 79
5. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36) 420 80
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group (art. 30)
421 - 432 80
Introduction
- Armenia’s
initial report on its compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child was considered by
the Committee on the Rights of the Child
at its 603rd and 604th meetings, held on 20 January 2000.
- The
present report has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines developed by
the Committee for the submission of reports and
on the basis of information
provided by the relevant ministries and departments concerned with
children’s issues.
- The
first part of the report contains general information about the country and its
population, the political system, economic development
and other matters.
- The
report refers to those statutes and subsidiary legislation which have been
adopted by Armenia in compliance with its obligations
under the
Convention.
I. INFORMATION ABOUT THE COUNTRY
A. Geography
- The
Republic of Armenia lies in the north-east of the Armenian plateau, where the
continents of Europe and Asia meet. Armenia has
an area of 29,800 sq km and
borders Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the
Islamic Republic of
Iran to the south. The country is rich in natural and
mineral resources and has deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, aluminium
and other minerals. There are also large deposits of building stone.
- The
history of the Armenian State dates back several thousand years before the
Armenians’ adoption of Christianity (301 AD)
and the invention of the
Armenian script (405 AD). The year 2001 marks the 4,494th year in the
Armenian traditional calendar, which
runs from the reign of King Aik, founder of
the Armenian State. The history of the Armenian people accordingly extends over
a number
of millennia. The first proto-State on the territory of modern-day
Armenia was the State of Urartu, or Ararat, formed in the ninth
century BC.
Over the period from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Armenia was
divided between Persia and the Ottoman empire.
In the early nineteenth century,
Armenia’s eastern districts were annexed by the Russian empire. The
Armenian population
that was incorporated in the Ottoman empire were the victims
of massacres under Sultan Abdul Hamid, in 1894-1896, and under the Young
Turk
regime in 1915-1920. The date 24 April 1915 commemorates a tragic event for
Armenians: the unleashing of the genocide of the
Armenian people in the Ottoman
empire. This deliberate policy pursued by the Ottoman Turkish rulers resulted
in the vicious slaughter
of more than 2 million Armenians living in western
Armenia.
- The
most recent period of Armenian history dates from the restoration of Armenian
statehood in 1991, when, following the collapse
of the Soviet Union and on the
basis of a national referendum, Armenia proclaimed its independence. After the
collapse of the USSR,
however, the Republic of Azerbaijan seized weapons left
behind by the Soviet army and used
- them
to launch a war aimed at wiping out the civilian population of Karabagh.
Karabagh is one of the historical territories of Armenia
and was annexed to
Azerbaijan by the Soviet authorities in the early 1920s.
- The
League of Nations document adopted in November 1920 on this matter states that
this territory, which measures 40,000 square kilometres,
had never previously
been a separate State but had always formed part of large groups of territorial
possessions, such as those of
the Persians and the Mongols, and since 1813 had
formed part of the Russian empire. The same source notes that the name
“Azerbaijan”,
taken as the name of the new republic, was the name of
the adjacent province of Persia.
- Thus,
it was only in 1918 that the Musavatists, the leaders of the Turks of eastern
Transcaucasia, proclaimed the Azerbaijani Republic
in pursuance of
Turkey’s expansionist ambitions. Their aim was to give substance to the
historical rights of the Turks both
to the entire Transcaucasian region and to
Persian Azerbaijan. During the period of Soviet expansion, plans to export
revolution
to the east included the task of establishing a powerful outpost in
Azerbaijan - a sort of bridgehead for socialism in the region.
Thus, on 5 July
1921, a resolution was adopted by the Caucasus bureau of the Bolshevik Party on
the annexation of Karabagh to Azerbaijan.
That resolution, whatever its other
merits or faults, was the only basis for including Karabagh “within the
territory”
of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. It is clear from
this that Karabagh was never part of independent Azerbaijan.
- Throughout
the Soviet era, Azerbaijan pursued an undeclared policy of squeezing out
Armenians and assimilating other non-Turkic peoples.
By the 1970s, the
Armenians had virtually been completely driven out of Nakhchivan. As part of
the policy of ethnic cleansing,
in 1988 pogroms were mounted against the
Armenians, first in Sumgayit and then in Baku. In spring 1991, Soviet troops
launched their
vicious punitive operation, code-named “Operation
Ring”, against Karabagh. The war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Karabagh
led to the flight of 400,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan. Many of these were
given shelter in and around the town of Spitak, literally
only a few days before
the earthquake in this area. The tragic consequences of the earthquake were
further exacerbated by the blockade
imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey; naturally,
all this was bound to have an effect on the general situation in the country,
which
was particularly severe for the more vulnerable population sectors:
women, children and the elderly.
B. State structure
Government
- Armenia
has the following political structure:
Form of government:
Republic;
Administrative divisions: 11 provinces (“marzes”);
Constitution: adopted by popular referendum on 5 July 1995;
Executive: head of State - President;
Legislature: single-chamber parliament - National Assembly (131 seats);
Judiciary: courts of first instance, appeal courts, court of cassation and
constitutional court.
C. Economy
- During
the Soviet era, Armenia extensively developed its industrial sector, which
supplied a range of goods to the other Soviet republics
and to countries abroad
in exchange for raw materials, energy and consumer goods.
- Notwithstanding
the serious economic crises caused by the Karabagh conflict and the blockade of
Armenia, in 1994 the Government of
Armenia, working together with the
International Monetary Fund, was already able to implement a series of economic
reforms which
helped stabilize the economy and stimulate its growth across the
country. Among the country’s economic achievements, we may
cite the
slowing of inflation and the privatization of a number of small and medium-sized
enterprises. Since 1991, agricultural
production has registered growth every
year except 1993. Armenia was the first country of the former Soviet camp to
privatize farmland,
which it did as early as 1991.
- Undeterred
by the numerous problems in its path, the Government of Armenia launched a
number of radical structural reforms designed
to set in place a robust market
economy. In its economic memorandum on Armenia, the World Bank praised the
country’s accomplishments,
stating that it occupied first place among the
former republics of the Soviet Union in terms of the progress that it had
achieved
over such a short period.
- The
Government is currently working along two main thrusts: to develop the
necessary legislative framework for the creation of a
market economy and to
forge closer links with neighbouring countries.
- Considerable
progress has also been made in the banking system. Thus, in April 1993, the
Government of Armenia adopted a range of
banking legislation, notably, the
Central Bank Act and the Banks and Banking Activity Act. The primary functions
of the Central
Bank are to coordinate relations with the Government and with
parliament and, among other tasks, to exercise control over credit
and finance
operations at all levels.
D. Measures to enhance the situation of children in
Armenia
- Traditionally,
Armenian families have always been very child-oriented. The welfare of children
has always been a central concern
of the Armenian State. Accordingly, one of
the first multilateral agreements to which the Republic of Armenia became a
party was
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it ratified on 1 June
1992. State policy is designed to protect the interests of
the family and a
number of special measures have been developed to ensure the protection of
families in which the parents are divorced
and families which have children born
out of wedlock or adopted children.
- On
29 May 1996, the National Assembly adopted the Children’s Rights Act.
On 6 July 1994, the President of Armenia signed the
World
Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and, on 28
March 1996, a decree on protection of the mother
and child. In 1999, pursuant
to decision No. 42 of the Prime Minister of Armenia, dated 26 January 1999,
on the establishment of
a national commission to coordinate work with juveniles,
a body was set up to coordinate the affairs of children deprived of parental
care. This body monitors efforts to improve the social situation of such
children and also works to prevent vagrancy and begging
among juveniles. It was
also decided to establish, where necessary, comparable bodies under the local
authorities throughout the
country.
- In
1997, an office on family, women’s and children’s affairs was set up
as part of the Ministry of Social Welfare. This
office has wide-ranging tasks,
which include developing policies to improve the social position of women and to
uphold the rights
of children, elaborating and implementing programmes to
improve the living conditions of children under State care, and setting in
place
a procedure for the adoption of orphaned and abandoned children and their
placement in adoptive families. In addition, the
office supports efforts to
establish and strengthen the material infrastructure of children’s homes,
organizes day-to-day activities
for children, and contributes to the provision
of medical, psychological and other forms of assistance.
- In
1998, the Government of Armenia, through its ministries of foreign affairs,
health, social welfare, and science and education,
and with support from the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF-Armenia), produced and published a
report analysing the situation
of women and children in Armenia. This report
was prepared in line with the relevant articles of the Convention on the Rights
of
the Child and the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children.
- On
the basis of that analysis, in 1999 the Ministry of Health drafted a document on
the priorities and strategy for protecting the
health of mothers and children,
which was then ratified by its board, setting out the basic tasks and areas for
work to protect the
health of children and women and to provide them with
medical assistance.
- The
following areas were identified as priorities:
(a) Improving the
reproductive health of women, including through family planning services;
(b) Improving perinatal medical care;
(c) Improving the situation regarding breastfeeding;
(d) Preventing controllable infections;
(e) Improving the nutritional status of children and women;
(f) Stepping up primary health-care services;
(g) Improving the situation regarding the medical and social rehabilitation
of disabled children.
- An
analysis of the health status of women and children prepared by the Government
and UNICEF in 1998 was used as the basis for the
development of strategies and a
number of special programmes, which are still under way, with the following
goals:
(a) Reducing maternal mortality;
(b) Reducing child mortality;
(c) Reducing the incidence of low birth weight;
(d) Raising the level of breastfeeding;
(e) Improving the nutritional status of children under 5, pregnant women and
nursing mothers;
(f) Safeguarding achievements in the campaign against controllable
infectious diseases and endeavouring to improve the situation
still further;
(g) Improving the system of outpatient services and polyclinics and
introducing the new World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF strategy
on the
integrated management of childhood illnesses;
(h) Improving disabled children’s rehabilitation services.
II. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42 and 44,
para. 6, of the Convention)
- Pursuant
to the requirements of article 4, Armenia has taken the necessary legislative,
administrative and other steps to implement
the Convention. Thus, the Armenian
Constitution guarantees protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of
citizens in accordance with the norms of international law. In order
to ensure
that children’s rights are fully upheld in Armenia, the following statutes
have been enacted and have entered into
force since the country gained
independence: the Children’s Rights Act, the Civil Code, the Code of
Civil Procedure, the Code
of Criminal Procedure, the Citizenship Act, the
Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, the Medical Assistance and Services Act,
the
Education Act, the Military Servicemen and Their Family Members (Social
Welfare) Act, the Disabled Persons (Social Welfare) Act, the Refugees Act,
the Urban Planning Act, the Military Conscription Act, the Language Act, the
Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Act and the State Pensions
Act. On 30 November 2000, Armenia signed up to the decision adopted
by the Commonwealth of Independent States on child welfare in
its member States.
Under this decision, the member States of the Commonwealth must give priority to
establishing and developing appropriate
arrangements and coordination bodies in
their own countries.
- In
order to bring Armenian legislation into line with the Convention, a comparative
analysis of Armenia’s domestic law and the
Convention norms was carried
out in 1999.
- Efforts
continue in Armenia to establish a legislative framework to ensure protection of
the rights of children. In particular, work
continues on the development of
family law. One of the main principles underpinning the country’s family
law where it relates
to children’s rights is the priority to be given to
the family upbringing of children, concern for their well-being and development,
and the upholding of their rights and interests. Accordingly, one of the main
thrusts of this new family law will be to treat children
as persons recognized
by the law in their own right, and not merely as dependent on their
parents’ authority. The corresponding
norms will be based on the
fundamental principle of the legal status of the child within the family, and
this will be determined
from the point of view of the child’s own
interests, rather than that of the rights and duties of the parents.
- Provision
will be made for the following fundamental rights of
children:
(a) To live and be raised in a family (the child’s
own or an adoptive family);
(b) To know their parents, to the extent that this is possible;
(c) To express their opinion on all issues relevant to their lives: this
right will be enshrined in appropriate articles with the
wording: “with
the consent of a child which has attained the age of 10”;
(d) To be cared for and raised by their own parents and, where there are no
such parents, by other responsible persons;
(e) To protection of their interests, all-round development and respect for
their human dignity;
(f) To have contact with their parents and with other relatives;
(g) To protection of their rights and legitimate interests, including the
right to appeal for protection of their rights to the authorities
responsible
for tutelage and guardianship and, on attaining the age of 16, to the
courts;
(h) To have a surname;
(i) To receive maintenance and the title to property which belongs to
them.
- For
the first time, the country’s family law will provide safeguards
protecting children from violence within the family. In
this connection, the
legislation will stipulate that the means of raising children, which parents
shall be at liberty to determine
for themselves, must exclude any form of
neglect, cruel, harsh or degrading treatment, insults, or exploitation. The
rules relating
to the deprivation of parental rights will be stiffened. Where
parents have been stripped of their parental rights, the child’s
consent
will be required before those rights can be restored in the case of children who
have reached the age of 10. The arrangements
for the court-ordered restriction
of parental rights will also be further developed. Provision will also be made
for the immediate
removal of children from their parents in cases where there is
a direct threat to their health and lives within the family.
- Detailed
regulations will be developed on the rights and duties of parents relating to
the upbringing and education of children, and
the protection of their rights and
legitimate interests. With a view to upholding the rights and interests of
children in families,
the idea of the equal
- rights
of both parents will be extensively promoted, irrespective of whether both
parents live with the child or not. In addition,
for the first time in Armenian
law, recognition will be accorded to the parental rights of under-age parents.
A special section
will be devoted to legal aspects of the raising of children
deprived of parental care. Priority will be given to the raising of
such
children within families. Detailed regulations will also be developed regarding
the various forms of family upbringing, including
adoption, tutelage and
guardianship and placement in foster families.
- In
order to improve the country’s domestic legislation, bills will be drafted
incorporating the most important international
norms.
- Issues
relating to children’s rights will be debated in the National Assembly
during the adoption of relevant draft bills on
aspects of such rights.
- Non-governmental
organizations are actively involved in children’s rights issues. Thus, in
1999, an alternative report on implementation
of the provisions of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child was prepared and published by a number of
Armenian non-governmental
organizations, with financial support from
UNICEF.
- A
new humanitarian assistance division has been established within the Ministry of
Social Welfare, with responsibilities that include
cooperation with
international charitable organizations, specifically through the conclusion of
contracts with such organizations
on the provision of aid and the conduct of
humanitarian assistance programmes for the most needy population sectors. These
programmes
vary widely in their form, ranging from food aid to funding
assistance. Thus, during 1999 and 2000, the United Nations carried out
seven
humanitarian assistance programmes, in conjunction with the Ministry of Social
Welfare and in the framework of the World Food
Programme, as part of a general
assistance programme for needy families, with a total value of 2,037,808,202
drams. In all, 534,357
families benefited from this assistance.
- In
2000, the League of Armenian Voluntary Associations was set up under the
Ministry of Social Welfare, as an umbrella body for non-governmental
organizations. A large number of these are involved with children’s
issues and carry out a range of assistance programmes
for children and their
families, including:
(a) Social rehabilitation and integration of
disabled children;
(b) Organizing summer holidays for children from low-income families and
disabled children;
(c) Social rehabilitation of deprived and homeless children and child
beggars.
- The
Convention on the Rights of the Child has been translated into Armenian and
widely disseminated both among the general public
and to specialists. The
Convention has also been incorporated in a compilation of international human
rights instruments published
in Erevan in 1997, with support from the
United Nations Human Rights Centre. A number of international
- instruments
and illustrated guides on human rights have been translated into Russian and
Armenian, including brochures on the rights
of the child, an easy-to-use manual
on civil rights and a number of other publications.
- Armenia’s
report was published as a separate booklet by the Areg publishing house
in 1998 and widely disseminated.
- The
concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child relating
to Armenia’s report have been circulated to
all the relevant State
authorities and to nongovernmental organizations involved with children’s
rights issues.
- As
part of its implementation of children’s health programmes, the Ministry
of Health is engaged in cooperation with a number
of international
organizations, including:
(a) WHO Regional Office for Europe. This
cooperation covers special programmes in support of breastfeeding, to combat
diarrhoeal
diseases and acute respiratory infections, to improve reproductive
health, on immunization and in other areas;
(b) UNICEF, which is providing very substantial support to all integrated
programmes in such areas as promoting breastfeeding, immunization,
combating
acute diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases, safe motherhood and so on;
(c) United States Agency for International Development, in support of the
immunization and breastfeeding programmes;
(d) United Nations Population Fund, in extending the reproductive health
programme throughout the country;
(e) Médecins sans frontières (Belgium), in the conduct of a
family planning programme;
(f) United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR, United States), in carrying
out the family planning programme and a programme to
prevent sexually
transmitted diseases;
(g) Marseilles-based Armenian-French Medical Union, working in cooperation
with the Centre for Perinatal Medicine, Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, in setting
up an in vitro fertilization centre and an endoscopic surgery programme;
(h) Howard Karagozian Association, of the United States of America, in a
children’s dentistry programme;
(i) Aznavour Arménie (France), in conducting a child-feeding
programme.
III. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1)
- Under
Armenian law, the age of majority is 18. Thus, in terms of the provisions of
its article 1, the Children’s Rights Act
applies to persons in Armenia up
to the age of 18. Article 2 of the same act states that children’s rights
in Armenia shall
be determined by the Constitution, by international treaties to
which Armenia is a party, by the act itself and by other laws and regulations of
Armenia. In addition,
article 6 of the Constitution states that international
treaties entered into by Armenia shall come into effect only upon ratification,
that ratified international
treaties shall form an integral part of the
country’s legal system and that, if they establish norms different from
those provided
in Armenia’s own laws, the norms of the treaties shall
prevail. In other words, international treaties ratified by Armenia
have
precedence. The same article of the Constitution stipulates that the Armenian
Constitution is the country’s supreme legal instrument and that its
provisions are self-executing.
- The
Armenian Civil Code, in article 24, paragraph 1, stipulates that citizens shall
be able, through their acts, to acquire and exercise
civil rights, to enter into
civil obligations and to perform such obligations. Civil legal capacity is
fully acquired on the age
of majority, in other words, on attaining the age of
18. All other cases are exceptions covered by special regulations (art. 24,
paras. 2 and 3). Thus, the Code establishes that juveniles aged 16 and over may
be considered to have attained full legal capacity
if they are working under a
contract of employment or are engaged in entrepreneurial activity with the
consent of their parents,
adoptive parents or guardian.
- Juveniles
may be recognized as having full legal capacity (emancipation) by decision of
the tutelage and guardianship authorities,
with the consent of both parents,
adoptive parents or the guardian, or, in the absence of such consent, by a
decision of the court.
Parents, adoptive parents and guardians shall not be
responsible for the obligations of minor children who have been recognized
as
possessing full legal capacity, including for obligations arising from any harm
caused by such children.
- Armenian
legislation does not explicitly state the minimum age at which minor children
have the right, without the consent of their
parents, to receive legal
assistance. This right does, however, flow from the entire corpus of law of
Armenia. Thus, where up to
the age of 14 children have the right to receive
such assistance through their legal representatives (parents, adoptive parents
or
tutors), after that age, under the country’s criminal law, when
children are the subject of legal proceedings, they are entitled
to defence
counsel. In Armenian civil legislation, this issue has been partially addressed
by article 24 of the Civil Code. Since
legal assistance in civil matters is
usually provided for a fee, children are unable independently to receive such
assistance.
- Article
7 of the Children’s Rights Act stipulates that every child shall have the
right to health care and a healthy life.
The relevant State authorities shall
ensure that free medical services are available to children and shall conduct
special State
programmes designed to ensure children’s health care. The
Medical Assistance and Services Act, adopted in April 1996, stipulates
that
persons under the age of 18 or persons who have been officially recognized as
lacking in legal capacity may be informed about
their state of health and also
have the right, with the consent of their lawful representative, to medical
intervention (art. 7).
If such medical intervention cannot be postponed or if
the child’s legal representative is not available, the decision about
such
medical intervention shall be made, in the interests of the patient, by a
medical board or, where that is not possible, by the
doctor (art.
8).
- Under
the Education Act, children remain in general education until the age of 16. In
article 18, paragraph 7, the Act states that basic general education
is
compulsory and that children must remain in basic general education until the
age of 16, unless they have completed the basic
general education course
earlier.
- In
article 198, the Code of Labour Legislation sets the minimum age for employment
at 16. In exceptional cases, however, children
aged 15 may be taken into
employment (Children’s Rights Act, art. 19).
- Minors
(persons under the age of 18) have the same rights as persons of majority age in
their labour relations and, with regard to
job security, working hours, leave
and certain other employment conditions, enjoy certain advantages established by
the country’s
labour legislation (Code of Labour Legislation, art.
199).
- The
employment of persons under the age of 18 in heavy labour or in jobs involving
hazardous or harmful working conditions, or underground,
is prohibited.
- Article
15 of the Marriage and Family Code sets the marriageable age for men at 18 and
for women at 17. To be recognized, marriages
in Armenia must be registered with
the civil registration authorities. In cases where, under law, persons under
the age of 18 are
permitted to marry, such persons acquire full legal capacity
from the moment of entry into marriage. Legal capacity acquired as
a result of
marriage is fully retained even in the event of the divorce of a minor
spouse.
