Author: Jane Topchian

 12:58,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. On 18 January, the European Union and Armenia held their 13th Human Rights Dialogue in Yerevan.

“Armenia and the EU are committed to strengthening their partnership, advancing the human rights agenda, delivering tangible benefits to their citizens and building more inclusive societies,” the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia said in a press release.

This year’s dialogue focused on a wide range of topics, including gender equality and non-discrimination, freedom of assembly, freedom of _expression_ and information, electoral and constitutional reform, the rights of refugees, as well as strengthening labour rights. 

“The EU congratulated Armenia on positive developments related to human rights since the last Human Rights Dialogue in November 2022, despite the complex humanitarian challenges and the difficult security context. An important milestone was the adoption of the National Human Rights Action Plan (HRAP) 2023-2025. The participants exchanged views on the ongoing work on a new draft Armenian Gender Strategy and the draft equality law. The EU welcomed the efforts made to strengthen the rights of the child and the labour inspection system. Armenia also updated the EU on its constitutional review process and the next steps, and on further plans to improve the electoral system. 

“Commending Armenia for positive developments, the EU noted that the human rights situation in the country should further be improved, for instance regarding detention conditions, discrimination against persons with disabilities, violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, domestic violence and hate speech. Participants also discussed human rights in the law enforcement bodies and armed forces.

“The EU and Armenia discussed cooperation on issues related to human rights and fundamental freedoms in multilateral fora, such as the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and committed to strengthening this collaboration. The EU welcomed i.a. the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the ratification of Protocol N. 13 to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. The EU pledged to support capacity building on ICC rules and procedures within relevant government agencies of Armenia.

“Armenia informed the EU about the humanitarian and human rights impact of Azerbaijan’s large scale military offensive in Nagorno Karabakh in September 2023 and the subsequent forced displacement. In this regard the Parties reiterated their previously stated positions. Armenia stressed the importance of prompt implementation of the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice to this end. Participants discussed the efforts to address the immediate needs of over 100.000 refugees and facilitate their socio-economic inclusion, which in mid-term perspective requires significant assistance. The EU recalled the EUR 12.2 million humanitarian assistance and EUR 15 million budget support it provided, and committed to continue supporting Armenia’s long-term socio-economic resilience, including through financial and technical assistance on key areas of human rights.

“The Armenian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan. The EU delegation was headed by Dorota Dlouchy-Suliga, Head of Division in the European External Action Service.  The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Anahit Manasyan also participated in the dialogue,” reads the press release.

 11:19,

YREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vagharshak Harutyunyan has met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin.

In a readout, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Galuzin and the Armenian Ambassador discussed the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process.

“The Russian side emphasized the need for swift restoration of the trilateral work in this direction, based on a number of agreements between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

 12:13,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The French Senate will debate a motion for a resolution to condemn Azerbaijan's military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and prevent any further attempts at aggression and violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan and demanding the guarantee of the right of return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The motion for resolution, published on the Senate website, reaffirms the inviolability of the territorial integrity of Armenia, and calls for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal, to their initial positions, of Azerbaijani forces and their allies from the sovereign territory of Armenia.

It warns the French Government, the European Union and the international community about the hegemonic ambitions of Azerbaijan and Turkey as well as the danger they represent for the Republic of Armenia, its territorial integrity and peace in the Caucasus.

The motion seeks to call on the French government to demand from the Republic of Azerbaijan, under penalty of sanctions, the immediate release of the civilian and military prisoners it holds and the immediate return of the bodies of Armenian soldiers killed in combat.

The draft resolution strongly condemns the military offensive of September 19 and 20, 2023 led by Azerbaijan, with the support of its allies, in Nagorno-Karabakh, which forced almost the entire Armenian population to flee. The senators also condemn the arbitrary arrest of political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The senators wrote that “the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, when placed under Azerbaijani administration, was repeatedly subjected to organized massacres; considering that the reports of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe (ECRI) and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) attest to the impossibility of the Armenian populations to live freely in Azerbaijan and that, consequently, the security and freedom of the Armenian populations of Nagorno-Karabakh are not guaranteed…”

 10:16,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The “The Last Repair Shop,” a short documentary from the Academy Award-nominated directing duo Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, which features an Armenian character that is central to its story, has made the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Short Film, Asbarez reports. 

The film tells the story of four devoted craftspeople who help keep over 80,000 student musical instruments in good repair in the city of Los Angeles, led by the charming general manager, Steve Bagmanyan, who faced ethnic persecution in Azerbaijan in the 1980s. The film blends the unexpectedly intimate personal histories of the repair people with emotional, firsthand accounts from the actual student musicians for whom their instruments made all the difference.

Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers were both nominated for an Academy Award in 2021. Ben Proudfoot won an Academy Award in 2022.

“The Last Repair Shop” is available online on Los Angeles Times’ YouTube channel.

With one month to go until the nominations are unveiled for the 96th Oscars, the Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories: Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound, and Visual Effects.

Each shortlist is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film. (Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.)

The nominations for the 96th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

[see video]

 11:41,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Nearly all contracts between Russia and Armenia on military-technical cooperation have been fulfilled, but there are problems with certain contracts, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin has said.

“Military-technical cooperation between our countries has long tradition and is based on the agreement on military-technical cooperation between Russia and Armenia signed on June 25, 2013. Nearly all signed contracts are either completed – on time and high quality, or are in the final phase of fulfillment,” the Russian ambassador told TASS news agency.

He said that Armenia and Russia are discussing the signing of new contracts of military-technical cooperation.

At the same time, the Russian ambassador admitted that in relation to certain contracts there have been problems regarding Russia’s fulfillment of its obligations.

“In terms of certain individual contracts there are indeed issues related to the obligations on fulfilling the state order by Russian enterprises in the defense sector, however these are working issues that are resolved during dialogue between respective government agencies of Russia and Armenia,” the Ambassador said.

Armenian authorities have said that Russia has failed to deliver armaments for which Armenia has paid for.

 15:25,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will continue granting revenue tax privileges to IT startups.

A bill on extending the privileges until December 31, 2024 was adopted by parliament with 67 votes in favor and 25 abstentions on Friday at the first reading. 

The current law envisaged tax privileges (0% profit tax and 10% revenue tax) for IT startups. The new law will abolish the profit tax privilege but keep the 10% revenue tax regulation.