Police reforms and establishment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs • PUBLIC DISCUSSION

According to the 2020-2022 Police Reform Strategy of the Republic of Armenia and its Implementation Action Plan, it is envisaged to establish a Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a Patrol Service instead of the Traffic Police and Patrol-Guard Service.

The strategy mentions the need to have a structure of the Police typical of a democratic parliamentary state with classical policy-making and implementation functions.

Accordingly, the implementation of the not-so-typical functions of the Police will be united under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, most importantly, the development and implementation of its coordination policy. According to the authors of the reforms, the formation of the Ministry will allow to ensure both parliamentary and civilian oversight over the sector. This will imply changes to the legislative framework, as well as some internal structural changes.

In the context of structural changes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is proposed to consider a possible further change in the status of the authority performing the functions of the Migration Service and the inclusion of these functions in the new organizational and legal framework of the Police.

According to the authors, the practice of leading countries and cross-border organizations shows that migration services are best operated by the relevant agencies dealing with internal affairs, taking into account the nature of migration functions and types of services provided.

The public discussion on the Police Reform Strategy of the Republic of Armenia and the establishment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, organized by the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, will take place on February 6, 11:00 am, in the Paris Hall of the Hilton Hotel.

Speakers:

Ara Fidanyan, Deputy Chief of the Police of the Republic of Armenia

Kristine Grigoryan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia

Armen Ghazaryan, Head of the Migration Service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure

Daniel Ioannisyan, Programs Coordinator at the Union of Informed Citizens NGO

Artur Sakunts, Chairman of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, human rights activist