- To
protect the interests of a person below the marriageable age, that
person’s marriage may be declared invalid in legal proceedings
brought by
parents, tutors, guardians, the authorities responsible for tutelage and
guardianship, and also by persons who have contracted
such marriages provided
they have reached the age of 18. In all cases, the tutelage and guardianship
authorities must take part
in the proceedings. When declaring a marriage
invalid, the court may decide to revoke the full legal capacity of a minor
spouse
with effect from the moment the court takes its decision on that
spouse’s legal capacity.
- Armenian
legislation does not stipulate the minimum age of sexual consent, although
article 117 of the country’s Criminal Code
establishes liability for
engaging in de facto marital relations with a person below the marriageable age
or a person who has not
yet attained sexual maturity. Criminal liability is
incurred for sexual relations with persons under the age of 17.
- The
Military Conscription Act, adopted on 16 September 1998, stipulates that youths
aged between 16 and 18 and subject to military
call-up shall be placed on the
military conscripts’ register. Entry in the conscripts’ register is
an obligation for
all males who have reached the age of 16 (art. 5, para.
3, of the Act). Pre-call-up training is conducted in general education schools
and in specialized secondary establishments, pursuant to article 8 of the Act.
Under article 11 of the Act, males aged between 18
and 27 who are considered
sufficiently healthy to serve in peacetime are subject to compulsory military
service. The right to perform
voluntary service is established by article 20,
paragraph 3, of the above Act. Such service may only be performed, however, by
persons
who have already completed their compulsory military service and who are
voluntarily continuing their service, under a relevant agreement.
Women may
also be enlisted in military service on a voluntary basis.
- The
minimum age of criminal liability in Armenia is 16. Under article 10 of the
Criminal Code, persons who, at the moment of commission
of an offence, have
attained the age of 16 may be held criminally liable. Children aged 14-16
committing offences may incur criminal
liability only for murder (arts. 99-103),
the premeditated infliction of bodily harm and damage to health (arts. 105-108
and 109,
part 1), rape (art. 112), assault with intent to rob (art. 88), theft
(art. 86), robbery (art. 87), aggravated extortion (art. 94,
part 3), riotous
conduct and aggravated riotous conduct (art. 222, parts 2 and 3), the deliberate
destruction or damaging of government
or public property or the private property
of citizens, with further serious consequences (art. 96, part 2), the theft of
narcotic
substances (art. 229), the theft of firearms, ammunition or explosives
(art. 232) and the deliberate performance of acts capable
of causing a
train crash (art. 81).
- Armenian
law stipulates that persons who have not reached the age of 16 may, in
exceptional cases, be called as witnesses. In such
cases, these persons are not
warned that it is a criminal offence to give evidence they know to be false or
to refuse to give evidence.
Article 43 of the Code of Civil Procedure and
article 84 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cover aspects of the right to
appear
as witnesses and to give evidence in criminal and civil cases (up to the
age of 14). Article 31 of the Children’s Rights Act
states that
children may not be obliged to testify against themselves, their parents or
close relatives and prohibits the use of
force, threats or other unlawful acts
against children for the purpose of coercing them to give evidence as witnesses
or to confess
their own offences. The questioning of witnesses under the age of
14 - or, should the investigating officer so decide, 16 - must
be conducted in
the presence of the child’s legal representative.
- The
full range of civil rights may be acquired and exercised only on attainment of
the age of majority, namely, 18.
- Children
are given their names with the consent of their parents (Marriage and Family
Code, art. 58). Every child has the right to
a name and a nationality upon
birth (Children’s Rights Act, art. 6).
- Article
21 of the Children’s Rights Act states that every child has the right to
belong to public associations, including voluntary
associations and
organizations for children and young people, and to take part in peaceful
assemblies, while article 25 of the Constitution prohibits their enforced
enlistment in unions and organizations.
- The
Armenian Criminal Code does not establish criminal liability for the consumption
of alcoholic and other controlled beverages.
Underage persons may not be
employed selling alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, nor may they be employed in
the manufacture and
use of such commodities or in the performance of tasks which
might be injurious to the health and physical and mental development
of children
or impede their education. Under the requirements of paragraph 3 of article 178
of the Code of Administrative Offences,
parents or persons
in loco parentis may be fined amounts measuring up to 50 per cent of
the minimum wage if their children aged under
16 are found in public places in a
state of inebriation or consuming alcoholic beverages. Pursuant to the
instructions governing
the operation of the juvenile affairs services of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, the names of underage persons who commit such
offences are registered by the local authorities at their place of residence,
who conduct remedial work with them.
- Paragraph
3 of article 178 of the Code of Administrative Offences stipulates that
parents or other persons causing minors to become
inebriated shall be
liable to fines ranging between 50 and 100 per cent of the minimum wage.
If such offences are committed within
a year of the imposition of an
administrative fine and by a person on whom the minor concerned is officially
dependent, under article
231 of the Criminal Code they shall be punishable by
deprivation of liberty for periods of up to two years or by punitive deduction
of earnings for the same period.
- All
children have the right to know their own parents. Article 12 of the
Children’s Rights Act states that every child has
the right to know his or
her parents and to live together with them. There are no age restrictions to
the provisions of this article.
- There
are no age restrictions on the provision of shelter and housing. Article 13 of
the Children’s Rights Act establishes
that refugees who have lost their
homes and property through acts of war and other conflicts are entitled to
protection of their
rights.
IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- The
Armenian Constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens, without
distinction as to nationality, race, language, religious belief, political or
other
views, social origins, or property or other status (art. 15). Article 16
states that all are equal before the law and are protected
by the law equally
and without discrimination.
- The
Children’s Rights Act recognizes the precedence of international norms and
states that children shall enjoy equal rights,
without distinction as to their
nationality, race, sex, language, religious belief, social origins, property or
other status, education,
place of residence, circumstances of birth, state of
health or other circumstances (art. 4).
- Under
article 30 of the Children’s Rights Act, refugee children enjoy all the
rights of children who are citizens of Armenia.
Aliens and stateless persons
have the same rights to legal personality as Armenian citizens, except where
otherwise stipulated by
law.
- Article
1 of the Disabled Persons (Social Welfare) Act proclaims all the social,
economic and individual rights enshrined in the Declaration
on the Rights of
Disabled Persons, adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations, as well as those established in the country’s
Constitution and other regulatory instruments.
- There
are no statutes, rules, policies or other permitted forms of behaviour in
Armenia in which discrimination against women, all
children or girls is
entertained.
- Article
23 of the Constitution establishes the right of every individual to freedom of
thought, conscience and belief. Any direct or indirect encroachments on
the
rights of citizens to religious belief, their persecution on religious grounds
or their incitement to religious hatred are acts
which incur legal
liability.
- The
country’s Constitution also guarantees the rights of citizens belonging to
ethnic minorities (art. 37). There are no derogations
from the rights of
minorities. Ethnic minorities which live in established communities have been
given additional powers to set
up their own local authorities, in the form of
village councils.
- The
Employment Act guarantees the right of Armenian citizens freely to choose their
employment and to receive social welfare in the
event of their unemployment.
Under article 5 of the Act, all able-bodied persons aged 16 and above who have
applied to the State
employment services for work are deemed to be job seekers
and enjoy the right to receive information about job vacancies, to be given
vocational guidance and to undergo vocational training (art. 7). The Act also
contains provisions on granting the status of unemployed
person, which
guarantees the payment of benefits and grants throughout the period of
vocational training courses and other measures.
- A
draft statute on the social welfare of youngsters aged 16-18 in children’s
homes is currently being developed, with a view
to ensuring the welfare of
children raised in such homes and preparing them for independent life.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- To
uphold the best interests of the child, article 3 of the Children’s Rights
Act makes provision for the creation of appropriate
State agencies which,
working in cooperation with voluntary non-governmental organizations and
individuals, will be responsible for
upholding the rights of children.
- The
task of protecting the best interests of children is performed through the
courts and other relevant authorities with powers of
decision over children, in
such matters as divorce proceedings, the deprivation of parental rights and the
placement of orphans and
abandoned children.
- Armenian
law establishes the right of every child to the living conditions essential for
the child’s full physical, mental and
spiritual development.
Responsibility for ensuring such conditions is primarily borne by the
child’s parents or other legal
representatives. Parental rights may not
be exercised in a manner detrimental to the interests of the child.
- When
considering cases involving children, the courts must seek the opinion of the
children concerned if they are aged 10 and over.
- The
Armenian Marriage and Family Code establishes the institutions of tutelage and
guardianship for the upbringing of children deprived
of parental care, including
children whose parents have died, have been deprived of their parental rights or
have fallen ill. Such
tutelage or guardianship is arranged to protect the
individual rights of children. Tutelage is provided for children up to the age
of 14 and guardianship for those aged between 14 and 18. Local authorities are
responsible for providing tutelage and guardianship.
When tutors or guardians
are being appointed, attention is given to their personal qualities. Persons
under the age of 18, persons
who have been declared legally incompetent or of
limited legal competence by the
- courts,
persons who have been deprived of parental rights, or persons who have
previously adopted children and have failed to comply
fully with their
obligations may not be appointed as tutors or guardians.
- The
adoption of children aged 10 and above may be effected only with their consent.
The authorities responsible for tutelage and
guardianship are required to
ascertain whether or not a child consents to adoption. If a child has been
living in the family of
the adoptive parents prior to the submission of an
application to adopt that child, and if the child considers the parents to be
his or her own parents, the adoption may, on an exceptional basis, proceed
without the child’s consent (Marriage and Family
Code, art. 117).
- With
regard to budgetary allocations earmarked for the development and protection of
children’s rights, we may cite the following
figures: State expenditure
on the health-care system amounted to 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product
(GDP) in 1990, and 1.4 per
cent in 1998 (as compared to an average for the world
as a whole of 3-4 per cent). In the area of health care, State expenditure
per
capita ranged between US$ 5 and US$ 7 (as against US$ 18 in 1993), substantially
below the World Bank-recommended level of US$
12-20 for low-income countries.
As a rule, healthcare costs are met by the patients themselves, either
officially or unofficially.
- Funds
allocated for education are also fairly limited. Responsibility for determining
how funds are spent in schools rests with the
schools themselves and with the
local authorities. A total of 10 per cent of all humanitarian aid in the
country is directed to
children’s social welfare, education and healthcare
programmes.
- The
ministries of health, social welfare, education, culture and sport and internal
affairs all have services directly concerned with
children’s issues; a
number of nongovernmental organizations, particularly those dealing with
women’s affairs, are also
concerned with such problems, but, as yet,
Armenia has no standing national commission on human rights, although the need
to coordinate
children’s problems and find solutions to them at the
national level is more urgent than ever.
- On
20 and 21 November 2000, on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
with support from UNICEF and the participation of
the rapporteur of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, a seminar was held for the national team
responsible for preparing the
report. One initiative arising from the seminar
was the suggestion that a national plan of action on the rights of the child
should
be prepared. On 21 June 2001, the Government of Armenia adopted its
decision No. 558, on the proclamation of 2001 as the Year of
the Child in
Armenia and the elaboration of a national programme for the protection of
children’s rights.
- The
Civil Code contains rules to protect the interests of children in inheritance
matters. On the death of a citizen, the right of
inheritance devolves not only
on the living children, but also on children conceived by, but born after the
death of, the deceased.
Armenian law also establishes the right to a mandatory
portion of the inheritance, pursuant to which minor children and disabled
children always inherit the portion of the inheritance which is their due,
irrespective of circumstances.
- Provision
is made for the status of a refugee child accompanied by the child’s
parents, in the interests of family reunification.
- Children
belonging to ethnic minorities enjoy the same rights as Armenian children and
there is no discrimination against them.
- Article
23, part 2, of the Armenian Criminal Code stipulates that custodial sentences of
more than 10 years may not be handed down
on persons who were aged under 18 at
the time of the commission of the offence in question. Should the court find
that a person
aged under 18 at the time of the commission of an offence which is
not considered to pose any serious social danger may be reformed
without the
application of a criminal penalty, it may impose compulsory reeducation measures
on such an offender, and these do not
constitute a criminal penalty (Criminal
Code, art. 58). In addition, persons sentenced to periods of deprivation of
liberty or to
punitive deduction of earnings for offences committed when they
were under 18 may be released early on parole or have their custodial
sentences
commuted to other forms of punishment (Criminal Code, art. 50). Where
justified, the court, the procurator and, with the
procurator’s consent,
the investigating officer may exempt a juvenile offender from criminal liability
and refer the juvenile’s
case file to the Juvenile Affairs Commission, in
order that compulsory reeducation measures may be applied as appropriate.
- On
3 July 2000, the Government of Armenia adopted its resolution No. 350, ratifying
the procedure for the award and payment of family
benefits and lump-sum benefits
to persons living in poverty.
C. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6)
- The
right to life is recognized and enshrined in the Armenian Constitution and, in
particular, in article 17, which expressly states that everyone has the right to
life. In accordance with this fundamental
principle, the provisions enshrined
in the Constitution, including the right to life, are given legal form by
articles 44 and 45 of the Basic Law, which prohibit any restriction on the
right
to life under any circumstances, such as, for example, a state of war,
emergencies and other eventualities.
- Under
article 22 of the current Criminal Code, the death penalty may not be imposed
on persons under the age of 18 at the time of commission of the offence. In
the new draft criminal code, it is planned to replace
the death penalty by life
imprisonment, which may not be applied against persons who had not reached the
age of 18 at the time of
commission of the offence. Article 5 of the
Children’s Rights Act stipulates that every child has the right to
life.
- Article
10 of the Medical Assistance and Services Act stipulates that every child has
the right to free medical care and services,
in the framework of special State
healthcare programmes.
- Figures
submitted by the information centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs show
that, in 2000, 32 offences against minors were
recorded in Armenia, most of
which were of a sexual nature. In particular, there were 8 cases involving
article 112 of the Criminal
Code (Rape), 16 involving article 114 (Sexual
relations with persons aged under 16 or persons who have still not attained
sexual
maturity) and 8 cases involving article 115 (Sexual abuse of
minors).
Infant mortality
- Armenia’s
infant mortality rates are within the average range and show a downward trend.
Since 1995, the new WHO criteria have
been introduced in Armenia, according to
which a newborn child is considered live-born, irrespective of the child’s
gestational
age, if the following are observed after birth: respiratory effort,
heartbeat, umbilical cord pulsation or movement of voluntary
muscles. Even
though the infant mortality rate has dropped over the past 20 years in Armenia,
its 2000 level (15.6 per cent) was
still nearly twice as high as that in
European countries - 8.2 per 1,000 live births. It meets the target set by WHO
for Eastern
European countries (no more than 20 deaths per 1,000 live births)
and is considerably lower than the average indicator for the former
republics of
the USSR - 24.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Table 1
Infant mortality, 1980-2000 (deaths of
children
aged under 1 per 1,000 live births)
|
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
Total
|
26.2
|
18.5
|
17.9
|
18.5
|
17.1
|
14.7
|
14.2
|
15.5
|
15.4
|
14.7
|
15.4
|
17.4
|
Boys
|
27.7
|
20.5
|
19.0
|
21.2
|
18.8
|
16.8
|
15.7
|
17.3
|
17.2
|
16.4
|
17.2
|
18.6
|
Girls
|
24.5
|
16.1
|
17.0
|
16.5
|
16.6
|
13.2
|
12.6
|
13.6
|
13.4
|
12.8
|
13.4
|
13.6
|
Source: National Statistical Service.
Mortality of children under 5
- As
may be seen from the tables provided, over the past 20 years the death rates
among children aged under 1 and under 5 have dropped
both for girls and for
boys, demonstrating the lack of any discrimination on the basis of sex in
Armenia.
Table 2
Mortality of children aged under 5, 1980-2000
(deaths per 1,000 live births)
|
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
Total
|
37.38
|
23.7
|
22.6
|
24.2
|
24.2
|
21.3
|
19.9
|
19.5
|
18.4
|
19.4
|
19.1
|
Boys
|
39.38
|
26.2
|
24.0
|
26.6
|
24.7
|
22.8
|
21.1
|
21.2
|
19.5
|
21.1
|
21.1
|
Girls
|
35.28
|
21.2
|
21.2
|
24.7
|
23.5
|
19.7
|
18.5
|
17.6
|
17.0
|
17.5
|
17.0
|
Source: National Statistical Service.
- It
may be seen from the table below that, in 2000, 60 per cent of infant deaths
occurred during the neonatal period (0-28 days) and
53.2 per cent during the
early neonatal period (06 days). The perinatal mortality level
(stillbirths plus deaths of infants aged
0-7 days)
is 16.6 per 1,000 births, representing an increase of 24.8 per
cent over the 1995 level. The primary reasons for perinatal
mortality are,
among others, suffocation (half of all cases), congenital defects, respiratory
distress syndrome and haemolytic disease.
Table 3
Infant mortality by age and cause, 1988-2000
|
|
1990
|
1995
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
Infant mortality (0-1 year per 1,000 live births)
|
25.3
|
18.5
|
14.2
|
14.7
|
15.4
|
15.6
|
Perinatal mortality (stillbirths plus deaths at 0-6 days)
|
17.7
|
16.0
|
13.3
|
15.6
|
15.7
|
16.6
|
Mortality rate by age (percentage of total infant deaths)
|
Early neonatal period (%)
|
36.8
|
38.2
|
45.8
|
49.9
|
49.3
|
53.2
|
Full neonatal period
|
45.2
|
49.0
|
52.9
|
59.7
|
58.2
|
60.0
|
Post-neonatal period
|
54.8
|
51.0
|
47.1
|
40.3
|
41.8
|
40.0
|
Mortality rate by cause (per 1,000 live births)
|
Respiratory disorders
|
6.0
|
4.8
|
3.2
|
2.7
|
3.3
|
2.9
|
Intestinal infections
|
2.6
|
2.2
|
1.7
|
1.3
|
1.1
|
0.8
|
Perinatal diseases
|
10.2
|
6.1
|
5.7
|
6.9
|
6.3
|
6.2
|
Congenital anomalies
|
2.5
|
2.5
|
2.4
|
2.5
|
3.4
|
3.7
|
Breakdown of causes of mortality (in percentages)
|
Perinatal diseases
|
40.3
|
32.8
|
38.4
|
47.6
|
40.4
|
40.3
|
Respiratory tract disorders
|
24.1
|
25.7
|
21.8
|
17.1
|
21.0
|
18.7
|
Intestinal infections
|
10.3
|
11.9
|
11.6
|
7.4
|
7.0
|
5.2
|
Congenital anomalies
|
9.9
|
13.9
|
16.3
|
18.1
|
21.5
|
24.4
|
Other causes
|
15.4
|
15.7
|
11.9
|
9.8
|
10.0
|
11.4
|
Source: National Statistical Service, Ministry of Health.
- Over
the past 10 years, infant mortality from diarrhoeal diseases has dropped by 68
per cent and from respiratory infections by 39
per cent. Overall, in 2000, by
comparison with 1990, infant mortality dropped by almost 16 per cent. Over the
past two years, however,
there has been some increase in infant mortality rates,
apparently due to the deterioration in people’s social and economic
situation, and the increasing scarcity of material, technical and human
resources in the health system.
- A
number of programmes are under way in Armenia to reduce infant mortality and to
prevent diseases. These include programmes to combat
acute diarrhoeal diseases
and acute respiratory infections, to improve children’s diets from birth
to the age of 5, and to
promote breastfeeding, as well as preventive vaccination
programmes designed to strengthen the system of primary medical care provided
by
polyclinics.
D. Right to express one’s views (art. 12)
- In
the current Armenian legal system, the right of children to express their
opinion freely is enshrined in the following instruments:
the Armenian
Constitution, the Criminal Code, the Marriage and Family Code, the
Children’s Rights Act, and others.
- The
provisions of article 12 of the Convention on the freedom of opinion of children
are enshrined in article 24 of the Armenian Constitution, which states that
everyone has the right to assert his or her own opinion and that people may not
be coerced into revoking or changing
their opinions.
- Article
10 of the Children’s Rights Act stipulates that the views, convictions and
opinions of children are to be given due
consideration in accordance with their
age and maturity. The right of children to express their views may be
restricted only by
law, where this is necessary to protect the fundamental
rights and freedoms of other persons, State and public security, or public
order
(art. 10).
- Article
38 of the Constitution states that every person has the right to defend his or
her rights and freedoms by any means not prohibited under law. Every person
has
the right to defend his or her rights and freedoms through legal process.
- Once
children attain the age of 10, there are many official procedures in which their
opinions have to be taken into consideration.
When considering cases involving
a child aged 10 and over, a court is obliged to seek that child’s opinion.
In cases where
people are changing their names, where parental rights are being
restored, or in adoption matters, the opinion of the child concerned
is of
decisive importance once the child has reached the age of 10.
- Article
43 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the rights and legitimate
interests of juveniles or of persons lacking
legal capacity or of limited legal
capacity shall be defended in the courts by their parents or adoptive parents,
tutors, or guardians,
who shall provide proof of such status to the court.
- Legal
proceedings involving minors are governed by the general rules of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. Chapter 50 of the Code also
stipulates special features of
legal proceedings applicable to cases involving minors.
