CONFERENCE ON "SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS AND SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE"

armradio.am
16.03.2009 11:16

The United States Department of Justice held a conference on "Support
for Victims and Successful Prosecution of Domestic Violence" in Yerevan
on March 16, 2009. Three American prosecutors and one social worker
participated – Prosecutor Steven Kessler (U.S. Embassy, Yerevan),
Prosecutor Arlene Markarian (Brooklyn, New York), Prosecutor Wanda
Lucibello (Brooklyn, New York), and Social Worker Cristin Mathiez
(Brooklyn, New York).

Joining the Americans at the conference were Armenian judges,
prosecutors, police, and representatives from the Ministry of Justice,
the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social and Labor Issues, the
Civil Rights Division of the National Assembly, and international
organizations such as UNICEF, OSCE and Open Society Institute
Foundation in Armenia.

The American and Armenian officials discussed their countries’
respective approaches to fighting all manifestations of domestic
violence, as well as support for the victim, investigation of a
domestic violence case, and prosecution of such a case where the
victim refuses to cooperate.

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch opened the conference. In her
remarks, the Ambassador noted that although the statistics on domestic
violence in the U.S. are sobering, much progress has been made in
the past twenty years.

The Ambassador urged=2 0the Armenian authorities in attendance to
do all that can be done to reduce domestic violence and care for
its victims.

The domestic violence conference is just one of several sessions
held by the U.S. Department of Justice in Yerevan to support Armenian
law enforcement.

In 2008, the USDOJ held conferences for Armenian judges, prosecutors,
police and defense attorneys on the European Convention on Human
Rights, corruption prosecution, financial crime investigations, the
rules of evidence in adversarial proceedings, and the development of
Armenian jurisprudence and case law.