15, February 2017<\/p>\n
Lamberto Zanier<\/p>\n
Secretary General<\/p>\n
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)<\/p>\n
Wallnerstrasse 6<\/p>\n
A-1010 Vienna<\/p>\n
Austria<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n On the Possible Closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your Excellency Mr. Zanier,<\/p>\n The OSCE Office in Yerevan (hereafter also referred to as the Office) has been established based on the July 22, 1999 decision of the OSCE Permanent Council and started its operation on February 16, 2000 after the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia ratified the memorandum of understanding signed between OSCE and the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Office is one of the key European institutions in the country. For many years it has played a vital role in prioritizing human rights principles in the work of the newly established political institutions of the Republic of Armenia.<\/p>\n Hereby we the undersigned civic organizations of the Republic of Armenia express our concern regarding the statements in the media on the possibility of closing the OSCE Office in Yerevan. It will cause significant damage to the development of democratic institutions and promotion of human rights in Armenia, where tangible breakthroughs have been achieved due to the work of the Office. Currently, it is one of the key actors in Armenia that manages to push forward democratic values in the agendas of the government.<\/p>\n It is noteworthy that the Office has had significant impact on the adoption of respective standards for conducting democratic elections in Armenia. Besides, it has actively monitored the implementation of these standards and provided recommendations for further improvements. Nowadays, its work is immensely important due to the upcoming parliamentary elections in and the challenges that the Armenia currently faces.<\/p>\n Finally, Armenian civil society institutions attach great importance to the active support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan to the work of civic organizations in the field of democratic institutions and human rights, specifically regarding law enforcement agencies, armed forces, and reforms on electoral processes. The latter has had much impact in shaping this sector. It has supported these organizations to tackle various issues more effectively and advocate for necessary government reforms in Armenia.<\/p>\n Considering the importance of the work that the OSCE Office in Yerevan does, we want to emphasize that its closure will hinder the process of building democratic institutions in the country. The Office is much needed in Armenia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Agate” center for women with special needs NGO<\/p>\n Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation<\/p>\n Armenian Constitutional Right – Protective Centre (ACRPC) NGO<\/p>\n \u201cAsparez\u201d Journalists\u2019 Club<\/p>\n “Bambir” Cultural NGO<\/p>\n Caucasus Research Resource Center-Armenia Foundation<\/p>\n Collaboration for Democracy Centre<\/p>\n Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression<\/p>\n Ecolur Informational NGO<\/p>\n Economic Development and Research Center<\/p>\n Foundation Against the Violation of Law NGO<\/p>\n Gyumri Youth Civic Center<\/p>\n Helsinki Citizens\u2019 Assembly\u2013Vanadzor<\/p>\n Helsinki Committee of Armenia Human Rights Defender NGO<\/p>\n Hrazdan Youth Civic Center<\/p>\n Ijevan Youth Civic Center<\/p>\n International Center for Human Development<\/p>\n Journalists for the Future NGO<\/p>\n Lori Citizens Union BNGO<\/p>\n Media Initiatives Center<\/p>\n Meghri Women’s Resource Center NGO<\/p>\n \u201cMission Armenia\u201d NGO<\/p>\n “National Center for Legal Researches” NGO<\/p>\n New Generation Humanitarian NGO<\/p>\n Open Society Foundations-Armenia<\/p>\n OXFAM in Armenia<\/p>\n OxYGen Foundation for Protection of Youth and Women\u2019s Rights<\/p>\n Partnership and Teaching\/P&T NGO<\/p>\n Peace Dialogue NGO<\/p>\n Protection of Rights without Borders NGO<\/p>\n Public Journalism Club<\/p>\n Real World, Real People NGO<\/p>\n Rights Information Center NGO<\/p>\n Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center<\/p>\n Union of Informed Citizens NGO<\/p>\n Unison NGO for Support of People with Special Needs<\/p>\n Vanadzor Youth Civic Center<\/p>\n Women’s Development Resource Center Foundation<\/p>\n Women’s Resource Center<\/p>\n Women\u2019s Rights Center NGO<\/p>\n Yeghegnadzor Youth Civic Center<\/p>\n Yerevan Press Club<\/p>\n Davit Gevorgyan, Director of YSU Center of Applied Psychology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 15, February 2017 Lamberto Zanier Secretary General Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Wallnerstrasse 6 A-1010 Vienna Austria \u00a0 On the Possible Closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan Your Excellency Mr. Zanier, The OSCE Office in Yerevan (hereafter also referred to as the Office) has been established based on the July<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t