- As
yet, Armenia has no special arrangements for recording the public views of
children or for conducting surveys on issues of direct
relevance to them.
- There
is as yet no systematic complaints procedure, including in families and
residential homes, where ill-treatment of children may
also be practised
covertly.
- In
the early 1990s, a hotline was in operation, giving children the chance to
express their views and to convey their concerns and
fears, but for reasons of
lack of funding this hotline is no longer in operation.
- Parents
have a decisive role to play in developing the capacity of children to
participate in public life, since the first stages
in developing such capacities
must, of necessity, take place in the home. Very little information is
available about the role played
by children in decisionmaking in the
family.
- The
current laws and procedures on adoption in Armenia do not contain any provisions
enabling children to take part in hearings which
are of direct relevance to
them.
- Children
generally do not avail themselves of their right to lodge complaints about being
excluded from school. It is rare that children
have the opportunity to express
their views about the way their schools are run.
- As
yet, there are no arrangements to control the involvement of children in the
media.
V. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality (art. 7)
- The
civil registration authorities keep records of the status of all citizens,
taking into consideration both State and public interests,
with a view to
protecting the personal and property rights of citizens. Article 180 of the
Marriage and Family Code stipulates that
births must be registered at civil
registration offices. Registrations of birth are made at the office in the
place where the child
was born, or where one or both of the parents reside.
With the consent of the parents, the civil registration authorities may arrange
a ceremony to accompany the registration of a birth (art. 188).
- Articles
189-193 of the Code cover the declaration of the birth of the child, the time
limits for making such declarations and the
procedures for registering the
birth, registering a father who has died before the birth of the child and
registering the birth of
children born after the divorce of parents or after a
marriage has been declared invalid.
- The
procedure for the registration of births is set out in detailed instructions,
approved by the Minister of Justice in decree No.
1270 of 9 August 1999.
- In
particular, when registering a birth, the following principles are to be
applied, to ensure that the relevant law is correctly
observed and that the
practice followed by registration offices in different parts of the country is
uniform:
(a) All births must be registered in a local civil
registration office;
(b) Applications to register a birth must be submitted within three months
of the date of birth of the child and, in the event of
a stillbirth, within
three days of the birth. Failure to submit the application within the specified
period may not serve as a reason
for refusing registration;
(c) The birth of a child which is an Armenian citizen but which resides
abroad shall be made in a diplomatic mission or consular
office of the Republic
of Armenia in the country concerned;
(d) Applications to register the birth of a child shall be made, in writing
or orally, by one or both of the parents, and, in the
event of their illness,
death or inability to submit an application for any other reason, by relatives,
neighbours, the authorities
of the medical
establishment where the mother was delivered of the child or by other
persons. When registering a birth, regardless of who is making
the
registration, the following documents must be submitted:
(i) Certificate of the birth issued by the medical establishment;
(ii) Parents’ identity papers;
(iii) Documents substantiating registration details of the father;
(iv) Identity document of the person submitting the
application.
- Under
current legislation, civil registration procedures (including the registration
of births) may be made only on the basis of a
national passport, a requirement
which has caused delays in registration, as many women do not have national
passports and discharge
themselves from the maternity hospitals without
registering their details. This has led to a situation where births sometimes
go
unregistered and the infant mortality figures are therefore inaccurate. The
Ministry of Health has issued instructions to all gynaecological
units,
recommending that they counsel expectant mothers about the need to exchange
their internal identity papers for national passports
before their expected date
of delivery.
- When
one or both of the parents are under the marriageable age, registration of the
birth still follows the standard procedure.
- Under
the provisions of the Marriage and Family Code, every child has the right to a
first name, patronymic and surname. Article
58 of the Code stipulates that
children are given their first names with the consent of their parents and that
their patronymics
are based on their fathers’ first names or, in cases
provided for by the Code, on the first name of a person designated by
the
father. The child’s surname is determined by the parents’ surname.
If the parents have different surnames, the
child shall be given the surname of
the father or the mother, by consent of the parents, and, in the absence of such
consent, on
the instructions of the tutelage and guardianship authorities (art.
59).
- Article
9 of the Citizenship Act, adopted in November 1995, establishes the following
grounds for the acquisition of Armenian citizenship:
- (a) Recognition
of citizenship;
(b) Citizenship by birth;
(c) Citizenship by naturalization;
(d) Restored citizenship;
(e) Group acquisition of citizenship;
(f) Grounds established by the international treaties to which Armenia is a
party;
(g) Other grounds stipulated by the Citizenship Act.
The Act provides for the granting of citizenship to children on other grounds
as well; thus, a child whose parents are Armenian citizens
is entitled to
Armenian citizenship regardless of where the child was born. If, at the moment
of birth of the child, one of the
parents is an Armenian citizen and the other
unknown or stateless, the child is entitled to Armenian citizenship.
- If,
at the moment of birth, one of the parents is an Armenian citizen and the other
an alien, the question of the child’s citizenship
shall be decided by the
parents by written agreement. In the absence of such agreement, the child shall
be entitled to Armenian
citizenship if born in Armenia, or if failure to take
Armenian citizenship would result in the child becoming stateless, or if the
parents are permanently resident in Armenia (Citizenship Act, art. 12).
- Children
up to the age of 14 are entitled to Armenian citizenship if their parents have
acquired Armenian citizenship. Children up
to the age of 14 are also entitled
to Armenian citizenship with their parents’ consent when one parent
acquires Armenian citizenship
and the other remains an alien or stateless, or if
the child is resident in Armenia and the consent of the parent holding Armenian
citizenship has been obtained (art. 16).
- Children
up to the age of 14 whose parents have lost their Armenian citizenship also lose
their Armenian citizenship upon acquiring
the citizenship of another State.
- Should
one parent lose his or her Armenian citizenship and the other remain an Armenian
citizen, their child, if aged 14 or over,
will also forfeit his or her Armenian
citizenship if both parents consent or if the child is resident abroad, and the
parent who
has remained an Armenian citizen consents (art. 17).
- A
child adopted by an Armenian citizen is also entitled to Armenian citizenship.
If one of the adopting parents is stateless and
the other a citizen of Armenia,
their child shall be entitled to Armenian citizenship.
- The
law also contains provisions covering the citizenship of adopted children when
one parent is an alien and the other an Armenian
citizen. In such cases, the
child shall become an Armenian citizen if:
(a) The adopting parents
consent thereto;
(b) The child is resident in Armenia and has the consent of the adopting
parent who is an Armenian citizen;
(c) The child is stateless or if, pursuant to article 18 of the Act, failure
to acquire Armenian citizenship would render the child
stateless.
- If
the child is an Armenian citizen and the adoptive parents are both aliens or one
an Armenian citizen and the other an alien, the
child shall retain Armenian
citizenship. In such cases the child may change citizenship only on application
by the adoptive parents.
- A
child who is an Armenian citizen shall retain Armenian citizenship if adopted by
stateless persons or if one of the adoptive parents
is stateless and the other
an Armenian citizen (art. 19).
- Children
of unknown parentage living in Armenia shall be considered to be Armenian
citizens. In the event that one of the parents
or the person designated as
tutor to the child is located, the child’s citizenship may be changed in
accordance with the provisions
of the Act (art. 20).
- Children
who are Armenian citizens and in respect of whom Armenian citizens have been
appointed as tutors or guardians shall retain
their Armenian citizenship
irrespective of the circumstances under which their parents lost their Armenian
citizenship. In such
cases children may renounce their Armenian citizenship
only on application by their parents, provided these parents have not been
deprived of their parental rights (art. 21).
- In
the event that parents change their citizenship, the citizenship of any children
aged between 14 and 18 may be changed in accordance
with the legal
procedure prescribed under the Act, provided the children themselves give
their consent thereto (art. 22).
- Article
23 of the Refugees Act, adopted in 1999, establishes the right of refugees to
obtain Armenian citizenship in accordance with
the procedure established by the
Citizenship Act. The relevant government authorities shall render
assistance, to the extent possible,
to refugees wishing to acquire Armenian
citizenship.
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- Article
20 of the Armenian Constitution stipulates that all persons have the right to
protect their private and family life from unlawful interference, and to protect
their
honour and reputation from attacks. The unlawful collection, storage, use
and dissemination of information about people’s private
and family lives
are prohibited. The Family Code and the Criminal Code stipulate penalties for
the substitution of children, illegal
adoption and breaching the confidentiality
of adoption.
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- Article
24 of the Armenian Constitution establishes the right of all persons to assert
their opinion and to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas through
any
information channel, without restriction by State frontiers. The only
restrictions on this right derive from articles 44 and 45 of
the
Constitution, which state that fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms
may be restricted only by law, where this is necessary to protect
State and
public security, public order, public health and morality or the rights,
freedoms, honour and reputation of other persons.
Specific human and civil
rights and freedoms may be temporarily restricted in a manner prescribed by law
during a state of war.
- Article
10 of the Children’s Rights Act stipulates that the views, convictions and
opinions of children should be given due
consideration in accordance with their
age and maturity.
- Freedom
of speech is closely related to freedom of the press and other media. A
prominent role in upholding the freedom of speech
in Armenia is played by the
country’s Press and Media Act. This Act stipulates that Armenian
citizens have the right to use
the press and other media to express their views
and opinions on any aspect of public life. The Act also stipulates that the
press
and other media are independent and may not be subject to censorship. The
best guarantee of the freedom of speech is furnished by
the freedom of access to
information and the existence in the country of media outlets representing a
diversity of views. There
are more than 1,110 registered media outlets in
Armenia. The table below sets out the children’s media outlets currently
existing
in Armenia.
- Children
are actively involved in the publication of certain newspapers and the
preparation of radio broadcasts. This activity is
largely confined, however, to
children living in the major cities. Since Armenia has no existing mechanism
for surveying the opinion
of television viewers, it is impossible to measure the
extent to which children watch television programmes, listen to the radio
or
read newspapers and magazines.
- Over
the past three years Armenia has observed the international media days
celebrated in more than 170 countries. On these days,
media attention is focused
on children.
Table 4
Children’s media outlets in Armenia
|
Name
|
State/private
|
Extent of children’s involvement
|
Newspaper
|
Kanch
|
State
|
For children and with their involvement
|
Newspaper
|
16
|
State
|
For teenagers and with their involvement
|
Newspaper
|
Partez
|
Private
|
For children
|
Magazine
|
Tsitsernak
|
State
|
For children
|
Magazine
|
Gortsnker
|
Eurasia Foundation
|
For children
|
Magazine
|
Artsvik
|
Private
|
With children’s involvement
|
Magazine
|
Akhbyur
|
State
|
With children’s involvement
|
Radio programme
|
“Bedtime for little ones”
|
State
|
For children
|
Radio programme
|
“Learning our ABC”
|
State
|
With children’s involvement
|
Radio programme
|
“Youngsters on air”
|
State
|
For children
|
Radio programme
|
“Little sunshine”
|
State
|
With children’s involvement
|
Radio programme
|
“Music book”
|
State
|
For children
|
Monthly newspaper
|
Eritsuk
|
Areg publishing house
|
With children’s involvement
|
Television programme
|
“Open sesame!”
|
State
|
For children
|
Television programme
|
“Voskeporik” (“Golden belly”)
|
State
|
For children and with their involvement
|
Children’s news agency Areg
- The
children’s news agency Areg was founded in November 1997 with the aim of
involving Armenian children in the process of publishing
newspapers and
magazines and setting up children’s radio and television programmes. The
agency runs courses for young journalists
in the towns of Erevan, Martuni and
Eghegnadzor, is working on the establishment of a network of its own
correspondents, and is engaged
in other efforts. With the collaboration of its
young journalists, Areg also broadcasts a weekly 50-minute radio programme and a
half-hour television programme on the national network and publishes the
magazines Eritsuk and 16. Areg has its own correspondents in the
towns of Gyumri, Abovian, Charentsavan, Martuni and Stepanakert, who take turns
to provide
information about children living there.
Children’s television channel
“Hayrenik”
- In
2001, the country’s first children’s television channel,
“Hayrenik” (“Motherland”), was launched
by the
Vardanyans, a leading business family. Besides showing cartoons and
children’s films, the channel also broadcasts eight
special programmes,
one featuring the clown Verkatsik and the others on such topics as sport,
kindergarten activities, life in Armenia,
Armenian history, gifted children and
Armenian folktales. Children were involved in setting up the studios and
participate in making
the programmes. No scenes of cruelty or violence are
shown on any of the programmes, nor does the channel carry any
advertising.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- In
2001, the Armenian people celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of their adoption
of Christianity. The Armenian Apostolic Church
fully respects all the other
religious organizations and communities operating in Armenia, which enjoy legal
protection.
- Article
23 of the Constitution proclaims the right of all people to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. The Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations
Act, passed on 17 July 1991, stipulates that all citizens shall be free to
determine their own attitude to religion, and have the
right to profess any
religion and to perform religious rites alone or together with other
citizens.
- The
following 14 religious organizations are registered in
Armenia:
(a) Armenian Apostolic Church;
(b) Russian Orthodox Church;
(c) Armenian Catholic Church;
(d) Yezidi religious community;
(e) Jewish community;
(f) Pagan community;
(g) Baha’i community;
(h) Mormons;
(i) Baptists;
(j) Evangelicals;
(k) Pentecostalists;
(l) Seventh-Day Adventists;
(m) Charismatics;
(n) New Apostolic Church.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Krishna Consciousness communities are operating
without registration.
- Energetic
activity by the various religious communities in a situation where freedom of
religious belief is guaranteed has helped
stimulate their growth, with
recruitment of many youngsters. Campaigns to recruit children to these churches
are being conducted
against a background of severe financial and economic
hardship, which is widely exploited by proselytisers. In many instances, the
activities of these communities pose a serious threat to the moral development
and health of children, causing them to become alienated
from their families and
from society.
- Over
the last few years there have been increasingly frequent cases of children
falling seriously ill and even dying because their
parents have refused, on
religious grounds, to seek medical assistance. Over the period 1998-2001, there
were five suicides and
two attempted suicides which were religiously
motivated.
- The
right of children to freedom of conscience, thought and religion is expressly
established by the Children’s Rights Act.
The Act also stipulates that
the right to freedom of expression and religious belief may be restricted only
by law, where this is
necessary to protect State or public security, public
order, the health and moral well-being of the child or the fundamental rights
and freedoms of other persons.
E. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- The
Voluntary Associations Act, adopted on 1 November 1996, sets out rules governing
exercise of the constitutional human right of free association. In particular,
it regulates matters relating to the establishment of voluntary associations and
their affiliation, their registration with the State
and their reorganization,
discontinuance of their activities and their disbanding, and sets forth the
rights and obligations of such
associations. According to the Act, a voluntary
association may be established by a decision of a constituent meeting called on
the initiative of at least three individuals. A voluntary association must be
registered with the Ministry of Justice and acquires
the status of a legal
entity from the moment of such registration.
- Articles
25 and 26 of the Constitution establish the right of every person to create and
to join associations, including trade unions.
- The
human and civil rights described above may be restricted only by law if this is
necessary to protect State and public security,
public order, the health and
well-being of society or the rights, freedoms, honour and reputation of others
(Constitution, art. 44).
- Article
21 of the Children’s Rights Act proclaims these rights for all children.
As established in the Voluntary Associations Act of 1 November 1996, a voluntary
association shall be considered to be a children’s and young
people’s association if
its statutes make provision for membership by
children and if it has as its purpose the conduct of activities for children
(art.
4). While membership of such associations is open to children aged 10 and
above, their founders, directors and members of their
governing bodies must be
aged 18 and above (art. 6). Political parties are banned from involvement in
children’s and young
people’s voluntary associations.
- There
are a number of children’s and young people’s non-governmental
organizations operating in Armenia which have as
their primary activity
protecting the most vulnerable categories of children, namely, orphans, refugee
children, disabled children
and children working and living on the
street.
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- The
provisions of the Convention on the right to privacy are reflected in articles
20, 21 and 38 of the Armenian Constitution, which, among other things, establish
the right of all individuals to protection of their privacy and family from
unlawful interference
and their honour and reputation from all attacks. The
Constitution prohibits the unlawful gathering, storage, use and dissemination of
information about the private and family lives of individuals.
All people have
the right to confidentiality in their correspondence, telephone conversations
and postal, telegraphic and other
forms of communication, which may be
restricted only by court order.
- The
Armenian Constitution also proclaims the right of all citizens to the
inviolability of their homes. No one may enter a person’s home against
that
person’s will, except in cases prescribed by law. A person’s
home may be searched only by court order and in accordance
with the prescribed
legal procedure.
- In
addition, all persons have the right to defend their rights and freedoms by all
means not prohibited by law. All persons are entitled
to have recourse to the
law and the courts to defend their rights and freedoms established by the
Constitution and by law.
- Article
135 of the Criminal Code provides that unlawful search, unlawful eviction and
other acts which breach the inviolability of
the home shall be punished by
deprivation of liberty for periods of up to one year or by punitive deduction of
earnings for the same
period, or by dismissal of the culprits from their posts.
Article 136 provides that violation of the confidentiality of citizens’
correspondence and telephone and telegraphic communications shall be punished by
punitive deduction of earnings for periods of up
to six months.
- Under
article 9 of the Children’s Rights Act, every child has the right to be
protected from any form of violence, including
physical, mental and other forms.
All persons, including parents and legal representatives, are prohibited from
subjecting children
to violence or degrading treatment or punishment. Under the
same article, anyone infringing the rights and legitimate interests
of children
shall be liable to the penalties provided for under Armenian law.
- The
State and its relevant organs shall be responsible for protecting children from
any violence, exploitation, involvement in criminal
activity, including the use
of narcotics, involvement in their production and trade, begging, prostitution,
gambling and other acts
which flout their rights and legitimate
interests.
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- The
State encourages the production and screening of films, video recordings and
television programmes and the publication of newspapers,
magazines and books for
children, and endeavours to ensure that these are readily available to help
promote the development of children’s
creative talents (Children’s
Rights Act, art. 18).
- The
public dissemination of information and literature which is conducive to the
formation of the cult of violence or cruelty, degrades
human dignity, negatively
influences children or encourages criminal behaviour shall be prosecuted under
law.
H. Right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
- Article
19 of the Constitution stipulates that no person may be subjected to torture,
cruel or degrading treatment or punishment or be made to undergo medical or
scientific experiments without his or her consent.
- On
23 September 1993, Armenia became a party to the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, the provisions of
which, under article 6 of the Constitution, form an integral part of Armenian
law, are legally binding and must be applied by all the country’s law
enforcement agencies.
- The
State attaches particular significance to the problem of criminality among
juveniles. The young offenders’ reformatory
in the town of Abovian, which
is run by the corrective labour service of the Armenian Ministry of Internal
Affairs, is the country’s
only custodial establishment exclusively for
convicted juveniles, in which they are held separately from adults. The
reformatory
has a remand centre in which juveniles from all parts of the country
are held while undergoing investigation and until their sentences
are handed
down. All the buildings and facilities in the reformatory are soundly
constructed and designed to accommodate up to 500
convicted juveniles.
- When
juveniles are detained or taken into custody, their parents or legal
representatives are informed immediately. It is prohibited
to keep juveniles in
custody together with adults.
- In
cases stipulated under Armenian law, while initial inquiry and pre-trial
investigations are being conducted and during the trials
themselves, not only
the lawyer but also a psychologist and educational specialist must be present.
- Armenian
law stipulates that persons who have not reached the age of 16 may, in
exceptional cases, be summoned as witnesses. In such
cases, these persons are
not warned that it is a criminal offence to give evidence they know to be false
or to refuse to give evidence.
- Recourse
to force, threats or other unlawful actions for the purpose of obtaining
testimony and confessions is prohibited. Juveniles
may not be obliged to give
evidence against their parents and close relatives.
VI. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental guidance (art. 5)
- At
present, State policy relating to the family is conducted in accordance with the
following:
(a) The Constitution;
(b) The Marriage and Family Code;
(c) The Civil Code;
(d) The Presidential decree of 29 March 1996 on protection of the mother and
child;
(e) Government decisions;
(f) International agreements to which Armenia is a party;
(g) The State Pensions Act, which sets out legal, economic and organizational
arrangements governing State pensions.
- According
to data supplied by the National Statistical Service, there are 874,812 families
in Armenia.
- The
legislation stipulates that every child has the right to know his or her parents
and to live with them, except where the law forbids
it in the child’s own
interests. Parental rights arise from the moment of the child’s birth and
continue until the child
reaches the age of 18. The two parents have equal
rights in respect of their children. Parental rights cannot be exercised at the
expense of the child’s interests.
- Protection
of the child’s rights and legitimate interests is a fundamental duty of
the parents or other legal representatives.
If a child violates the law, the
parents or other legal representatives are held responsible in accordance with
the procedure established
by law (Children’s Rights Act, art. 14).
- The
rights and duties of parents and guardians in raising children are defined in
accordance with articles 9 and 14 of the Marriage
and Family Code and article 38
of the Civil Code. Parents have an obligation to raise their children and bear
responsibility for
their physical development and their education. Parents are
the legal representatives of their minor children before all bodies,
including
judicial bodies, and they may act in defence of their children’s rights
and interests without any special authorization.
