PRESS RELEASE
Eurasia Foundation Representative Office in Armenia
4 Demirchyan Street, Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Alisa Alaverdyan
Tel/Fax: 374 10-58-60-59, 58-61-59
E-mail: <mailto:alisa@eurasia.am> alisa@eurasia.am
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Fighting Corruption in Armenia: Strengthening Cooperation between the
National Assembly, Civil Society and the Media
Yerevan, Armenia – More than 130 representatives of Armenia’s National
Assembly, media and civil society, and 30 representatives of international
organizations and experts, came together on April 6-7th for a conference to
discuss the cooperation between the National Assembly, civil society and the
media in the fight against corruption. The conference was organized by the
National Assembly of Armenia (NA), the Eurasia Foundation (EF), the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Arthur Baghdasaryan, Speaker of Armenia’s NA, opened the event by stating
that “the consistent fight against corruption is a political necessity for
Armenia. The successful fight against corruption depends on the progress of
democracy, because democracy means transparency, supervision and public
monitoring; that is to say everything, which is necessary for achieving
success in this difficult struggle.” He especially emphasized that “the role
of an independent press and mass media is pivotal in the fight against
corruption.” U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans; UNDP Resident
Representative, Consuelo Vidal; OSCE Ambassador, Vladimir Pryakhin; and EF
Regional Vice President, Andrea Harris, also made opening remarks.
During the first day, participants heard presentations on the role of the
media; of public monitoring institutions including the Chamber of Control;
and on cooperation between the NA and civil society in the fight against
corruption. In each session, the experience of international experts and
representatives of governments in other countries of the CIS, Eastern Europe
and Armenia served as a basis for sharing lessons learned and best
practices. During break-out sessions on day two, participants discussed each
of these issues in smaller groups and developed recommendations for future
cooperation between the NA, civil society and the media. For example, the
working group on public monitoring institutions suggested that current
legislation must explicitly state the functional separation between internal
and external auditing of government activities; and it must also clarify
what kind of auditing information can be made available to the public and
the media.
The conference concluded with an announcement of the formation of an
Armenian chapter of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against
Corruption (GOPAC), an international network of parliamentarians dedicated
to good governance and combating corruption through improved legislation and
active citizen oversight.
“The Eurasia Foundation is heartened by the fact that the leader of the
country’s Parliament is so willing to engage non-governmental organizations
and the media as equal partners in the fight against corruption. In the
coming years, EF intends to continue its work for increased cooperation
between these sectors.” stated Ms. Harris.
In a recent workshop on anti-corruption, the OSCE demonstrated that the
engagement of the country’s government, non-government and media structures
are all necessary for fighting corruption. Ms. Vidal from the UNDP agreed:
“we believe that public participation in the fight against corruption is
essential and we will continue to actively support national actors in
reducing corruption in Armenia – in order to alleviate poverty, to improve
the social structure of the country, to promote economic development, and to
enhance Armenia’s democratic development overall.”
The two-day Conference was closed with a reception at the Government
Reception Hall, which was attended by the Chairman of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, as well as
representatives of government, civil society and the media.
# # #
The Eurasia Foundation is a privately managed non-profit organization
supported by the U.S. government and other public and private donors. Since
1992, the Eurasia Foundation has invested more than $335 million through
more than 7,700 grants and technical assistance projects in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova,
Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
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This press release is made possible by the generous support of the American
people through the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Eurasia Foundation and
do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States
Government.