ARMENIA ACHIEVES PROGRESS IN STRUGGLE AGAINST RACISM AND INTOLERANCE
ARMINFO News Agency
February 14, 2007 Wednesday
Since the first report on Armenia was published in 2003, the republic
has achieved progress in the struggle against racism and intolerance,
particularly, having ratified Protocol No12 to the European Convention
on Human Rights, a member of the Secretariat of the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), who wished to remain anonymous,
told an ArmInfo correspondent, commenting upon today’s report on
Armenia.
According to the member of Secretariat, certain anxiety is caused
by the problem connected with religion. A lot has to be done to
ensure the full implementation of the rights of national minorities’
representatives. One should launch the mechanisms regulating the
issues of struggle against discrimination in civil and administrative
respect. Particularly, the national minority, Yezidis, still face
problems of earth, water and pastures. She pointed out the importance
of mechanisms to involve the representatives of the national minorities
into the public and political life of the country.
She added that the ECRI’s recommendations have no legal limits,
they imply the degree of tendency of the country’s authorities to the
struggle against such phenomenon as racism. There exist several methods
to solve the problem, she noted. The improvement of the situation
depends on the political will and the conditions under which the
government is able to improve the situation. She also emphasized the
importance of a dialogue with the national minorities.