- Every
child has the right to education and the right to select a place of study with
the consent of his or her parents or of any other
legal representative
(Children’s Rights Act, art. 11).
- State
policy is designed to protect the interests of the family and a number of
special measures have been developed to ensure the
protection of families in
which the parents are divorced and families which have children born out of
wedlock or adopted children.
B. Parental responsibility (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2)
- Under
Armenian legislation, fathers and mothers have equal rights and obligations in
respect of their children, including after divorce
(Marriage and Family Code).
All matters relating to the upbringing of the children are decided by the
parents by joint agreement.
- Where
there is no agreement between the parents, the contentious issues are resolved
by the authorities responsible for tutelage and
guardianship with the
participation of the parents, or, where the law so stipulates, by the
courts.
- If,
following divorce or for other reasons, the parents live separately, they must
agree on where their minor children are to live.
Where there is no agreement
between the parents, the dispute is resolved by the courts in the light of the
children’s interests.
A parent who lives separately from his or her child
has the right to contact with the child and the obligation to contribute to
his
or her upbringing.
- Where
it is impossible to arrange for a child who has been deprived of parental care
to be raised and cared for in another family,
the State and its relevant organs
place the child in a children’s home or boarding school. Conditions close
to those of a
family are created in such institutions. The administrations of
these institutions and the local authorities protect the rights
and legitimate
interests of children who have no parents, and provide them with accommodation,
social security and work.
- In
the case of children who are fully supported by the State while in
children’s institutions, the authorities responsible for
tutelage and
guardianship or the institutions themselves are entitled to apply to the courts
to order the parents to contribute to
the maintenance of their children. In
such cases, funds for the maintenance of the children are collected from each
parent and passed
to the institution in which the child is located. Depending
on the circumstances of the parents, the court may relieve them fully
or in part
of the obligation to pay these contributions (Marriage and Family Code, art.
83).
- Children
may be sent to be raised in institutions by decision of a local authority or by
order of a court.
- Children
who live in special child-raising or medical institutions are entitled to be
treated with respect, to receive health care
and appropriate education and
vocational training, and to meet and correspond with their parents and other
legal representatives.
The function of the child-raising institutions is to
reform and re-educate the child (Children’s Rights Act, art. 32).
- By
decision No. 584 of 18 November 1992, the Government approved a procedure for
the payment of State social security allowances from
the State Social Insurance
Fund. The following allowances are payable:
Allowance for
temporary inability to work;
Pregnancy and confinement allowance;
Allowance for care for a sick family member;
One-off allowance granted when a child is born.
Only working women
are entitled to receive the pregnancy and confinement allowance. The one-off
allowance is granted to all women,
whether or not they are working or
studying.
- For
the purpose of improving the living conditions of orphan children and children
deprived of parental care, and ensuring their full
development, a draft set of
“Standard regulations governing children’s homes” is being
prepared in the Ministry
of Social Welfare. The aim is to make the living
conditions of children in the care of the State as similar as possible to those
of a family, and to create training and production workshops and agricultural
complexes and organize computer classes to provide
vocational guidance and
training for the children living in such homes.
- The
problems of minor children who are in State care are handled by three
ministries, which run general and special children’s
institutions:
(a) The Ministry of Social Welfare;
(b) The Ministry of Education and Science;
(c) The Ministry of Internal Affairs.
- In
April 2001, a total of 592 children were being raised in the Ministry of Social
Welfare’s children’s homes, including
280 disabled children; a
significant proportion of the residents are de facto orphans. The
activities of the homes are directed
towards the physical, psychological and
spiritual development of the children, the shaping of their personalities in the
difficult
circumstances in which they find themselves, and the imparting of
vocational skills. The process of socialization of the children
and their
preparation to live self-sufficient lives is being consistently improved. The
staffing of the institutions is in line
with established requirements. The
residents of the children’s homes study in neighbouring urban general
schools, and this
averts any possible isolation from society and helps to
integrate them into their age group. They include members of ethnic minorities
- Russian, Yezdis and others.
- In
accordance with orders and regulations issued by the Juvenile Affairs Department
in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, parents who
are drug addicts or drunkards,
who have abandoned their children, or whose behaviour exerts a harmful influence
on their children,
are placed on a register, and the staff of the services
concerned engage in remedial activities with them as the law provides. If
such
activities are unsuccessful, a report is drawn up and presented to a judge and
to the Juvenile Affairs Commission for action.
C. Separation from parents (art. 9)
- In
Armenia respect for the rights of children who are separated from one or both
parents is guaranteed by various laws - first and
foremost the Children’s
Rights Act, article 12 of which
- stipulates
that every child shall have the right to be recognized by his or her parents and
to live with them, except in cases specified
in the law where a court rules that
the separation of the child from his or her parent or parents is necessary in
the interests of
the child.
- The
State and its relevant organs work towards the reunification of the family.
Article 15 of the Act emphasizes that a child who
is not living together with
his or her parent or parents has the right to maintain regular personal
relations and direct contact
with that parent or parents, except in cases
referred to in the Marriage and Family Code. Article 30 of the Act stipulates
that
the State and its relevant organs shall take steps to trace the parent or
parents of a child.
- One
or both parents may be deprived of their parental rights if it is established
that
they are failing to fulfil their child-raising obligations, misusing
their parental rights, exerting
a harmful influence on the children or
abusing them or are chronic alcoholics or drug
addicts. Parents may be
deprived of their rights only by means of a judicial procedure. Parents
deprived of their rights are not
released from their obligation to care for and
maintain their children.
- Parental
rights may be restored only by means of a judicial procedure initiated at the
request of the parties concerned, where it
is established that the behaviour of
the parents has changed, that they can raise the children, and that restitution
is in the interests
of the children.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
- The
right to family reunification is laid down in the Constitution, which stipulates
that every citizen has the right to travel outside Armenia and to return to
Armenia, and that every citizen within
Armenia has the right to move around
freely and to choose his or her place of residence.
- In
addition, under article 28 of the Children’s Rights Act, the State must
provide immediate assistance free of charge to children
who find themselves in
an emergency situation by taking steps to transfer them from dangerous areas,
reunite them with their families
and provide them with the necessary medical
assistance and services.
- Lastly,
article 15 of the Act stipulates that a child who is not living together with
his or her parent or parents has the right to
maintain regular personal
relations and direct contact with that parent or parents.
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- The
Children’s Rights Act stipulates that the security of children in Armenia
is guaranteed. The unlawful transfer of children,
whether within the country or
to other States, abduction of or trafficking in children are offences under
Armenian legislation.
Specifically, under article 130 of the Criminal Code it
is an offence punishable by a custodial sentence of between 5 and 12 years
for
an individual to abduct a minor or otherwise unlawfully deprive a minor of his
or her freedom.
- According
to data supplied by the Information Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
no cases were recorded in which children
were sold, resold, abducted or
unlawfully taken out of the country in the year 2000.
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
- Under
the Marriage and Family Code, parents have an obligation to protect the rights
and interests of their under-age children. Parents
have an obligation to
maintain their under-age children and to assist their adult children when they
are in need and unable to work.
Maintenance payments are collected from them
for their under-age children.
- Persistent
refusal by parents to pay court-ordered maintenance payments for their children,
and refusal by parents to support under-age
children who are dependent on them,
are criminal offences (Criminal Code, art. 124).
- Section
3, “Family”, chapter 10, article 78, lays down that where
maintenance payments for under-age children are concerned,
a quarter of the
parents’ income is collected for one child, a third for two children, and
half for three children or over.
In addition, the second part (1992) lays down
that, in the case of parents receiving an unemployment allowance, a quarter of
the
allowance is collected for one child, a third for two children, and half for
three children or over, but not less than 20 per cent
of the unemployment
allowance for each child. In individual cases the court has the right to lower
the amount of the payments.
- Armenia
has signed and ratified the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement
on the granting of social allowances to families
with children, and on legal
guarantees for citizens in relation to compensation and maintenance
payments.
G. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
- Under
current legislation, children without families are protected in accordance with
the provisions of the Civil Code and the Marriage
and Family Code.
- According
to data for the beginning of 2001 from the Social Services Administration in the
Ministry of Social Welfare:
20,806 families contain children who
have lost one parent;
29,968 children in families have lost one parent;
866 families contain children who have lost both parents.
- A
causal relationship may be observed between the rising numbers of de facto
orphans and the distortion of social values in Armenia
resulting from the
protracted social and economic crisis.
- Analysis
of the most acute problems affecting the viability of the family and family
policy, together with efforts to address the
problems and take practical steps
for the social protection and strengthening of families containing under-age
children, will make
it possible to curb the rise in the number of children in
institutions and help to eradicate this social scourge and return children
to
their families.
- During
the first half of 1999, the Ministry of Social Welfare, with the help of local
authorities, transferred nine children who had
been deprived of parental care
and were living in children’s homes run by the Ministry of Social Welfare
to foster families.
This was done under an agreement signed by the Ministry
with the municipality of Créteil in France, under which the latter
undertook to fund the care and upbringing of children in foster families until
they reach adulthood.
- Since
1999, as a result of efforts accomplished so far, children have been living and
growing up in foster families where they enjoy
an environment conducive to their
normal physical, spiritual and intellectual development and their education.
They are surrounded
by the love and care of all the members of the foster
family. Specialists from the administration systematically consult the parents
on matters related to the adaptation of the children to life in the foster
families, their interaction with all the members of the
new family, and their
health and performance, and periodic visits to the foster families are carried
out.
H. Adoption (art. 21)
- Article
24 of the Children’s Rights Act lays down the right of children deprived
of parental care to protection, guardianship,
upbringing and assistance from the
State and its relevant organs, which must arrange for the care and raising of
such children through
adoption or placement in appropriate children’s
establishments. Factors taken into account when selecting the form of care
are
the need for continuity in the child’s upbringing, his or her mother
tongue, age, sex, and so on. The procedure for adoption
is set out in Armenian
legislation.
- Adoption
issues are regulated by the Marriage and Family Code (chap. 13,
arts. 110138), the Civil Code, government decisions, international
treaties
and other legal instruments. In addition, in 2000 the Government approved a set
of instruments regulating the processes
of adoption, tutelage and guardianship,
drawn up by the Ministry of Social Welfare, as follows:
(a) A
decision approving the adoption procedure, under which, since
September 2000, the Ministry of Social Welfare has been maintaining
a
central register of children who are awaiting adoption or have already been
adopted, as well as prospective adoptive parents.
The decision also defines the
conditions in which a child can be adopted, and draws up a list of documents
required for the adoption
procedure;
(b) A decision approving the regulations governing the Commission on
Adoption Issues and its composition, as well as the standard
regulations
governing provincial commissions, which relate to the activities of the national
and provincial adoption commissions;
(c) A decision approving a set of instructions and guidelines for the
application of the adoption procedure. The instructions and
guidelines specify
the bodies whose duty it is to process adoption documents - the national and
provincial commissions, maternity
hospitals, medical institutions providing
preventive care, the authorities responsible for tutelage and guardianship and
the Ministry
of Internal Affairs;
(d) A decision approving the regulations governing the authorities
responsible for tutelage and guardianship, under which those authorities,
which
possess full information concerning minors who have been deprived of parental
care, assist tutors in raising children and organizing
their leisure, not only
protecting the rights of tutors and guardians but also monitoring fulfilment of
the commitments they have
entered into. The government decision vests these
powers in the Ministry of Social Welfare at the national level, and in
provincial
leaders at the local level. Every six months these leaders must
present to the Ministry a report on the activities of the local
tutelage and
guardianship authorities.
- According
to information received, 93 children were adopted in the second half of 2000,
while tutelage arrangements were made for
153 children and guardianship
arrangements for 64 children.
- In
November 2000, for the purpose of clarifying the provisions of these decisions,
the Ministry of Social Welfare, with help from
the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the National Institute for
Labour and Social Research,
organized a seminar for senior officials of the
relevant ministries and departments, children’s homes and medical
institutions
and representatives of provincial tutelage and guardianship
authorities, municipal bodies and heads of local social services centres.
The
following topical issues were discussed at the
seminar:
(a) Realization of the legitimate rights and interests of
children in Armenia in
accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Children’s Rights Act;
(b) Adoption, tutelage and guardianship under the Marriage and Family
Code;
(c) The adoption procedure and instructions and guidelines for the
application of this procedure;
(d) Procedure for monitoring the living conditions and upbringing of
children in adoptive families.
- To
date Armenia has not concluded any bilateral treaties on adoption matters or
acceded to any multilateral ones, but it has acceded
to and ratified the
following conventions and agreements on mutual assistance:
(a) CIS
Convention on Judicial Assistance and Judicial Relations in Civil, Family and
Criminal Cases (23 June 1993);
(b) Agreement between Armenia and Georgia on judicial assistance in civil
matters (4 June 1996 and 4 March 1997);
(c) Agreement between Armenia and Romania on judicial assistance in civil
and criminal matters (25 March 1996 and 5 October 1996);
(d) Agreement between Armenia and Bulgaria on judicial assistance in
criminal matters (26 September 1995);
(e) Agreement between Armenia and Bulgaria on judicial assistance in civil
matters (26 September 1995).
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
- The
law addresses this topic in article 26 of the Children’s Rights Act, which
stipulates that “the State and its relevant
agencies shall establish
special children’s homes and boarding schools for disabled children and
physically and mentally challenged
children, shall adopt social and economic
measures designed to reduce the number of disabled children (by providing
therapy), and
shall organize the production and acquisition of the devices and
equipment they need to lead active lives”. In their activities
they are
guided by the appropriate legislative and other instruments. Various
non-governmental organizations help to monitor the
situation in children’s
institutions.
- The
state of health of children in children’s institutions is monitored by the
appropriate medical staff of the institutions.
Where inpatient treatment is
required, children are provided with medical assistance in general
hospitals.
- Beginning
in February 2000, a centre for the reception and placement of children has been
operating under an agreement concluded by
the Armenian Aid Fund and the Ministry
of Internal Affairs. Under the legislation governing the Armenian Aid Fund,
children aged
between 3 and 18 are accepted in the centre, from the
following groups:
(a) Children born out of wedlock;
(b) Children living and making a living on the street;
(c) Children belonging to ethnic minorities;
(d) Children who have become homeless as a result of the war in
Karabagh.
- Medical,
social and psychological units also operate in the centre. In future, when
necessary, children will also be provided with
appropriate documents (birth
certificates, passports or draft cards), food and clothing, and temporary
housing. Meticulous and consistent
efforts are devoted to these children. The
issue of whether to return children to their parents is also examined, on the
basis of
an investigation conducted in accordance with a decision taken by the
relevant board, in which persons working in the field of children’s
affairs participate. If child offenders who cannot be taken to court because of
their age arrive at the centre, they are sent to
a special school in Nubarashen
or Vardashen.
- Children
who arrive in the centre are not only provided with advice, but also benefit
from activities in the field of prevention.
The circumstances of older children
are similarly investigated, leading to the creation of a database containing
information on
their personal lives, the activities carried out with them in the
centre, etc.
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19); physical and
psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
- Article
9 of the Children’s Rights Act stipulates that every child is entitled to
protection against all forms of violence (physical,
mental, etc.). No one,
including parents and other legal
- representatives,
may subject a child to violence or degrading punishment or similar treatment.
Anyone violating the rights or legitimate
interests of a child is liable to
prosecution in accordance with the law.
- The
State and its relevant organs protect children from any violence, exploitation,
enticement into criminal activity, including the
use of narcotics, enticement to
produce or trade in narcotics, begging, debauchery, gambling and any other
violation of their rights
and legitimate interests.
- Article
68 of the Marriage and Family Code stipulates that parents who behave brutally
towards their children may be deprived of their
parental rights.
- Officials
from the Juvenile Affairs Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs work
consistently every day to identify parents
or persons in loco parentis who are
subjecting children to physical or sexual violence or exerting a harmful
influence on them.
In 2000, 120 parents or persons in loco parentis were placed
on a list of persons found to be subjecting their children to ill-treatment;
appropriate remedial activities are to be organized for them. A total of 59
adults were prosecuted under article 231 of the Criminal
Code for inciting
minors to engage in criminal activity, drunkenness or gambling.
- The
problems of child vagrants and beggars benefit from the constant attention of
officials dealing with juvenile affairs. Large-scale
campaigns are carried out
periodically to identify such children and place them in appropriate
institutions, netting 205 child vagrants
and beggars during an eight-month
period in 2000, many of them for the second time. Of these children, 129 were
sent to a child
reception and placement centre, 28 were registered for remedial
measures, 3 were sent to children’s homes, 2 to colleges and
4 to boarding
schools. It should be pointed out that the officials dealing with juvenile
affairs pay special attention to identifying
minors who are engaged in
prostitution, using drugs or involved in various types of crime. Those
identified are prosecuted under
article 231 of the Criminal Code.
VII. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Disabled children (art. 23)
- Under
article 26 of the Children’s Rights Act, and also the Disabled Persons
(Social Welfare) Act, the Constitution (art. 33) and other legal instruments,
the disabled are guaranteed all social, economic, cultural, political and civil
rights. The
Disabled Persons (Social Welfare) Act contains legal, economic and
organizational provisions for the welfare of the disabled. Articles
12,
13, 14 and 15 of the Act, which directly relate to disabled children, guarantee
them opportunities to receive the following:
(a) Secondary,
specialized secondary and higher education and vocational training;
(b) Pre-school education;
(c) Retraining and further training.
- The
rights of disabled children and mentally or physically challenged children are
also laid down in article 26 of the Children’s
Rights Act, under which the
State guarantees disabled children and mentally or physically challenged
children free medical, remedial
and psychological help, the right to obtain a
basic education and vocational training, job placement, and also social
rehabilitation,
to facilitate their rapid integration into the life of society.
- The
State has an obligation to provide disabled children with free prostheses and
orthopaedic appliances, as well as hearing aids.
At the end of last year,
Armenia received from the American Red Cross more than 500 wheelchairs, of which
100 were children’s
models. At the beginning of the current year China
supplied a similar number of hearing aids, 100 of them for children.
- Special
children’s homes, boarding schools and rehabilitation centres operate in
Armenia for disabled children, by means of
which the State provides medical and
social protection for the children.
- In
the Ministry of Social Welfare, with the help of UNICEF, work is being carried
out to set up a countrywide data bank on the disabled,
which will include
information on 8,000 disabled children.
- The
State guarantees free professional treatment for disabled children and mentally
and physically challenged children. Such children
are entitled to psychological
help and basic education or vocational training corresponding to their
abilities. The State also helps
such children to find work, guarantees social
rehabilitation and a full life for disabled children and mentally and physically
challenged
children, helps to reinforce their self-confidence and facilitates
their participation in the life of society. If they agree, such
children can
study in general schools. The State establishes special children’s homes
and residential accommodation for such
children, and takes steps of a social and
economic nature which will lead to a reduction in their numbers. The State also
organizes
the manufacture and purchase of the equipment that disabled children
need for their daily lives (Marriage and Family Code, art. 26).
- Disabled
children and children who have lost their breadwinners are entitled to receive
allowances in amounts, and in accordance with
procedures, laid down by law.
- Particular
importance is attached to children with special needs, being the most vulnerable
group in society, and to their physical
and social rehabilitation, as part of
the social policy covering the disabled, which is based on humane
principles.
- Two
specialist children’s homes for disabled children are operating under the
Ministry of Social Welfare. According to figures
for 1 January 2001, they house
245 children with various disorders of the central nervous system or physical
and mental disabilities,
most of whom have no parents.
- In
the children’s home in the town of Gyumri, care, nurture and treatment are
provided for disabled children aged up to 6, as
well as activities for their
social and psychological rehabilitation. Beyond the age of 6, the disabled
children are transferred
to the Kharberd specialist children’s home in
Ararat province, where they remain until they reach adulthood.
- In
the children’s homes doctors, educationalists, psychologists,
rehabilitation experts, nurses and other specialists work with
the disabled
children. Here the children are regularly taught self-sufficiency skills, and
knowledge is imparted in accordance with
the abilities of each child. For this
purpose educational games and various therapeutic methods are used, with the
overall aim of
rehabilitating the physically or mentally challenged children,
raising the level and quality of activities in the sphere of general
education,
and developing in them capacities and skills to enable them to cope with
everyday life. The parents of the disabled children
are given opportunities to
visit them.
- In
1999 doctors and middle-level medical staff of the Ministry of Social
Welfare’s children’s homes followed courses to
enhance their skills
which were organized by the National Health Institute together with UNICEF, and
received diplomas.
- In
1994, according to official figures, 5,000 disabled children aged up to 16 were
registered. In reality this figure was much higher,
since the list of illnesses
used as a basis for classifying disabled children (following rules from the
former Soviet system) was
very limited. Starting in 1995 the Ministry of Health
drew up and introduced a new list of medical instructions for the definition
of
disability, leading to a rise in the number of children registered as disabled
from birth (8,000 in the year 2000). In all likelihood,
this figure could be
even higher, bearing in mind that many parents were previously embarrassed by
the condition of their children
and did not apply for disability allowances, and
naturally the children were not registered as disabled. Currently, as a result
of the serious social and economic situation, there has been an increase in the
number of applications from parents of such children
wishing to register them as
disabled, receive allowances and help, or transfer the children to the care of
the State.
