Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan today announced that a government bill calling for changes to the system of state financing for his office is unconstitutional and would negatively impact the work it does.

The government bill, if passed, would no longer obligate the government to maintain funding current levels to the Human Rights Defender’s Office on a yearly basis.

As the law now stipulates, state funding for the HRDO cannot be less than the allocation envisaged for the previous year.

Tatoyan, at a press conference today, said the bill targets the independence of the HRDO and that it would impact its international accreditation.

“The stronger the institution of the ombudsman, the higher the level of democracy in the country," Tatoyan said, adding that he would file a suit with Armenia’s Constitutional Court to challenge the bill’s constitutionality.

Tatoyan said the bill, if passed, could be manipulated by the government in power as a lever to influence the work of the HRDO.

The Human Rights Defender said that if the bill is approved, he will do all in his power to maintain the office.

"During my tenure, there has never been a case when criticizing the ruling faction or criticizing the government has resulted in an increase of our draft state budget," Tatoyan said.

He said that the provision obligating the government to maintain current state funding levels of the HRDO was adopted in 2016 and greatly facilitated its performance.

Tatoyan said his office received 532.5 million AMD in state funding this year, an increase of 2.3 million drams over 2020.

He said the work of the HRDO has increased substantially since the end of the recent war in Artsakh and includes prisoners, missing persons, border issues and border settlements.

"The government should have taken into account the work being done," Tatoyan told reporters.  

He noted that Armenia’s Human Rights Defender  has international accreditation and an international "A" status, allowing him to speak and raise issues on international platforms, and that the ombudsman of Azerbaijan, with a “B” status has no such right.