Where Is Armenia

E-mail: armconla@aol.com U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CIS publication is available at the U.S. CIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.” ... [Read More]

Armenia

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the law specifies some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority faiths, and there were some restrictions in practice. The Armenian Apostolic Church, which has formal legal status as the national church, enjoys some privileges not available to adherents of other faiths.There was no overall change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. In March 2002, the Government abolished the State Council on Religious Affairs (CRA) by presidential decree. The Government continued to reject the application by the Jehovah's Witnesses for legal recognition as a registered religion, and members of the group reported individual acts of discrimination. Other denominations occasionally report acts of dis ... [Read More]

Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Armenia

Yezidi leaders continued to complain that police and local authorities subjected their community to discrimination. The Yezidis, whose number had been estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 by their leaders, speak a Kurdish dialect and practice a religion derived from Zoroastrianism, Islam, and animism. Yezidi leaders cited numerous incidents of unfair adjudication of land, water, and grazing disputes; hazing of Yezidi conscripts in the army; and poor police response to serious crimes committed against Yezidis (see Sections 1.c. and 2.c.). On occasion, Yezidi children reported hazing by teachers and classmates. Members of the Yezidi community had tried previously to address their grievances with the Presidential Advisor on National Minorities, but they claimed that all their attempts have been ignored. According to Yezidi community leaders, appeals on their behalf with respect to alleged discrimination were raised at all levels of the Government; however, no government responses were forthcomin ... [Read More]

Armenia

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Armenia

Prison conditions were Spartan and medical treatment was inadequate; however, according to domestic human rights organizations, conditions continued to improve. Some facilities were less overcrowded, food was better prepared, a special tuberculosis institution was built, although not operational at year's end, and prisoners' rights were codified in writing and displayed throughout the prisons. On October 1, responsibility for prisons was transferred from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Justice. Nevertheless, physical abuse by guards and other prisoners continued to be a problem. During the year, 27 prisoners died in custody (18 died in prison, while 9 deaths occurred in a group of persons who were on probation.). On October 2000, the President's Commission on Human Rights visited the main prison in Gyumri, and reported that it found conditions there to be "shocking," and that the prison was filthy, cold, and in poor repair. Officials reportedly were indifferent to t ... [Read More]

Armenia

Armenia is a constitutional parliamentary democracy; however, the directly elected President has extensive powers of decree and appointment, including of the Prime Minister, that are not balanced by the legislature or an independent judiciary. Robert Kocharian was re-elected President in March. There were flaws and substantial irregularities in both the February and March rounds of the presidential elections and in the May parliamentary elections. A constitutional referendum on executive powers failed in a national vote in May. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, judges were subject to pressure from the executive and executive branches, and corruption was a problem.The National Police and the National Security Service are responsible for domestic security, intelligence activities, border controls, and the police force. The civilian authorities maint ... [Read More]

Armenia
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IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia

During the September 2003 reassessment, the government announced the establishment of a victim referral system, though it was employed for only 15 victims during the reporting period. The government specifically named an Almaty-based NGO as the official NGO for referral. In about one-third of the country’s regional districts, police departments and NGOs have developed and formalized cooperative relationships to assist victims, conduct training, and investigate cases. Informal cooperative relationships exist in almost all of the 16 districts. In three districts, the lack of effective local NGOs has limited the extent of this cooperation, though local authorities in one district have cooperated with an NGO in a neighboring district to address this problem. Law enforcement agencies participated in trafficking awareness trainings sponsored by NGOs, but officials often failed to differentiate between illegal immigrants and foreign victims trafficked into the country illegally. By co ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

Armenia (04/05)

The U.S. continues to work closely with international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to help Armenia in its transition to a free-market economy. Armenia has embarked upon an ambitious reform program, which has allowed a gradual transition from humanitarian aid toward more developmental assistance. U.S. economic assistance programs, primarily under the administration of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have three objectives: to help create a legal, regulatory, and policy framework for competition and economic growth in energy, agriculture, housing, and other sectors; to promote fiscal reform; and to develop a competitive and efficient private financial sector. Other agencies, including the Departments of State, Agriculture, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, and the Peace Corps sponsor various assistance projects. The U.S.-Armenia Task Force, established in 2000, is a bilateral commission that meets every 6 months ... [Read More]