- Under
the previous system, disabled children were very isolated from society and cared
for in special institutions of the closed type
(kindergartens, auxiliary and
evening schools and boarding schools), in which the problems of medical and
social rehabilitation received
minimal attention.
- Society’s
inadequate response to such children also led to their isolation in the family,
and as a result, both children in
families and those in the care of the State
lacked opportunities to lead normal lives and have contacts with other children.
- Today
as never before, it is important to foster the idea that disabled children are
also full members of society and have the right
to lead active lives insofar as
their abilities permit.
- In
Armenia the medical and social rehabilitation of disabled children is considered
a matter of priority, and this is reflected in
the Children’s Rights Act,
article 26 of which stipulates that:
“The State and its
relevant organs shall guarantee disabled children and physically and mentally
challenged children free specialist
medical and psychological assistance and the
opportunity to receive a basic and specialized education and social
rehabilitation and
secure an occupation in keeping with their abilities. Such
children may if they wish study in general-education schools. The State
and its
relevant organs shall establish
special children’s homes and evening institutions for them, take steps
to reduce the number of disabled children, and organize
the manufacture and
purchase of the devices and equipment the disabled need to lead active
lives.”
- It
is extremely difficult to apply such a policy, since there is a lack of special
equipment and means of transport for the disabled
(not all of them have
wheelchairs, homes and schools are not modified for wheelchair use, public
transport is not equipped to carry
the disabled). There are no special social
services to assist in solving the social difficulties encountered by this group
of persons,
or to provide assistance to families.
- In
Armenia medical care for disabled children is provided free of charge. The cost
of care and treatment of disabled children in
sanatoriums is borne by the State
through budget allocations. Unfortunately, these allocations are steadily
shrinking. In 2001
no funds were earmarked for treatment of children in
sanatoriums (except for those suffering from tuberculosis).
- Before
the 1988 earthquake, rehabilitation treatment for children was organized in
children’s sanatoriums and in the inpatient
and outpatient rehabilitation
departments of medical institutions falling under the Ministry of Health. The
main treatments made
use of balneotherapy, favourable natural and climatic
environments, phytotherapy (with extensive use of electrotherapy) and physical
training.
- After
the earthquake, thanks to the efforts of overseas specialists and investment by
international organizations, the organization
of rehabilitation treatment of
children was stepped up. From 1989 onwards the United States organization
Project Hope was very active.
A joint programme entitled “Child
rehabilitation” was developed together with United States colleagues and
approved
by the Ministry of Health. Under the programme specialists were
trained (rehabilitation specialists, therapists, specialist rehabilitation
nurses, orthopaedists, etc.), an orthopaedic laboratory was set up, and sick
children were given practical help (overseas). Subsequently
the programme was
expanded: a rehabilitation service was set up in the town of Gyumri. In Erevan
a children’s rehabilitation
centre was opened. The network of centres
specializing in rehabilitation was gradually extended. In 1994 the Oshakan
children’s
rehabilitation centre was set up for children with disorders of
the musculo-skeletal system and victims of military activities.
- At
the same time as experience from abroad was introduced in Armenia, new methods
of organizing rehabilitation treatment were introduced
step by step: an
integrated approach to problems is followed, and great emphasis is placed on
physiotherapy. Rehabilitation of
disabled children is currently carried out by
teams, in which the child and the child’s family occupy a central place.
The
parents play an active part in the work of the team. The team is composed
of a rehabilitation specialist, a therapist, a specialist
rehabilitation nurse,
an orthopaedist, an educationalist and a psychologist. Where necessary a
neuropathologist, an orthopaedist,
a plastic surgeon, etc. are
invited.
B. Health and health services (art. 24)
- Activities
in the field of health care for children and mothers in Armenia are organized
under the auspices of the State, and the
tactics and strategy for the protection
of mother and child health are founded on a State system of medical assistance.
The legislative
basis for the organization of health care for children is
composed of the Constitution, the Medical Assistance and Services Act, the
Children’s Rights Act, the Health and Safety Act, the Publicity Act
(banning
advertising for breastmilk substitutes), the Presidential decree of 28
March 1996 on protection of the mother and child and the Supreme
Council
decision of 8 July 1991 concerning the protection of women, mothers and children
and priority measures to strengthen the
family.
- Under
the Medical Assistance and Services Act, children are guaranteed free medical
assistance under specially designed State programmes.
The specially designed
State programme for 2001 provides for the following:
(a) Free
outpatient medical assistance in general clinics for children aged up to 15;
(b) Free inpatient medical assistance:
(i) For children aged up to 3, whatever the diagnosis;
(ii) For children up to 15, in the case of specific illnesses (infectious
diseases, cancer and psychological disorders, tuberculosis,
sexually transmitted
diseases, etc.) and in emergencies;
(iii) For children up to 18 who belong to socially underprivileged groups,
whatever the diagnosis (disabled children, orphans, children
of single mothers,
children of disabled parents, etc.).
Health system - structure and network
- As
previously noted, Armenia is divided into 11 provinces, which
comprise 51 administrative and territorial districts: 37 rural and
14
urban (including 8 districts in the capital). Each province
has its own health department.
- Medical
care for the general public, particularly children and women, is provided by
institutions under national, municipal or provincial
supervision:
Medical institutions under national supervision provide
inpatient and consultative (outpatient) care for all children and mothers;
The principal institutions under municipal supervision providing care for
children and mothers are: children’s hospitals,
children’s
polyclinics, maternity homes and prenatal clinics;
Institutions subordinate to the municipalities (provinces) are: the central
hospital and polyclinic normally to be found in each
district centre, village
health centres (hospitals), and outpatient, paramedical and midwifery stations
in the villages.
- The
central hospitals have obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatric departments.
The district polyclinics have prenatal and children’s
clinics. Depending
on population size and geographical conditions, villages may
have:
(a) A village hospital (health centre), providing outpatient
care, and also inpatient care, with a limited (and declining) number
of
maternity beds;
(b) A village outpatient clinic providing outpatient care for the general
public, including children and women;
(c) Paramedical and midwifery stations providing basic outpatient services
within the village.
- The
health-care system initially had a preventive slant. Medical care is generally
provided on a geographical basis. Each department
in a children’s
polyclinic (under one doctor) serves between 500 and 1,000 children aged under
15 (though the Children’s
Rights Act refers to children up to 18). The
organization of medical care is based on the principle of different levels, from
the
village up to the national level, depending on the seriousness of the
disease. Inpatient and outpatient care in polyclinics is essentially
provided
by teams of doctors.
- Overall,
medical care for the nation’s children is provided through the following
services: an inpatient service, outpatient
services at polyclinics, and a
system of sanatoriums. The inpatient care system for children includes 14
independent children’s
hospitals, 6 of which operate at the national
level, 8 municipal hospitals in towns and 52 children’s departments, 48 of
which
function within district or urban hospitals, and 4 as part of research
institutes or specialist centres.
- In
2000 there were 3,235 children’s hospital beds, compared with 4,114 in
1990. Of these around half were specialized beds,
a significant proportion of
which were in municipal hospitals, mainly in Erevan. However, since they are
the only ones in the country,
in practice they offer specialist medical care to
the entire child population. Over the past eight years, the number of
children’s
beds has fallen by 21 per cent, while the number of children
for each bed has risen by 15 per cent. However, the current number
of beds is
more than adequate. The occupancy rate for inpatient services is not more than
40-50 per cent, owing to the reduction
in the average length of stay per bed
(resulting from the introduction of new techniques for diagnosis and treatment
and an increased
emphasis on outpatient treatment in polyclinics) as well as a
drop in the affordability and quality of medical services.
- Outpatient
care for children at polyclinics is offered through specialist departments and
surgeries at 122 polyclinics, 35 of which
are independent children’s
polyclinics. By the end of 2001 this figure had shrunk considerably
because some polyclinics for
children and adults were merged (integrated) under
the programme for streamlining the health-care system.
- The
health-care system in Armenia employs 1,436 paediatricians, compared
with 2,066 in 1990; 188 of them specialize in disorders of
the
newborn. The number of paediatricians has dropped by 32 per cent over the past
eight years, while the number of children per
paediatrician has risen by 18
per cent. Despite these trends, the availability of paediatric care in the
cities is more than adequate,
though in the countryside staff shortages and a
lack of paediatricians pose serious
problems.
- Under
the authority of the Ministry of Health there were 10 children’s health
resorts, which provided rehabilitation treatment
for children aged up to 15
suffering from various ailments. Two of them have now been privatized, although
until 2000 they were
accepting Statefunded patients. Since 2001, for lack of
budgetary funds, the scale of State-funded treatment in sanatoriums has
dropped
sharply. Only two children’s sanatoriums remain under Ministry of Health
control.
- The
health-care system is currently being reformed with the objective of adapting
healthcare institutions to the general economic
situation in the country. The
organizational, legal and economic changes are designed to streamline forms of
payment and conditions
for the provision of medical services to the public. The
process of expanding the private sector in the health field and privatizing
medical institutions has begun, though it has affected child health services
very little. The health-care reform also presupposes
the development of a
system of family medicine for outpatients in polyclinics. The principles of
medical care for children and adolescents
are also being incorporated into the
education system. The paediatrics faculty in Erevan Medical Institute was
closed in 1996.
- In
2001 the Government approved a blueprint for streamlining the health-care
system. This involves reducing the number of beds in
hospitals which are not
heavily used, and closing or merging individual institutions. There is a trend
for polyclinics serving children
and those serving adults to be merged. As a
result of these efforts, the numbers of children’s beds and obstetric and
gynaecological
beds are being cut by 30 to 40 per cent.
Birth rate, death rate and natural growth in the
population
- The
permanent population of Armenia on 1 January 2001 was 3,802,400, a fall of 900
from the previous year.
- The
issue of natural growth in the population is one of Armenia’s most
important problems. In recent years the number of births
has fallen by more
than half in both absolute and relative terms (22.5 per thousand in 1990, 9.0
per thousand in 2000).
- The
death rate has been varying between 6.2 and 6.6 per thousand (it was 7.4 per
thousand in 1993), and stood at 6.3 per thousand
in 2000.
- Natural
growth in the population (per thousand) has fallen by a factor of more than
six (16.3 in 1990, 2.7 in 2000). However, in
contrast to various CIS
countries, natural population growth in Armenia remains positive.
- It
should be mentioned that the official figures given above were calculated on the
basis of figures for the permanent population.
The actual population is much
smaller because of underreporting of migration. Correcting the population
figures would show a fall
in the birth rate of only 47.4 per cent instead of 60
per cent.
Primary health care and programmes for disease
prevention
- Article
2 (a) of the Medical Assistance and Services Act provides that primary health
care, as a form of medical care and service
based on methods and technology
available to all, is guaranteed by the State. The changes which have been
taking place in recent
years are largely aimed at improving primary health care
and reducing and streamlining the numbers of hospital beds. The principles
of
affordability of medical care are being applied: young children are no longer
automatically hospitalized, medical services are
brought closer to the
population, and patients are entitled to “inpatient care at home” or
“daytime-only inpatient
care”.
- The
main programmes are designed to lower the death rate among children and prevent
disease. The programmes to control acute diarrhoeal
diseases and acute
respiratory infections, improve nutrition for under-5s, pregnant women and
nursing mothers, support breastfeeding
and promote immunization are directed
towards strengthening primary health care through polyclinics. At this stage
the measures
are intended to increase doctors’ knowledge and broaden their
rights, and to supply children’s clinics with medicines.
All the
programmes are aimed at improving the general level of medical awareness among
mothers in respect of childcare, nutrition,
and so on. They are all implemented
with support from international organizations (WHO, UNICEF, etc.).
National immunization programme
- Armenia’s
immunization programme was drawn up and approved by the Ministry of Health in
1994 on the basis of WHO recommendations
and experience in developed countries.
The programme targets poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough,
measles, epidemic
mumps, tuberculosis (in part), and, since November 1999,
hepatitis B. Activities under the programme were aimed at lowering morbidity
and mortality arising from these diseases by ensuring a high level of
immunization coverage of the target population under a national
timetable, the
creation of a cold chain to ensure effective and safe vaccination, and
high-quality epidemiological monitoring.
- A
streamlined timetable of preventive vaccination has been introduced under the
programme, the policy relating to contraindications
has been reviewed and a set
of methodological documentation has been prepared. During the period under
review subprogrammes were
devised and implemented on diphtheria control, mass
immunization against diphtheria, the MEKAKAR operation and the elimination of
poliomyelitis, and a subprogramme on mass immunization against mumps was
partially implemented.
- Since
1995 Armenia, together with 33 countries in the European and East Mediterranean
regions in which poliomyelitis is endemic, has
participated in a large-scale
operation known as MEKAKAR, whose aim is the worldwide elimination of
poliomyelitis, as well as national
days of immunization against poliomyelitis,
and, since 1998, MEKAKAR PLUS.
- In
1996 epidemiological monitoring was introduced for acute flabby paralysis, and
is now successfully conducted throughout the country.
- In
June 2000 Armenia submitted documentation in support of an application for
certification of the country as free of poliomyelitis.
- In
1997, in accordance with WHO recommendations, a system of intensified monitoring
of post-vaccination complications was introduced,
making it possible to respond
promptly when poor-quality vaccine is supplied to health institutions.
- As
a result of the organizational, preventive and medical measures taken during the
six years when the programme was active, preventive
vaccination coverage
against the diseases covered by the programme reached a level safeguarding the
public against epidemics (8690
per cent). From 1999, the level of 90
per cent was reached for all types of vaccination, with higher levels reached in
2000 for
certain vaccinations (excluding mumps):
diphtheria 93.3 per cent, poliomyelitis - 96.2 per cent,
whooping cough - 92.2 per cent,
measles - 91.0 per cent, tetanus - 91.3 per
cent and tuberculosis - 96.4 per cent. There were no organized imports of mumps
vaccine
during the years in question, and practically no vaccinations were
given.
Table 5
Immunization coverage, 1990-2000
|
Poliomyelitis
|
Diphtheria
|
Whooping cough
|
Measles
|
Mumps
|
Tuberculosis
|
1990
|
93.3
|
82.3
|
80.4
|
94.8
|
85.9
|
92.3
|
1991
|
91.8
|
83.0
|
80.7
|
93.3
|
84.2
|
85.6
|
1992
|
91.9
|
85.2
|
77.4
|
93.1
|
84.1
|
88.2
|
1993
|
91.9
|
85.3
|
82.1
|
95.2
|
81.1
|
83.5
|
1994
|
92.0
|
86.0
|
83.0
|
95.0
|
78.0
|
83.0
|
1995
|
93.0
|
98.0
|
87.0
|
96.0
|
5.0
|
84.0
|
1996
|
97.0
|
86
|
85
|
89.0
|
0
|
82.0
|
1997
|
97.0
|
88.1
|
86.9
|
91.5
|
0
|
72.3
|
1998
|
96.4
|
91.3
|
82.6
|
94.2
|
0
|
94.7
|
1999
|
96.5
|
92.1
|
91.1
|
91.0
|
0
|
93.4
|
2000
|
96.2
|
93.3
|
92.2
|
91.6
|
0
|
96.8
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
As a result, the epidemiological situation in respect of the targeted
diseases was under control: the diphtheria epidemic which struck
almost all the
countries of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s was successfully
prevented from spreading.
- Since
June 1995 not a single case of poliomyelitis caused by the wild polio virus has
been recorded. No epidemics of the other targeted
diseases have broken out.
There has been a significant fall in the incidence of whooping cough and
measles. Isolated cases of tetanus
were recorded, a continuous growth in
tuberculosis morbidity among children aged up to 14 was reported, and isolated
cases of tuberculous
meningitis were recorded.
Table 6
Incidence of targeted infectious diseases among
children, 1990-2000
(per 100,000 children)
|
Poliomyelitis
|
Diphtheria
|
Whooping cough
|
Measles
|
Mumps
|
Tuberculosis
|
Hepatitis B
|
1990
|
1.1
|
0.18
|
42.5
|
69.9
|
139.3
|
23.6
|
24.7
|
1991
|
0.09
|
0
|
25.5
|
1.99
|
69.4
|
18.1
|
3.99
|
1992
|
0.08
|
0
|
8.87
|
3.19
|
56.6
|
23.7
|
10.03
|
1993
|
0
|
0.08
|
8.54
|
21.0
|
43.5
|
24.9
|
10.95
|
1994
|
0.5
|
1.7
|
32.1
|
13.0
|
26.8
|
23.9
|
9.4
|
1995
|
0.3
|
1.7
|
1.2
|
15.6
|
73.9
|
28.4
|
8.2
|
1996
|
0
|
0.4
|
0.2
|
166.4
|
172.9
|
31.6
|
10.9
|
1997
|
0
|
0.49
|
0.49
|
62.4
|
97.1
|
-
|
6.47
|
1998
|
0
|
0.5
|
2.3
|
5.2
|
467.3
|
120.5
|
11.5
|
1999
|
0
|
0.3
|
1.3
|
4.1
|
1 138.0
|
130.9
|
12.5
|
2000
|
0
|
0
|
0.3
|
0.4
|
326.9
|
68.1
|
3.6
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
- The
only disease covered by the programme that is currently causing concern is
mumps. Programmes of vaccinations against this infection
were halted in 1994
owing to a lack of funds to purchase the vaccine, and have not resumed. Since
1995 morbidity has increased steadily
(39fold), reaching a peak in 1999 (11,348
cases compared with 285 in 1994).
- No
cases of diphtheria or poliomyelitis were recorded in the year 2000. Other
cases recorded among children aged up to 14 were:
tetanus - 1 case, measles - 4
cases, whooping cough - 13 cases, mumps - 3,260 cases and tuberculosis of the
respiratory organs -
14 cases.
- In
recent years epidemiological monitoring of post-vaccination complications has
been carried out: one isolated case of death from
vaccination was recorded
owing to an error by the medical staff, and the use of reactogenic serum of AKDS
vaccine produced in India
was halted. Thus, over a six-year period the
programme fulfilled the main objectives set for the period up to the year 2000,
except
for mumps.
Supply of vaccines
- Since
1994 Armenia has obtained its supplies of vaccines, apart from mumps vaccine,
and single-use syringes mainly through UNICEF
and partly from other donors.
Since 1998 the requisite quantities of boxes for the safe disposal of syringes
have also been imported.
Over a period of five years from 1997 a step-by-step
shift to domestic supply of vaccines was scheduled: in 1997 the Ministry of
Health purchased one of the seven vaccines under the programme (BCG), in 1998
two (BCG and ADT). In 1999, on instructions from the
authorities responsible
for disease control, 50,000 doses of mumps vaccine were purchased, followed
by 80,000 doses in 2000.
Morbidity
- The
rise in morbidity among adults and children is expressed per 100,000 persons
using statistical data for 1988-1990. From 1992
onwards, overall morbidity has
fallen significantly. However, the statistical data do not correspond to the
facts, owing to the
following factors:
(a) There has been a sharp
drop in the number of visits to doctors and hospitalizations (reasons: less
affordable medical care,
difficulties with medicines, sharp worsening of the
social and economic situation, etc.);
(b) There has been a deterioration in the collection and recording of
statistics.
The fact that morbidity has actually not fallen, but risen, is confirmed by
the rise in the death rate from specific diseases (tuberculosis,
ischaemic heart
disease, hypertension, cancer, etc.).
Table 7
Morbidity ratio according to confirmed diagnoses,
1988-2000
|
1988
|
1989
|
1990
|
1992
|
1993
|
1995
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
(a) Per 100,000 persons aged over 15
|
20 946.4
|
28 526.4
|
27 274.0
|
21 686.4
|
17 750.4
|
16 040.0
|
13 880.0
|
11 807.3
|
12 527.7
|
11 470.9
|
(b) Per 100,000 children aged under 15
|
44 258.0
|
52 032.0
|
50 061.0
|
34 611.8
|
30 675.0
|
30 535.0
|
29 918.0
|
27 695.8
|
29 586.2
|
26 068.3
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
- Morbidity
among children is mainly recorded as a result of disorders of the respiratory,
urinary and nervous systems, tuberculosis
and cancer. Injuries to children
remain at a high level.
- Data
on morbidity among the newborn, shown in table 8 below, are relatively
reliable.
Table 8
Morbidity among the newborn (per 1,000 live births),
1985-2000
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
93
|
109.8
|
111.9
|
98.6
|
106.3
|
107.1
|
112.7
|
123.7
|
134.9
|
141.9
|
128.0
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
- Over
the past 10 years the indicator of overall morbidity among the newborn has risen
by over 14 per cent. The number of premature
births is almost 20 per cent up on
1990.
Table 9
Premature births, 1985-2000
Premature births per
1,000 confinements
|
1985
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
61
|
56
|
56.5
|
62.8
|
63.5
|
58.3
|
62
|
68
|
71
|
72
|
68.9
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
HIV/AIDS
- Between
1995 and 2000, a total of 134 cases of HIV infection were recorded in Armenia.
