ARMENIA’S NOT BEING ADMITTED TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL NOT TO AFFECT COUNTRY’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2006

Yerevan, May 16. /ARKA/. Armenia’s not being admitted to the UN
Human Rights Council cannot affect on the prospects of the country’s
European integration, Director of the Caucasian Institute of Mass
Media Alexander Iskandaryan told ARKA.

According to him, this process is not equal to the country’s European
integration. “European integration, which is the result of hard work
of many structures, is a process that will last for dozens of years
and produce certain results,” Iskandaryan said.

According to him, Armenia did not reach a desirable result in the
admission to the UN Human Rights Council for objective reasons.

“Particular persons in particular commissions failed to work well
together,” he said.

Iskandaryan also pointed out that the change of the RA Ombudsman
played an important role in this process as well.

On February 17, 2006, the Armenian Parliament elected new Ombudsman.

As a result of voting at the UN General Assembly on May 9, 2006,
Armenia was not admitted to the UN Human Rights Council. The country
did not receive enough votes to be admitted to the Group of East
European countries of the UN Human Rights Council. The group includes
Azerbaijan, Czec Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.