On 17 March 2016, the European Union and Armenia held the seventh round of human rights dialogue in Yerevan.

The Armenian delegation was headed by Mr Garen Nazarian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and included officials and executives from different ministries and state agencies.

The EU Delegation was headed by Ms Elisabeth Tison, Head of Division, Human Rights Strategy and Policy Implementation, European External Action Service.

The dialogue was held in an open and constructive atmosphere, with discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and concern, and allowed for an exchange of views on the human rights situation both in Armenia and in the EU.

Both sides acknowledged the progress in the reform process regarding the protection and promotion of human rights in Armenia.

The talks, in particular, were focused on: the national framework for the protection of human rights and the country’s commitment to achieving further progress in this area. Discussions also covered the judicial reform with a focus on penitentiary system; elections and electoral code; issues related to political freedoms and civil liberties and participation of civil society; anti-discrimination policy and protection of vulnerable groups; the situation with the rights of the child, and gender equality.

The partners also touched upon possibilities for concrete cooperation in the field of human rights within international organisations, in particular at the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

Both partners committed to continue their cooperation on these issues, and to promote the respect of human rights and democracy on national, regional and international level. Based on their shared values, they underlined the importance of the EU support in promoting reforms in Armenia.

The Armenia-EU human rights dialogue was established in December 2009. Since then, the meetings are convened once a year, alternately in Yerevan and Brussels.