The overwhelming majority of them were men
(100 cases - 75 per cent) and
women
(34 cases - 25 per cent). Most of the HIV cases (81.3 per cent)
were young people aged between 20 and 30.
Table 10
Extent of HIV/AIDS, 1995-2000
|
HIV-infection
|
AIDS
|
Number of deaths
|
Total
|
Men
|
Women
|
Total
|
Men
|
Women
|
Total
|
Men
|
Women
|
1995
|
3
|
3
|
-
|
3
|
3
|
-
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
1996
|
27
|
19
|
8
|
7
|
7
|
-
|
3
|
3
|
-
|
1997
|
37
|
30
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
1998
|
9
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
1999
|
35
|
26
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
2000
|
29
|
23
|
6
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
Not known
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
Total
|
140
|
106
|
34
|
25
|
21
|
4
|
15
|
14
|
1
|
Source: AIDS Prevention Centre.
As can be seen from the table, the level of HIV cases in 1999 was fairly
high.
- During
2000, 29 new cases of HIV infection were recorded, representing 22 per cent of
the total number of cases of HIV infection and
more than three times the 1998
figure. By September 2001, 18 persons had died from AIDS, including 5 in
2000 and 3 in 2001.
- The
main routes of HIV infection are intravenous drug use (48.3 per cent) and
heterosexual transmission (41.6 per cent).
- More
than half the HIV cases were recorded in Erevan. Second place in the spread of
HIV infection is held by Gegharkunik province.
- Up
to 1998 no treatment was given to carriers of the AIDS virus or HIV-infected
persons. The process of treatment began in 1998 when
treatment using the new
drug Armenicum was introduced. Between 1998 and 2000 more than 190 patients
from 13 countries received this
treatment, 50 of whom were Armenian citizens.
Currently the drug is at the clinical testing stage. Preliminary results point
to
a significant improvement in the health of the patients.
- Until
1997 all pregnant women were tested for HIV infection. However, no case was
found. Currently only pregnant women in risk categories
are tested - no more
than 3-5 per cent of cases. In 2000 HIV infection was recorded for the first
time in two pregnant women. In
20002001 three cases of HIV infection by
the perinatal route were recorded. The first sick child with AIDS was
hospitalized in January
2001, and later died.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
- STDs
also remain a cardinal problem in terms of protecting reproductive and sexual
health. The problem is of particular importance
for women, among whom STDs are
substantially more prevalent than among men.
- Despite
a small reduction in STD morbidity over the past three years, the situation
remains unsatisfactory. Indicators for syphilis
and gonorrhoea are markedly
above their 1990 levels.
Environment
- As
early as 1922 the Armenian Parliament passed a Health and Safety Act.
- The
various ministries and departments in Armenia have networks of services which
monitor the environment in the context of their
own spheres of activity. The
machinery for coordinating these services is unsatisfactory, making it difficult
to obtain an overall
picture of environmental pollution.
- Armenia
has a vast number of sources of industrial air pollution (road transport, power
generation, production of chemicals, construction
materials and non-ferrous
metals). Meanwhile, treatment plants have become less effective and leaded
petrol is more widely used.
Typical air pollutants are dust, oxides of nitrogen
and hydrogen, some hydrocarbons and tin. Respiratory diseases are more
prevalent
than other groups of diseases.
- In
recent years, owing to the difficulties of replacing old water pipes,
contamination of drinking water and failures in the water
supply system, there
have been serious outbreaks of infectious diseases (basically diarrhoea:
bacillary dysentery, shigellosis and
typhoid fever). Only one such outbreak
occurred in 1988-1991, but there were five in 1992 and seven in 1993. The
situation subsequently
improved (1994-1995), but then worsened again, and in
1998 there was an outbreak of cholera.
Medical services for pregnant women
- Medical
services for pregnant women include inpatient and outpatient care. Women can
register at prenatal clinics from the twelfth
week of pregnancy, and they have
between 6 and 10 checkups during pregnancy (depending on the progress
of the pregnancy).
- The
performance of the prenatal clinics has deteriorated, the number of visits to
doctors has fallen and complications during pregnancy
and cases of
difficult births have increased. The number of pregnant women under early
observation (before the twelfth week) was
nearly 40 per cent
lower in 2000 than in 1990. The proportion of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in
late toxicosis cases has increased
sixfold (3.8 per cent in 1990, 22.8 per cent
in 1998 and 266 per cent [sic] in 2000). The incidence of
anaemia among pregnant women
also increased more than tenfold between 1990 and
2000.
- Births
generally take place in maternity hospitals. However, because of the economic
crisis in recent years there has been a considerable
increase in the number of
births at home, which are not always attended by qualified medical staff.
Official measures have led to
a reduction of more than half in births at home
over the past three years.
Table 11
Percentage of births at home, 1985-2000
|
1987
|
1990
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
0.7
|
0.6
|
0.3
|
4.5
|
6.5
|
7.2
|
3.9
|
3.1
|
2.7
|
2.6
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
- The
health of new mothers is monitored at women’s clinics for 40 days after
giving birth, and the newborns are monitored in
children’s
clinics. Infants are examined by paediatricians 1012 times in their
first year.
Maternal mortality
- Maternal
mortality (per 100,000 live births) is the basic measure of obstetric and
gynaecological care. This indicator has been evolving
as follows:
Table 12
Maternal mortality, 1990-2000
Source of information
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
National Statistical Service
|
40.1
|
23.1
|
14.2
|
27.1
|
29.3
|
34.7
|
20.8
|
38.8
|
25.1
|
32.9
|
52.5
|
Ministry of Health
|
53.8
|
37.3
|
22.7
|
40.7
|
37.2
|
26.6
|
31.2
|
38.6
|
20.2
|
32.9
|
69.0
|
- The
difference between the Ministry of Health and National Statistical Service
figures may be ascribed to the following causes:
(a) Citizenship -
cases of maternal mortality involving foreign citizens are not recorded in
official statistics, but are reflected
in the records of medical
institutions;
(b) Promptness with which deaths are recorded at the civil registration
offices;
(c) Quality of information on deaths. Sometimes cases are not recorded as
maternal deaths because of incomplete or incorrect registration
(as when the
word “pregnancy” is omitted in cases of disorders of the external
genitalia).
- Year-to-year
variations are attributable to the country’s small population. For such
cases WHO recommends averaging the indicator
over three years, giving a more
reliable trend.
Table 13
Maternal mortality over three-year periods,
1989-2000
|
Number of live births
|
Number of maternal deaths
|
Indicator of maternal mortality
|
1989-1991
|
233 475
|
98
|
41.9
|
1992-1994
|
179 181
|
59
|
32.9
|
1995-1997
|
140 059
|
45
|
32.1
|
1998-2000
|
112 180
|
46
|
41.0
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
- The
trend shows that maternal mortality fell by 23 per cent between 1989-91
and 199597 (table). The target set for 2000 (20 per 100,000
live births)
was not reached; indeed, there was a rise in the average level of maternal
mortality over the period 1998-2000 (41 per
100,000 live births).
According to WHO data, given a correct approach and the availability of
resources, this indicator can be reduced
by 50 per cent - and this, of course,
is our country’s strategic goal. The rise in maternal mortality is due to
poor-quality
and incomplete preventive work and the low overall affordability of
medical care.
- The
indicator of maternal mortality for the period 1998-2000 was significantly
higher than the level for the European Union (8.8 per
100,000 live births), and
corresponds roughly to the level of maternal mortality in the CIS countries (40
per 100,000 live births).
- Between
1990 and 2000, 231 women died from complications during pregnancy and
childbirth; 7 of these deaths (3 per cent) did not occur
in hospitals. In the
Russian Federation the indicator stands at 8.8 per cent. Maternal deaths away
from hospitals are largely due
to the rise in the level of home-based
childbirth.
- In
rural areas the maternal mortality indicator is higher, owing to the lack of
specialist medical services. Most of the deaths occur
in the 20-29 age group
(75 per cent of cases). The immediate causes of maternal mortality are
haemorrhaging, hypertension, eclampsia,
infections and abortions.
Nutritional status of children and women
- The
socio-economic crisis experienced by Armenia in recent years has led to an
unvaried diet. The constantly rising food prices in
the context of
marketization make fully adequate nutrition of expectant mothers, new mothers
and infants impossible. A diet consisting
largely of carbohydrates provides
energy but does not meet the body’s need for protein, which is very
important for intensive
foetal development.
- The
unbalanced and unplanned food intake of infants leads to chronic malnutrition,
vitamin deficiencies, allergies, enteric infections
and non-infectious
illnesses. A planned and varied diet, including feeding exclusively from the
breast up to the age of six months,
is obviously very important for infant
health.
- After
the earthquake, there was a decline in the proportion of children being
breastfed. In 1994 this decline became catastrophic.
The proportion of
children aged 1 and under who were fed exclusively from the breast during
their first four months fell more than
threefold between 1988 and 1994. Thanks
to a breastfeeding support programme implemented during the subsequent six
years, the figure
was raised to 60 per cent by 2000.
- The
data on anaemia in early or late pregnancy reflect the situation very clearly.
The statistics on anaemia cases are derived mainly
from information supplied by
prenatal clinics and maternity hospitals.
- It
should be noted that anaemia in early or late pregnancy has increased more than
tenfold compared with the 1980s. This phenomenon
is attributable to the reduced
intake of proteins and iron, for which there is a greater demand during
pregnancy than the resources
of the woman’s organism can usually supply in
sufficient quantities. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that, in the
present
social and economic crisis situation, the diet of pregnant women is much
poorer in proteins and vitamins; this phenomenon accounts
in large part for the
greater number of cases of anaemia in the early and late stages of
pregnancy.
- A
programme has been implemented under UNICEF auspices since 1994 to distribute
vitamins and iron supplements to all pregnant women
through the prenatal
clinics. Some improvement in the situation is reflected in the slower rate of
growth of this indicator. However,
since 1998 the situation has worsened once
again, owing to the exacerbation of the social situation over the past two or
three years.
- It
is known that an inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals, especially during
pregnancy, leads to a higher proportion of underweight
babies and to higher
morbidity and mortality rates. The indicators concerning underweight infants
also provide evidence of this
phenomenon. The proportion of babies with low
birth weight (2.5 kilograms or less) was 6.3 per cent in 1990,
8.5 per cent in 1999
and 8.2 per cent in 2000.
Table 14
Newborn children with low birth weight (<2,500
g), 1985-2000
|
1985
|
1990
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
6.3
|
6.3
|
6.6
|
7.7
|
7.8
|
7.8
|
8.0
|
7.9
|
7.9
|
8.3
|
8.5
|
8.2
|
Source: Ministry of Health.
Although this indicator falls below 10 per cent (the international target set
for the year 2000), the increase of almost a quarter
in the last few years
indicates the growing urgency of this problem.
Nutritional status of children up to age 5
- Since
May 1993 the National Health Institute of the Armenian Ministry of Health,
together with the United States Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, has
been conducting studies on the nutritional status of children aged 3 to 59
months in eight children’s
clinics in Erevan. Data on the weight, age and
growth of the children have been collected by random sampling of children
attending
these clinics. According to the findings of these studies, almost no
acute malnutrition was observed in the groups studied. However,
the children
are clearly developing more slowly, presumably because of the country’s
serious socio-economic situation and their
unbalanced diet. The unvaried and
largely carbohydrate-based diet of the last few years may lead to an increase in
body weight over
the short term; however, protein, micronutrient and vitamin
deficiencies, while not as yet influencing growth rates, may adversely
affect
children’s health and the adaptability of the organism, with longer-term
implications. This was confirmed by research
carried out by UNICEF and the
Ministry of Health in 1998, with the assistance of specialists from the National
Institute of Nutrition
in Rome. They identified chronic malnourishment in 13
per cent of children (15.6 per cent in the countryside), and deficiencies
of
iron (16 per cent for women and 25 per cent for children) and iodine (33 per
cent for women and 31 per cent for children). Further
evidence of the worsening
nutritional status of children is offered by preliminary data from the national
medical and demographic
survey in 2000, which highlighted chronic
malnourishment (14 per cent) and anaemia among children (16 per cent in the
towns and 33
per cent in the countryside).
Adolescents, information on health care
- Armenia
has a high level of literacy. According to the 1989 census, the literacy rate
is 99.1 per cent, thus allowing for a satisfactory
level of accessibility,
use and comprehension of health information among the public. Today, as for
many years in the past, health
information is supplied to the public from two
main sources: the health education network operating within the health system,
and
secondary schools within the educational system. The capacity of both is
limited. In neither system does the information provided
on health and hygiene
meet today’s requirements. Information is provided to pupils in schools
together with teaching of the
natural sciences, mainly biology, and is therefore
not of the requisite quality.
- A
number of studies by the National Health Institute have found that school
leavers are insufficiently aware of elementary medical
and hygiene matters. The
information vacuum is filled with the help of informal sources (friends, video
films, popular science books,
cheap magazines, etc.). This information is
interpreted without assistance and often incorrectly, the main danger being that
it
may progressively give rise to beliefs which are then put into practice.
- Article
7 of the Medical Assistance and Services Act stipulates that “everyone has
the right to information in accessible form
concerning his or her health, the
results of examinations, the diagnosis, methods of treatment, the risks
associated with illness,
possible options for medical intervention, and the
effects and results of treatment”.
- Analysis
of the situation regarding awareness of family planning points to the need for
fertility regulation. Studies conducted in
1997 with WHO support show that
artificial
- interruption
of pregnancy is still the basic means of fertility regulation. The main reason
is the unsatisfactory standard of family
planning services, the extensive use of
ineffective means of contraception and the low level of public awareness of
family planning.
Traditions which have an adverse effect on child
health
- Although
Armenia occupied only eighth or ninth place among the former Soviet republics in
terms of the main indicators of socio-economic
development, that ranking
concealed a very important factor - greater social stability than in other
republics: low incidence of
divorce, illegitimacy, juvenile crime, suicide or
self-mutilation, drug addiction and alcoholism. Thus, according to 1990 data,
the number of juvenile offences in 1989 was the lowest of any of the 15 former
Soviet republics and a twentieth of the figure for
Russia. The proportion of
children born out of wedlock - 8 per cent - was also lower than in Russia (14
per cent), Estonia (25 per
cent) or Ukraine (11 per cent). The suicide and
self-mutilation rate is very low, at an eighth of the figure for Russia.
However,
the deterioration in the social and economic situation has somewhat
modified this picture. Crime among adolescents rose by 60 per
cent
between 1995 and 1997, and the number of children born out of wedlock more
than tripled (from 7.8 per cent in 1989 to 25.8 per
cent in 1997). Despite
these trends, it may be stated unequivocally that traditional customs which
adversely affect children’s
health are not characteristic of the Armenian
people.
C. Social security and childcare services and
facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
- Under
article 33 of the Constitution, every citizen is entitled to social security in
respect of old age, disability, sickness, death of a breadwinner, etc.
- Under
the State Pensions Act of 29 December 1995, which sharply downgraded pension
coverage for women, including mothers, as compared
with the 1992 Act and the
pensions legislation dating from the Soviet period, women are entitled to
receive a retirement pension
from the age of 63 (previously 55), while mothers
of four or more children, and those caring for children aged up to 16 who have
been registered as disabled from birth, receive a pension from the age of 58
(previously 50) (articles 12 and 13 of the Act); children
aged up to 16 who have
been disabled from birth receive a regular allowance equivalent to 120 per cent
of the basic pension, i.e.
2,920 drams or 6 dollars (arts. 34 and 35); on the
death of a breadwinner, each child who has lost one parent receives around 6
dollars,
while each child who has lost both parents receives around 7-8 dollars
(art. 26).
- The
shift to a system of family allowances as from January 1999 has failed to
resolve the problem of subsistence for large families
with meagre
resources.
- A
scheme for evaluating the needs of families has been in operation since 1993.
At the beginning of 2001 the total number of families
registered in this scheme
was 318,500:
Number of families receiving an allowance - 186,623
Number of children in families receiving an allowance - 231,385
Total number of families headed by single mothers - 13,888
Number of children in families headed by single mothers - 21,740
Number of families containing disabled children - 6,296
Number of disabled children in families - 6,905
Number of large families (four or more children) - 22,296
Number of children in large families - 97,272.
- The
total number of families living in the disaster zone who are registered with the
scheme is 101,760:
Number of children who have lost one parent -
10,888
Number of families containing children who have lost one parent - 4,323
Number of families containing children who have lost two parents - 286
Number of children who have lost two parents in families - 539.
- The
total number of families living in temporary housing in the disaster zone is
11,427 (information supplied by the Social Services
Department of the Ministry
of Social Welfare).
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
- Article
31 of the Constitution stipulates that “all citizens have a right to a
satisfactory standard of living for themselves and their families, including
a
right to housing, and also a right to improve their standard of living. The
State shall take the necessary steps for the realization
of this
right”.
- Article
8 of the Children’s Rights Act stipulates that “every child shall
have the right to the conditions of life necessary
for his or her full physical,
mental and spiritual development. The main responsibility for providing the
necessary conditions of
life for the child’s development shall be borne by
the child’s parents or other legal representatives. Where the parents
or
other legal representatives are unable or find it impossible to provide the
child with the necessary conditions of life, appropriate
assistance shall be
provided by the State”.
- Article
13 of the Act stipulates that “with a view to guaranteeing the
child’s all-round care and upbringing within the
family, the State and its
relevant organs shall assist the parents or other legal representatives in
ensuring the child’s well-being
and encourage the activities of
psychological, educational and advisory services in support of the
family”.
- Under
government decision No. 727 of 19 November 1998, a system of family allowances
to combat poverty was introduced from 1 January
1999, underpinned by a
pointsbased system for evaluating the needs of families. This system was
introduced in order to mitigate
the negative impact of social and economic
circumstances in Armenia, to prevent the growth of poverty and to provide
targeted State
help to families below the poverty line.
- Expenditure
on family allowances from the State budget was 21,149,979 drams in 1999, or
5,827 drams per quarter, [sic] 79,000,000
drams in 2000 and 165,000,000 drams in
2001. The family allowance to combat poverty is granted to families if their
needs exceed
a threshold set by the Government for each calendar year. The
system of family allowances to combat poverty replaced a system composed
of
various allowances, concessions and compensation payments which were granted to
children in specific socially vulnerable groups,
irrespective of the extent of
their families’ needs. At the beginning of 2001 a total of 318,500
families were registered
in the system for the evaluation of family needs.
- In
1999 and 2000 humanitarian aid totalling 1,024,750,000 drams was distributed
to 315,000 families by the Ministry of Social Welfare.
In April this year
aid in the form of goods was granted to deprived families under the new
programme of humanitarian assistance.
- Over
a period of one month in 1996, with technical support from the World Bank,
the Department of Statistics, Registration and Analysis
carried out a
sample survey of 5,040 households. The main purpose of the survey was
to study the standard of living of the population
in the transitional period and
identify patterns of poverty in the country. The extent of poverty has
increased sharply during the
period of transition.
- With
help from World Bank specialists, ways and means of evaluating poverty were
selected and appropriate calculations were carried
out to determine the absolute
poverty line. Calculations of the absolute level of poverty are based on
expenditure on food. The
food basket and the coefficient of expenditure on
goods and services were used to calculate the actual minimum consumer basket,
whose
cost was defined as the poverty line. In this way, all households in
Armenia, as well as members of households, were divided into
three groups:
nonpoor, poor and extremely poor.
Table 15
|
|
Total
|
100
|
Non-poor
|
45.3
|
Poor
|
27.0
|
Extremely poor
|
27.7
|
Poverty and household size
- A
correlation was noted between poverty and household size. The greatest risk of
poverty is found in households containing many dependants.
Table 16
|
Average number of household
members
|
Household size (members)
|
Number of children in the family
|
Total
|
3.94
|
1.26
|
Non-poor
|
3.57
|
1.07
|
Poor
|
4.13
|
1.35
|
Extremely poor
|
4.52
|
1.55
|
- While
the average household size for the whole sample was 3.9, it was 4.1 for the
poor, and 4.5 for the extremely poor. Extremely
poor households had the highest
number of children (1.55 as against 1.07 for non-poor households). The
extremely poor made up 20.7
per cent of married couples with one child, 19.5 per
cent of those with two children and 27.3 per cent of those with three or more
children.
- Conspicuous
poverty is found in households with eight or more members. Of such households
40.2 per cent were extremely poor, 23.4
per cent poor and only 36.4 per cent
nonpoor.
- Regression
analysis shows that the presence of one child in a family increases the poverty
level by 6.9 per cent in comparison with
a family with no children.
VIII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
- The
education system in Armenia was set up as a constituent part of the unified
educational complex of the former Soviet Union, and
inherited both its positive
and its negative features. While retaining traditional, positive priorities,
the leadership of the Republic
is endeavouring through reform to raise the
education system to world standards. With this in mind an Education Act was
adopted in May 1999 as the legal framework for all reforms designed to upgrade
education in Armenia. In accordance with article
6, paragraph 3, of the Act,
the State guarantees citizens free general secondary education and, subject to
competitive access, free
secondary, higher and postgraduate vocational training
in State educational institutions.
