Discussion on Istanbul Convention in Parliament to Start on November 1

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that, despite the assurances of Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan on August 26 stating that the "Council of Europe Convention on Preventing Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence" (Istanbul Convention) would not be discussed in the National Assembly this year, a joint meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committees on State and Legal Affairs, Foreign Relations, and Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs will take place on November 1.

Representatives from the Council of Europe’s office for human rights will also participate in the meeting. According to the newspaper, Marceline Naudin, the head of the Council of Europe’s expert group on combating violence against women and domestic violence, Eric Helgesen, vice-chair of the Venice Commission, and Ghaniel Kanjemin, head of the Council of Europe’s office for Human Rights and Gender Issues, will travel to Yerevan to discuss existing stereotypes regarding the convention and possible ways to overcome them.

Reports indicate that the negotiations to organize this discussion at the suggestion of European representatives took quite a long time with the Armenian side, ultimately finding a mutually agreeable date and time. More details can be found in today’s issue of the newspaper.