The sphere of general education
- In
the academic year 1999-2000 there were 1,436 free State schools with a total
enrolment of 581,764, and 23 private schools with
a total enrolment of 2,230,
equivalent to 0.4 per cent of the number of pupils in State
schools.
- The
number of schools (day schools and evening schools) in the disaster zone (in the
areas hit by the earthquake) is shown in table
17 below.
Table 17
|
|
1997
|
1998
|
Shirak
|
175
|
178
|
179
|
Lori
|
177
|
169
|
169
|
Tavush
|
83
|
85
|
85
|
Total
|
435
|
432
|
433
|
- The
number of children of school age who are not attending school is shown in table
18 below.
Table 18
|
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Number (thousands)
|
125.5
|
123.0
|
121.5
|
123.6
|
As a percentage of the total number of children aged 7 to 16
|
21.5
|
20.7
|
20.2
|
20.5
|
Source: Ministry of Statistics.
Table 19
Causes of non-attendance at classes and non-holding
of classes
(a) According to head teachers
|
Percentage
|
Poor health
|
49.7
|
Poor facilities
|
25.7
|
Lack of books and school supplies
|
7.2
|
Pupils obliged to work in order to help their families
|
10.2
|
Pupils visit private tutors during classes
|
4.8
|
Other
|
2.4
|
(b) According to teachers
Causes of non-attendance and
non-holding of classes
|
Percentage
|
Poor health of teachers
|
21.8
|
Teachers have family problems
|
3.9
|
Additional work in order to survive
|
6.3
|
Pupils’ lack of interest in studies
|
13.7
|
No reply
|
54.3
|
(c) According to pupils
Causes of non-attendance and
non-holding of classes
|
Percentage
|
Poor health
|
53.9
|
Poor facilities
|
18.5
|
Lack of books and school supplies
|
3.9
|
Pupils obliged to work in order to help their families
|
15.8
|
Pupils visit private tutors during classes
|
2.6
|
Other
|
5.3
|
Source: National Statistical Service.
- For
all three levels of general education (primary, secondary and senior classes),
special curricula are designed for teaching human
rights, as well as the
foundations of democracy and civil society. These will be incorporated into the
syllabus during the period
2000-2002. Some of these curricula are already being
taught, while others are in the process of development.
- For
primary school pupils (forms 1 to 3), with help from the Norwegian Refugee
Council, a textbook entitled Hello, It’s Me: My Rights and
Obligations has been prepared and published. Using this book, children can
be introduced to basic concepts in the field of human rights. With
the aim of
successfully implementing curricula for human rights education in primary
classes, the Centre for Educational Reform in
the Ministry of Education and the
Norwegian Refugee Council are organizing retraining courses for teachers.
- The
publication of a textbook, entitled Foundations of the State and the Law,
for pupils in the senior classes, was a significant step forward in civic and
legal education in general education schools. Study
of the following subjects
will begin in the new academic year (20002001): “Human rights”
(form 8), “Civics”
(form 9) and “Foundations of the State and
the law” (form 10). At the same time, guidance is being devised for
teachers
in forms 7 to 10 on legal topics.
- In
cooperation with various international and local voluntary associations (WB,
SIDA, UNICEF, etc.), the Ministry is implementing
a programme of reform in
boarding schools. The programme has two main
elements:
(a) Upgrading the level of education and living
conditions in boarding schools;
(b) Development of a system of social support for children who need special
educational facilities, in order to halt the flow of
children into boarding
schools.
- Under
the supplementary programme for textbooks which forms part of the programme for
the reform of educational funding and management,
publication of textbooks for
general education schools was completed in 2001. As a result, all pupils will
be provided with textbooks,
and those from deprived families will receive them
free of charge.
- In
2000, with help from UNICEF, a survey was conducted of children who for various
reasons had not received an education. This year
it is planned to publish the
findings of the survey and to convene a scientific conference to consider ways
and means of addressing
the needs identified.
- Three-month
classes for children who have not attended kindergarten have been held since
2000, with a view to preparing them for school.
Vocational training
- Under
article 35 of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to education,
including the right to free vocational training in State educational
institutions, subject
to competitive access. Currently 77 State secondary
vocational establishments and 10 subsidiary establishments are operating in
Armenia, and 25,257 students are studying over 100 subjects in them,
including 10,411 State-sponsored students. Grants for State-sponsored
students stand
- at 4,800 drams.
Tuition fees in fee-paying departments range from 60,000 to 150,000 drams,
depending on subject. Since the level
of State sponsorship has remained
constant over the past two or three years, the number of students studying in
fee-paying departments
is rising. Secondary vocational educational
establishments or their subsidiaries are operating in all the country’s
provinces,
as shown in table 20 below.
Table 20
Number of secondary vocational educational
establishments
|
Subsidiaries
|
Erevan
|
29
|
0
|
Shirak
|
10
|
0
|
Lori
|
9
|
0
|
Syunik
|
7
|
0
|
Gegharkunik
|
6
|
2
|
Tavush
|
5
|
0
|
Kotayk
|
5
|
1
|
Aragatzotn
|
0
|
2
|
Armavir
|
4
|
1
|
Ararat
|
2
|
3
|
Vayots Dzor
|
0
|
1
|
Total
|
77
|
10
|
- Citizens
in the following categories are granted preferential access to secondary
vocational establishments:
(a) Group 1 and group 2 disabled
persons and those disabled since childhood;
(b) Children of dead military personnel and group 1 disabled military
personnel;
(c) Orphans aged up to 18.
Higher education
- One
of the most radical changes involved the introduction of three-tier higher
education. The process of transition to three-tier
higher education began long
before the adoption of the Act. Three higher educational establishments, with a
total student body of
over 15,000 (Erevan State University, the Armenian State
Engineering University and the Armenian Agricultural Academy), have already
shifted to the three-tier system of education. The features of three-tier
higher education are dictated by a desire not only to
introduce generally
accepted international standards, but also to introduce improved forms and
methods of education, in particular
in terms of scope for systematic testing.
In addition, differentiation by grades of education makes it possible to
regulate the
depth of knowledge and skills and the requisite level of
professionalism in specific fields. The process has been successfully completed
in the above-mentioned institutions, and is being tested in
others.
- The
second overall reform introduced in the educational field under the Education
Act (chap. 4, arts. 36-44) relates to private (non-State) educational
establishments. They have appeared as a result of the new economic
relationships in Armenia, and specifically the introduction of market relations.
Private educational establishments will be accredited
after a legal framework
has been created involving the requisite regulations on licensing. The
development of the legal framework
is nearing completion. The requisite
machinery has been in operation in the Ministry of Education since October
1999.
- Under
the Education Act, the Ministry of Education and Science has drawn up a State
programme for the development of education over the period 2001-2005,
which is
centred on raising the level of education and broadening the involvement of
children in the system. The programme has been
approved by the Government and
by the National Assembly.
- Set
out below is a list of regulations drawn up and introduced in the system of
higher education since the adoption of the Education Act, the purpose of which
is to create a legal framework for the system of higher education and protect
human rights within it. Certain
regulations have been temporarily implemented
pending the adoption of a Higher Education Act,
namely:
(a) Regulations concerning the council of rectors of higher
educational establishments;
(b) Procedure for licensing educational establishments;
(c) Temporary procedure for recruiting the teaching staff of higher
educational establishments;
(d) Temporary procedure for selection of deans of faculties;
(e) List of specializations involving five-year courses in higher
education;
(f) Lists of specializations in correspondence courses;
(g) Temporary procedure for transfers of students between higher educational
establishments;
(h) Temporary procedure for selection of heads of department;
(i) Regulations on the accreditation of higher educational
establishments;
(j) Regulations on the transfer of students of higher educational
establishments to repeat courses, expulsion and readmission;
(k) Regulations governing documents certifying attendance at courses of
higher education;
(l) Regulations governing surveys of students held to assign ratings to
teaching staff;
(m) Regulations governing methods for concluding contracts with teaching and
administrative staff of higher educational establishments;
(n) Principles of the national theory of higher education;
(o) Temporary regulations on sitting and resitting State examinations and
denial of admission to such examinations.
The purpose of the regulations listed above is to protect the rights of the
teaching staff of higher educational establishments.
- The
rights of students protected under the Education Act are:
(a) The
right to free higher education, subject to competitive access (the right to
higher education regardless of sex, age, ethnic
origin, religion, race or
citizenship);
(b) The right to study in any type of higher educational establishment
regardless of the curriculum followed and the type of ownership
of the
establishment;
(c) The right to higher education using the most up-to-date curricula and
standards;
(d) The right to choose a specialization, where the sole possible
restriction is denial of admission on grounds of health;
(e) The right to continue studies in order to acquire greater knowledge of
the occupation one has chosen;
(f) An equal right for all to the testing of knowledge acquired;
(g) The right to challenge the results of the testing of knowledge
acquired.
- In
addition to the above, there are privileges which are strictly regulated under
international treaties, the Constitution and Armenian legislation,
namely:
(a) Waiver of competition for access to higher educational
establishments for children who have been disabled since birth, as well
as group
I [sic] and group II disabled persons;
(b) For members of the families of military personnel who died for Armenian
freedom and independence;
(c) For personnel demobilized from the ranks of the regular Armenian armed
forces;
(d) The right to receive grants, both on a competitive basis, and for
students in particular need;
(e) A free medical examination once a year;
(f) Provision of hostel accommodation for non-local students.
- It
is appropriate to mention that the introduction of specializations relating to
the abovementioned problem into Armenian higher
educational establishments is of
particular importance in the context of the protection of human rights. The
origins of the problem
are studied in almost all higher educational
establishments, where a substantial part of the courses covers the problems of
the environment,
as an integral part of the protection of human rights.
- With
a view to improving the upbringing of children under school age, a programme to
upgrade the skills of educators and heads was
implemented in two provinces,
while special courses for parents were given in five districts. The programme
is to be implemented
with the support of UNICEF.
B. Aims of education (art. 29)
- Under
the Education Act, the principles underpinning State educational policy are as
follows:
Education has a humanist character, and priority is given
to universal human values, human life and health, the free and all-round
development of the personality, the inculcation of civic awareness, national
dignity, patriotism, the rule of law and an ecological
view of the world.
- State
educational standards are drawn up and published to serve as the basis for
evaluation of the educational level and skills of
graduates, irrespective of the
type of education they have received or the legal or organizational status of
the educational establishments
concerned.
- The
main functions of pre-school education are as follows:
(a) Creation
of the foundations for the physical, moral and intellectual development of the
child;
(b) Creation of conditions for communication in the mother tongue and, on
that basis, study of foreign languages;
(c) Development of basic mathematical skills;
(d) Familiarization with the basic rules of behaviour, the components of the
Armenian environment and ecology, its history and national
culture;
(e) Formation of a sense of love for and devotion to the Motherland;
(f) Acquisition of basic working skills and abilities;
(g) Preparation for school education.
- The
main functions of general education are as follows:
(a) Acquisition
by the pupils of fundamental knowledge of nature, society, technology, industry
and ecology, and creation of the
requisite conditions for their independent
education and development in the system of lifelong education;
(b) Shaping of individuals and citizens who are attached to universal human
and national values, who receive and transmit the national
cultural, moral and
psychological heritage and have a proactive civic attitude.
- The
main function of vocational education is the training of students who have
received a basic general education for work requiring
an initial vocational
qualification.
- The
purpose of higher vocational education is to provide training and further
training for the acquisition of high-level vocational
skills, and to meet demand
from individuals to pursue their training after basic general and secondary
vocational education.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art.
31)
- The
Education Act defines extra-curricular activities as
follows:
(a) The purpose of extra-curricular activities is to
create conditions for the development of pupils’ interests through the
organization of their leisure. They are directed towards their spiritual,
aesthetic and physical development, the inculcation of
military and patriotic
values and the acquisition of ecological and applied knowledge;
(b) Extra-curricular activities are provided through centres for children
and young people specializing in creativity and aesthetics;
music and art
schools and schools for the arts; clubs; centres for young patriots,
technicians, nature lovers and tourists; sports
academies; health camps; and
other organizations offering extra-curricular activities.
The right of the child to an active life and participation
in cultural life
- The
Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sport is responsible for the cultural
education of children. Bearing in mind the specific
circumstances in Armenia
and existing cultural traditions, as well as experience accumulated in the
sphere of education, and for
the purpose of enhancing the process of learning,
the Ministry of Culture’s education department has developed and submitted
to the Government a new blueprint for music schools, schools for the arts and
art schools which addresses the issues of State support for such schools.
The new blueprint makes it possible to identify and support
talented and able
children who cannot afford to pay for studies. Under the blueprint, and in the
light of the specific equipment
and facilities available in each school, as well
as the availability of teaching staff, changes can be made in the syllabus.
- In
addition to the new syllabuses and class outlines which have been drawn up, with
the aim of improving education and raising the
quality of programmes for the
most vulnerable categories of children, the Ministry of Culture is taking steps
to identify the required
resources. The Ministry oversees and guarantees
high-quality education for disabled children. Together with the above-mentioned
blueprint for music schools and schools for the arts, the Ministry organizes
concerts, exhibitions and countrywide competitions,
and helps young specialists
to participate in masterclasses and international competitions.
Table 21
Cultural organizations in Armenia
|
Description
|
Total number
|
Children participating
|
Cultural centres for ethnic minorities
|
Purpose: to preserve the cultural distinctiveness of ethnic
minorities
|
Precise number not known
|
Yes
|
Unions of artists
|
Unions of composers, writers, architects, journalists, theatre workers and
designers
|
Precise number not known
|
|
Children’s creativity centres
|
Units for music, dance, design and painting
|
Precise number not known
|
Yes
|
Schools for the arts
|
Music, drawing, dance and theatre
|
46
|
6 748
|
Young Spectator’s Theatre
|
The theatre has groups for drawing, dance, music and recitation
|
|
|
Children’s music schools
|
Units for piano, string instruments, traditional instruments and wind
instruments
|
122
|
25 678
|
Schools for painting
|
Painting, graphic arts, sculpture, design and history of the arts
|
25
|
1 599
|
Table 22
Operational music schools, schools for the arts and
painting
|
Music schools
|
Schools of painting
|
Schools for the arts
|
Total
|
Shirak
|
15
|
3
|
4
|
22
|
Tavush
|
8
|
2
|
2
|
12
|
Vayots Dzor
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
6
|
Gegharkunik
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
14
|
Syunik
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
13
|
Kotayk
|
8
|
1
|
15
|
24
|
Armavir
|
17
|
2
|
0
|
19
|
Ararat
|
15
|
3
|
0
|
18
|
Aragatzotn
|
8
|
3
|
2
|
13
|
Lori
|
17
|
4
|
6
|
27
|
Total, all districts
|
101
|
24
|
43
|
168
|
Erevan
|
21
|
1
|
3
|
25
|
Total
|
122
|
25
|
46
|
193
|
- The
Young Spectator’s Theatre, founded in 1929, is the only children’s
theatre in the country. Each year more than 1,500
children are organized in
various groups under the auspices of the theatre. Despite difficulties, the
theatre has never suspended
its activities, even in 19921994, during the
severe economic crisis. The theatre has around 30,000 spectators
each year, putting
on 150 productions, which take place during the theatre
season. Only 5 or 10 per cent of the tickets are sold in rural
areas, despite
low prices. The funds made available from the State budget are
sufficient only to pay the salaries of the theatre staff. The theatre
survives
thanks to the help of sponsors and volunteers.
Opportunities for active leisure
Table 23
Institutions providing extra-curricular activities
in Armenia
Institutions
providing extra-curricular activities
|
Description
|
Total number in 1990
|
Total number in 2001
|
Young technicians’ group
|
Teaching technical skills to children (construction, toymaking, basic
model designing skills)
|
39
|
17
|
Young nature lovers’ group
|
Study of naturerelated subjects (zoology, nature protection, botany
and medicinal plants)
|
17
|
8
|
Young tourists’ group
|
Study of tourist itineraries in Armenia (for pedestrians, rock climbers,
cyclists, skaters, etc.)
|
1
|
0
|
National centre for aesthetic education
|
There are groups for drawing, sculpture, design, music and dance.
Exhibitions of children’s work are organized
|
1
|
1 (plus 14 subcentres)
|
Sports academies
|
Groups for various types of sport
|
111
|
94
|
Ex-palaces of pioneers
|
Study of history, art, science and technology
|
58
|
49
|
Total number of institutions providing extra-curricular activities
|
|
227
|
169
|
- As
the table shows, the number of institutions providing extra-curricular
activities fell between 1990 and 2001 - or rather, the level
of activities in
such institutions fell, owing to a shortage of funds, modern technology and
appropriate staff. The decentralization
policy transferred the burden of
funding and running such institutions onto families and communities. This
transfer was in keeping
with the educational reform policy, under which special
attention is devoted to basic education. This is reflected in the section
of
the budget covering these institutions, which fell from 10.9 per cent of the
total in 1995 to 2.2 per cent. Only a few such institutions
continue to receive
funds directly from the Ministry of Education and Science. The lack of a policy
for vocational training and
the fact that it is impossible to obtain funds from
local communities are the causes of the unsatisfactory level of provision and
the low level of participation by schools.
Children’s sports academies
- The
institutions providing extra-curricular activities are supplemented by 94 sports
academies currently operating in Armenia. In
the past these schools operated
under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs. Recently many of them
have been transferred
to local communities, which are fully responsible for
running and funding them. The remaining 14 schools are still State-run.
The
pupils engage in nearly 30 different types of sport, the most popular being
football. Since 1990 the number of sports academies
has dropped by 15 per cent,
while the number of pupils has fallen by 47 per cent - only 10 per cent of this
figure can be ascribed
to emigration.
Table 24
Sports academies operating under the Ministry of
Education and Science
|
|
1992
|
1994
|
1996
|
2000
|
Number of schools
|
111
|
108
|
110
|
105
|
94
|
Number of pupils
|
69 817
|
63 971
|
58 706
|
45 429
|
36 633
|
Rest and health camps
- During
the Soviet period, children’s camps operated in the school holidays.
Children were sent to school camps to develop their
mental and physical
capacities. Until 1988 some 150,000 children spent their rest time in the
camps each year. More than 100 of
these camps operated continuously. Most of
them fell under the Ministry of Education and Science and the Council of Trade
Unions.
In 1998 more than 20 camps were destroyed in an earthquake. With the
economic crisis, the number of children spending time in the
camps also
fell. Between 1994 and 1997 a total of 5,000 children stayed in the camps.
In 2001 the State provided 100 million drams for holidays
for the most
vulnerable categories of children. In 2001 a number of activities are planned
for young people, including the following:
(a) Organization of
summer holidays for children from deprived families;
(b) Organization of traditional school games;
(c) Organization of the Armenian National Assembly Cup competition for
pupils in forms 1 to 3;
(d) Organization of exhibitions, concerts, festivals, competitions, etc.
Children’s libraries
- Currently
80 children’s libraries are operating in Armenia. There are also 10
district libraries which have sections containing
children’s books. The
most recent figures put the number of readers in children’s libraries at
115,000, and the book
stock stands at 1 million.
The Armenian national scout movement
- The
scout movement arrived in Armenia in 1989. It began in Armenian schools and
spread throughout the country. The Armenian national
scout movement was one of
the first [sic] to become a full member of the world scout movement. As a
result, opportunities for participating
in the world scout movement increased.
There are 2,000 children in the scout movement, including 300 children aged
between 7 and
12.
IX. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in situations of emergency
1. Refugee children
(art. 22)
- The
duty of the State to protect children’s rights in unfavourable
circumstances and emergency situations is laid down in the
Children’s
Rights Act. This involves protection of the rights of children who have been
deprived of parental care, and their
placement in residential children’s
homes (arts. 24 and 25), the rights of disabled children and physically and
mentally challenged
children, the rights of children in emergency situations,
and the rights of child refugees (arts. 26, 28 and 30). These problems
are
essentially regulated by the applicable social legislation, the Medical
Assistance and Services Act, the Refugees Act, etc.
- Refugee
children who have lost their homes and personal property as a result of military
activities and other conflicts are entitled
to protection of their rights. The
State and its relevant organs take steps to search for their parents or
relations, provide material,
medical and other assistance and, when necessary,
send them to sanatoriums or boarding or other institutions (Children’s
Rights
Act, art. 30).
- Under
article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children in refugee
families must be provided with protection and help
in exercising their rights,
including, when necessary, help in reunification with their families, etc.
- Refugees
are granted special treatment in housing allocation, job placement, studies,
access to special programmes of humanitarian
assistance, etc. Efforts are under
way to build housing for refugees.
- According
to data as at 1 July 1998, the number of under-age children from refugee
families was 33,178, of whom 13,123 (39.6 per cent)
were located in the cities
and 20,055 (60.4 per cent) in the countryside.
2. Children in armed conflicts (art. 38); physical and
psychological recovery and social integration (art. 39)
- Involving
children in military activities or armed conflicts, promoting war and violence
among children and setting up children’s
military groups are forbidden
under Armenian legislation. It is forbidden for children aged under 15 to
participate in military
activities. During armed conflicts the State provides
special protection for children (Children’s Rights Act, art. 29).
- During
the forcible deportation of over 5,000 peaceable inhabitants of 24 villages in
Karabagh, including women and children, in 1990
and 1991, they were held in
complete isolation and subjected to physical and mental humiliation.
- As
a result of the Karabagh conflict, there are currently 870 missing persons,
including 36 women and 2 children, on the Armenian
side. Because of
bombing of border villages, children were killed and injured.
- The
issue of post-conflict rehabilitation of children who suffered during the
military activities is at the centre of attention for
the Armenian
Government.
B. Children involved with the system of administration of
juvenile justice
1. The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
- Legal
proceedings in cases involving minors are governed by the general rules set out
in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Chapter
50 of the Code contains specific
provisions relating to proceedings in cases involving minors. The legal
representatives of victims,
plaintiffs, suspects and accused persons are their
parents, adoptive parents or guardians, who, during criminal proceedings,
represent
the lawful interests of persons participating in a case who are minors
or are lacking in legal capacity. Where a minor has no legal
representative,
the body conducting the criminal proceedings appoints the authority responsible
for tutelage and guardianship as
the legal representative.
- By
decision of an investigating body, investigating officer, procurator or court,
one of the parents, adoptive parents or guardians
of a victim, plaintiff,
suspect or accused person may be authorized to participate in criminal
proceedings as his or her legal representative.
A parent or guardian whose
application is supported by all the other legal representatives may act as the
legal representative.
Otherwise, the person participating in the criminal
proceedings as legal representative is selected by the procurator or the court
(Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 76).
- The
legal representative of a witness who is aged under 14 - or, with the permission
of the body conducting criminal proceedings,
of an older minor - has the right
to be informed when the minor being represented is summoned to the body
conducting criminal proceedings
and to participate in investigations or other
procedural activities (art. 87). The above-mentioned article
- also
lists the rights of legal representatives who are participating in
investigations or other procedural activities. Calls for
questioning are
addressed to under-age witnesses, victims, suspects or accused persons, as a
rule, through their legal representatives
(art. 205, para. 3).
- An
under-age witness may be questioned regardless of age, if it is considered that
he or she may provide information of significance
for the case. The questioning
of witnesses under the age of 14 - or, should the investigating officer so
decide, 16 - must be conducted
in the presence of the child’s legal
representative. Before the questioning begins, the rights and obligations of
the legal
representative are explained to him or her: the legal representative
has the right to be present during the questioning, and, with
the permission of
the investigating officer, to make observations and pose questions. Questions
may be disallowed by the investigating
officer, but they must be noted in the
record. Witnesses who are aged under 16 are informed of their obligation to
give a plausible
account of all they know concerning the case, but they are not
warned that it is an offence to refuse to give evidence or to give
evidence they
know to be false (art. 207).
- By
decision of the body conducting criminal proceedings, participants in the case
who do not know the language in which the proceedings
are being conducted are
given an opportunity to exercise all their procedural rights free of charge with
the aid of an interpreter
(art. 15).
- Questioning
of deaf, dumb or blind witnesses is conducted with the help of an interpreter
who understands their sign language or is
able to communicate with them by means
of signs (art. 208).
- At
the request of the parties or on the initiative of the court, the questioning of
a minor may be conducted in the absence of the
accused, if this is necessary for
the full, comprehensive and objective investigation of the circumstances of the
case. On return
to the courtroom, the evidence provided by the under-age
witness is presented to the accused, who is given an opportunity to ask
the
witness questions relating to the evidence he or she has provided. Witnesses
aged under 16 are removed from the court following
questioning, except in cases
where, at the request of the parties or on its own initiative, the court decides
that the continued
presence of a witness is necessary (art. 341).
- Article
440 of the Code stipulates that, in addition to information which must be
confirmed by the Juvenile Affairs Department, it
is also necessary to clarify
(a) the minor’s age (date of birth); (b) details of the minor’s life
and upbringing; and
(c) the minor’s state of health and general
development.
- The
court may decide to waive punishment and impose compulsory re-education measures
on a minor if it reaches the conclusion that
the minor can be reformed without
the imposition of criminal penalties (art. 443).
- Remand
is used as a preventive measure in the case of minors only when the minor is
accused of moderately serious, serious or particularly
serious offences (art.
442).
- The
Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that under-age suspects or accused persons
should be placed under supervision as a preventive
measure. While an under-age
suspect or accused person is under the supervision of his or her parents or
guardians or the administration
of a strict-regime children’s institution
in which he or she is living, they have an obligation to ensure that the minor
behaves
properly, attends when called by the body conducting criminal
proceedings and complies with other procedural obligations.
- When
a minor is placed under supervision as a preventive measure, the body conducting
criminal proceedings notifies the decision to
his or her parents, adoptive
parents or guardians or a representative of the administration of the
children’s institution and
forwards a copy of the decision to them,
informs them of the nature of the suspicion or accusation and explains their
rights, obligations
and responsibility, and this is noted in the record.
Parents and guardians may refuse to exercise supervision of under-age suspects
or accused persons. Persons who have undertaken to exercise supervision are
liable under the law if they do not discharge their
obligations (art. 148).
- The
Code makes provision for the right of suspects, accused persons, their defence
counsel and their legal representatives, as well
as other interested
participants in the proceedings, to lodge an objection with the procurator
against a decision by a body conducting
criminal proceedings to impose or modify
a preventive measure. A court decision to impose a preventive measure can be
appealed to
a court of cassation (art. 150).
- Armenian
legislation stipulates that a court may impose coercive measures of a medical
nature on persons who have committed offences
when suffering from diminished
responsibility, if they continue to pose a threat to society. Decisions to
initiate proceedings relating
to the imposition of coercive measures of a
medical nature are taken by the investigating officer and the procurator. The
following
may participate in investigations: the defence counsel, the legal
representative and the person in respect of whom proceedings have
been initiated
for the imposition of coercive measures of a medical nature, except in cases
where the person’s mental state
precludes such participation (arts. 450
and 451). Participation by the defence counsel is mandatory from the moment
when the proceedings
relating to the imposition of coercive measures of a
medical nature are initiated. In cases involving persons in respect of whom
proceedings relating to the imposition of coercive measures of a medical nature
are being conducted, by decision of the investigating
officer, procurator or
court, the close relatives of such a person or a representative of the medical
institution in which the person
has been placed may participate as legal
representatives in the case (arts. 454 and 455). A person in respect of whom
proceedings
relating to the imposition of coercive measures of a medical nature
are being conducted is entitled to all the rights of an accused
person
(art. 456).
- Under
article 18 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a person who is suspected or
accused of having committed an offence is innocent
for as long as his or her
guilt has not been established by a court ruling which has duly entered into
force, in accordance with
the procedure set out in the Code. A suspect or
accused person is not obliged to prove his or her innocence. Responsibility for
demonstrating guilt falls on the prosecution. A guilty finding cannot be based
on supposition; guilt must be confirmed by a set
of interrelated evidence.
- While
proceedings are being conducted it is forbidden to gather, keep, use or
distribute information which relates to the personal
or family life of the
person concerned, or any other information of a personal nature. By order of
the court, investigating body,
investigating officer or procurator, persons
participating in investigations and judicial proceedings must not publish
- such
information, and must give a written undertaking to that effect. Offences
against the inviolability of personal and family life
are punishable, and the
victims are entitled to compensation (art. 170).
- The
participants in a case may challenge the actions and decisions of the body
conducting the proceedings. Every convicted person
also has the right to lodge
an appeal against a court ruling or decision with a higher court and to apply to
inter-State bodies responsible
for the protection of human rights and freedoms
under international agreements to which Armenia is a party, if all legal
remedies
provided for in Armenian legislation concerning criminal procedure have
been exhausted (art. 103, para. 8).
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form
of
detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial
settings (art. 37 (b), (c)
and (d))
- The
system of administration of juvenile justice is not fully developed. There are
no laws relating to young offenders, special courts
for cases involving minors
or systems whereby the offender is released from custody while the penalty is
being enforced.
- The
Criminal Code covers children aged over 14. The Central Criminal Investigation
Department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs
has a unit which guides and
coordinates work relating to cases involving minors. This work is carried out
by each police sub-unit
throughout the country, which deals with under-age
children who have broken the law or have become involved in criminal activity.
Such children are either released back to their parents, or taken away to
centres for the reception and placement of minors, or
placed in children’s
shelters. Minors who have committed offences are handed over to investigating
bodies in accordance with
the law, where they may be held for no more than 72
hours.
- There
are three types of evaluation criteria used to determine the degree of
responsibility of children before the law:
(a) The percentage of
offences committed by minors;
(b) The percentage of minors who are convicted;
(c) The number of minors in prison.
Incidence of crime
- In
Soviet Armenia the total number of offences committed was very low. This was
due first and foremost to strong family ties, the
education system and the
watchful role of the State. The deteriorating economic situation and the
excessively high level of freedom
led to a rise in crime. However, there are
cases where sentences imposed on minors have been too severe. For example, two
minors
with previous convictions currently serving sentences in a colony for
minors were given two-year custodial sentences for theft involving
amounts of
5,370 and 14,600 drams respectively.
Table 25
|
Number of minors convicted
|
Number of offences committed by minors
|
1989
|
116
|
243
|
1990
|
133
|
256
|
1995
|
297
|
403
|
1997
|
86
|
741
|
1998
|
41
|
589
|
1999
|
50
|
588
|
2000
|
39
|
610
|
30.4.2001
|
44
|
|
Source: Data for 2001 from the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Department for the Enforcement of Criminal Penalties.
Number of minors in prison
- The
correctional labour colony in the town of Abovian consists of a women’s
section, a children’s section and a remand
centre. On 1 May 2001 the
colony was holding 44 minors, including those convicted when under age but now
aged 19 or 20. Sixteen
of them are in the section for minors, and four infants
are with their mothers in the women’s section. The average age of
the
under-age prisoners is 16 and a half. Older prisoners make up 40 per cent of
the total number. The overwhelming majority of
the minors were convicted of
theft, justifying it on grounds of difficult social and economic circumstances.
Indeed, most of the
minors are from poor families. All are ethnic Armenians,
except for one (a Russian who committed an offence in Armenia).
Table 26
Offences committed by minors held in the
Abovian
correctional labour colony
|
Number of under-age convicted prisoners
|
Theft
|
15
|
Murder, premeditated attempted murder, grievous bodily harm
|
12
|
Fraud
|
1
|
Rape
|
2
|
Robbery
|
3
|
Strong-arm robbery
|
8
|
Pilfering
|
2
|
Absconding after conviction
|
1
|
Total
|
44
|
Remand centres
- The
Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the period of detention while
proceedings are under way should not exceed two months,
except where the
proceedings are hampered by particular circumstances, in which case the period
of detention may be extended to six
months.
3. The sentencing of children, with particular reference to
the
prohibition of capital punishment and life imprisonment
(art. 37
(a))
- Under
the current Criminal Code, persons who were aged under 18 at the time an offence
is committed are not liable to the death penalty.
Under the new draft Code the
death penalty is to be replaced by life imprisonment, which is not applied to
persons aged under 18
at the time an offence is committed.
- Protection
of minors, like any other citizen, from torture and cruel or degrading treatment
or punishment is guaranteed by the Constitution.
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of the child (art. 39)
- No
special measures or programmes are provided in Armenia for further physical and
psychological care and sociological reintegration
after sentences have been
served.
C. Children in situations of exploitation; physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration
1. Economic
exploitation of children and child labour (art. 32)
- A
list of types of arduous work and work involving harmful or hazardous working
conditions for which it is forbidden to employ persons
aged under 18 is approved
in accordance with a procedure provided for in the law.
- The
carrying or shifting by children of weights which exceed the maxima stipulated
for them is forbidden (Code of Labour Legislation,
art. 200).
- Persons
aged under 18 may be recruited for work only after a prior medical examination,
and must undergo an annual obligatory medical
examination thereafter until they
reach the age of 18 (ibid., art. 201).
- It
is forbidden to assign manual and office workers aged under 18 to night work,
overtime work or work on rest days (ibid., art. 202).
- Manual
and office workers aged under 18 are granted annual leave of one calendar month
(ibid., art. 73). Under article 203, annual
leave may be granted during the
summer or, if the minor so wishes, at any time of the year.
- Production
norms for workers aged under 18 are set on the basis of norms for adults.
- Under
article 30 of the Civil Code, minors aged between 14 and 18 may conclude
business transactions with the consent of their parents
or guardians. They have
the right to conclude small ordinary transactions, and make use of their
earnings or other income and copyrights
and patent rights, independently.
Parents or other legal representatives conclude transactions on behalf of minors
aged under 14.
Minors aged under 14 have the right to conclude small ordinary
transactions.
- Under
article 24 of the Civil Code, persons aged under 16 may be deemed to enjoy full
legal capacity if they are employed under a
labour contract or if they engage in
business activity with the consent of their parents, guardians or adoptive
parents. In such
cases such persons enjoy full legal capacity from the time
they marry.
- The
Children’s Rights Act stipulates that a labour contract may be concluded
with a child if he or she has reached the age of
16. In exceptional
circumstances a labour contract may be concluded with a 15-year-old child.
- Children
enjoy preferential treatment as to labour rights, as set out in the labour
legislation.
2. Drug abuse (art. 33)
- Under
the Criminal Code, the unlawful manufacture, acquisition, storage, consumption,
transport, transfer or sale of narcotic drugs
are punishable in accordance with
article 229 or article 44 of the Administrative Offences Act.
- Minors
who reached the age of 16 before the offence was committed, and also, under
article 229 of the Criminal Code (Theft of narcotics),
those who committed the
offence when aged between 14 and 16, are liable to criminal prosecution.
- In
2000, two minors were convicted of drug use offences. According to data
supplied by the department in the Ministry of Internal
Affairs responsible for
combating illegal trade in narcotic substances, four minors have been placed on
an at-risk register and are
engaging in remedial activities.
- Considerable
importance is attached to efforts to prevent drug use, despite the fact that
such use is not widespread in Armenia.
Non-governmental organizations make a
significant contribution in this regard. Many of them not only prepare and
distribute appropriate
literature, but also conduct awareness campaigns in
schools.
- Personnel
of the Ministry of Internal Affairs carry out large-scale preventive efforts
among minors almost everywhere, including schools
and other educational
establishments, and special efforts are targeted on minors convicted of such
offences, with the aim of preventing
such activities in the future. Particular
attention is paid to efforts aimed at preventing the use and distribution of
drugs among
minors. In various schools and higher educational establishments
Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel conduct a variety of seminars
and
meetings on such topics as “Drugs and minors”, “The dangers of
drug addiction”, “Crime and minors”,
“Responsibility of
minors for various types of crimes”, etc.
- In
March-April 2001, with help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Ministry dealing with educational and scientific issues,
together with doctors
from the “Armenia” national hospital, a public awareness campaign
was held on the topic “Into
the twenty-first century without drugs”,
the purpose of which was to explain the dangers of drug use to pupils in the
senior
classes of Erevan schools.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)
- Sexual
offences against minors are punishable under the Criminal Code. Anyone engaging
in sexual relations with a person who is aged
under 16 or who has not reached
sexual maturity is liable to a custodial sentence of up to three years. The
same offence, when performed
in a perverted manner, is punishable by a custodial
sentence of between three and eight years (Criminal Code, art. 114). Performing
indecent acts in respect of a minor is punishable by a custodial sentence of up
to four years (ibid., art. 115). Entering into de
facto marital relations with
a person who has not reached marriageable age, or coercing a person into such
marital cohabitation,
is punishable by a custodial sentence of up to two years
or punitive deduction of earnings for up to two years. Entering into marital
relations with a person who has not reached sexual maturity or coercing a person
into such marital cohabitation is punishable by
a custodial sentence of up to
two years or punitive deduction of earnings for up to one year (ibid., art.
117).
- Under
article 9 of the Children’s Rights Act, the State and its relevant organs
are required to protect children against all
forms of violence, exploitation or
involvement in criminal activities, including the consumption, production or
sale of narcotics,
begging, prostitution, gambling or any other infringement of
their rights and interests.
- Investigation
of the problem of immoral behaviour is complicated, since there are no clear
criteria for defining such behaviour.
There is also an unofficial view that,
together with the rise in social tension, the number of young women engaged in
prostitution
is growing.
- In
current conditions the need to protect the most vulnerable categories of
children, including abandoned children and beggars, is
extremely urgent.
- Units
have been set up within the internal affairs apparatus in Armenia to combat
prostitution and drug addiction. Penalties have
been introduced under the
Criminal Code for enticing under-age girls into prostitution and keeping
brothels. Three cases of enticement
into prostitution, involving six minors,
were recorded in the year 2000. All the minors were placed on a register of
children at
risk, and are engaged in remedial activities.
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
- At
the present stage of social and economic development in Armenia, organizing
efforts to combat crime is a priority, as is the strengthening
of the legal
system, including first and foremost programmes for the prevention and
identification of crimes and offences committed
by minors. Within the Ministry
of Internal Affairs this programme is in the hands of the Juvenile Affairs
Department. In addition,
checks are periodically conducted for the purpose of
preventing lawbreaking.
- According
to data for the year 2000 supplied by the Information Centre of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, no cases were recorded
in which children were sold, resold,
abducted or unlawfully taken out of the country.
5. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
- A
number of legislative and administrative measures have been taken to protect
children from all forms of exploitation. Specifically,
provisions guaranteeing
protection of children’s rights appear in the Constitution, the
Children’s Rights Act, the Education Act, the Military Conscription Act,
the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Act, the Medical
Assistance and Services Act,
the Valued Added Tax Act, the Citizenship Act, the
Refugees Act, the Advertising Act, the State Pensions Act and the Health and
Epidemiological
Monitoring Act, and also in the Criminal Code, the Code of
Criminal Procedure, the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Marriage
and Family Code, the Labour Code, the Correctional Labour Code, the Supreme
Council decision of 8 July 1991 concerning the protection
of women, mothers and
children and priority measures to strengthen the family, the Presidential decree
of 28 March 1996 concerning
the protection of mothers and children and the Press
and Media Act.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group
(art. 30)
- Armenia
strictly demonstrates its attachment to compliance with international standards
in relation to the rights of ethnic minorities
which are set out in the
conventions and declarations of the United Nations and other international
organizations which it has signed,
including the CIS Convention concerning the
rights of persons belonging to ethnic minorities (October 1994) and the Council
of Europe’s
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
(February 1995).
- Under
article 35 of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to education;
secondary education in State educational establishments is provided free of
charge. The
Education Act, adopted on 8 May 1999 to elaborate on certain
articles in the Constitution, reaffirms that Armenia guarantees the right to
education irrespective of ethnic origin, race, sex, language, religion, etc.
(art.
6).
- Under
the Language Act, the language of instruction and education is the literary
Armenian language. In ethnic minority communities,
instruction and education in
the general curriculum may be organized in the vernacular (art. 2).
- The
Children’s Rights Act grants children the right to choose their place of
study with the consent of their parents or legal
representatives.
- Article
69 of the current Criminal Code stipulates, in relation to violations of equal
rights on ethnic or racial grounds, that “arousing
discord or ethnic or
racial enmity, premeditated actions designed to belittle ethnic honour and
dignity, or the direct or indirect
restriction of citizens’ rights or the
establishment of direct or indirect privileges on racial or ethnic grounds, are
punishable
by custodial terms of up to three years”.
- Children
from ethnic minorities enjoy all rights on an equal footing with Armenian
children, and no discrimination is practised against
them in any form.
- Some
40 voluntary associations of ethnic minorities in Armenia have been registered
with the Ministry of Justice.
- The
establishment of the Coordinating Council of Ethnic Minorities under the Office
of the President is an important step in protecting
the rights of ethnic
minorities.
- Aside
from Armenian general schools, three Russian schools and a Russo-Armenian
University are currently operating in Armenia. Russian
is taught in most
schools. In addition, there are Russian sections in 12 schools. Kurdish is
taught in some classes in areas where
there is a concentration of Kurdish
residents. Greek is taught in secondary school No. 74, Assyrian in school No. 8
and Farsi in
school No. 59. German, English, French, Spanish and Arabic are
also taught.
- Ten
Russian-language newspapers and magazines are published in Armenia. The ethnic
minorities publish the following newspapers and
periodicals: Russky dom
(Russian community), Dnipro (Ukrainian charitable foundation), Ria
Taza (Kurdish community), Golos Ezidov (National Union of Kurds),
Barekamutyun (Armenian-Kurdish Friendship Society), Bostan
(Kurdistan Committee), Shangal (National Yezdi Society), Sinjar
(Druzhba Yezdi-Kurdish Community), Koelet (Jewish community). A
colourful primer in Assyrian has been prepared for publication. Radio
programmes are broadcast in Yezdi,
Kurdish, Russian, Georgian and Assyrian.
- Many
ethnic minorities represented in Armenia have folklore troupes within their
communities. The Ukrainian children’s choir
which performs in Erevan and
Vanadzor is especially popular.
- In
September a colourful annual music festival is organized by the Union of
Nationalities in Erevan, and all ethnic groups participate.
The next
festival, to be held at the beginning of 2001, will be the
fourth.
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