Under the political rule of the Republican party, protests sparked by civic initiatives became very common in Armenia’s capital Yerevan as well as in Gyumri and Vanadzor, its second and third largest cities respectively. These initiatives had mainly been organised by a post-Soviet generation of young civic activists without any political party affiliation, who address a range of issues including the environment, cultural preservation, consumer rights, prices of basic commodities, labour and employment issues, as well as human rights. The long-time rule of the Republic party came to an end with the velvet revolution in 2018.

The velvet revolution started a new political era in Armenia under the leadership of Pashinyan. Many civil society actors have taken up posts in the new government or joined political parties. Others did not want to join state institutions because of the fear of cooptation and a weakening of civil society’s ability to hold the government accountable for its actions. On the left side of the political spectrum there has been opposition against the growing neoliberal route that is taken by Pashinyan’s government. These activists argue that the move towards more neoliberal policies have led to increasing poverty and inequality.

Since Pashinyan has been in power the largest protests that have taken place were after the signing of the ceasefire in November 2020 after the last Nagorno-Karabakh war. The loss of territory to Azerbaijan has led to civil unrest and protests. The protests were led by opposition parties. The pressure on Pashinyan increased after he criticized the performance of Russian provided missiles during the war. As a consequence top military officers called for his resignation. The protests escalated when the parliament building was barricaded on the 9^th of March 2021. After Pashinyan announced new elections some parties ceased their protests, while others continued. The following elections of June 2021 were won again by Pashinyan. While the democratic transition in Armenia and the support that it has from civil society organizations remains fairly strong, the war has revived political divisions. The territory and lives that were lost during the war and feelings of insecurity are generating discontent in Armenia. This discontent is threatening the government of Pashinyan, who has been broadly criticized for his handling of the war.

Nagorno–Karabakh conflict

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory called Nagorno-Karabakh. The people of Nagorno Karabakh had attempted to legally obtain their independence in the early 1990s through a referendum. This decision sparked a full scale war between the two nations and the result of the referendum was rejected by the Azeri Government. An Armenian populated enclave within the internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh has been de facto independent from Azerbaijan since the war in the early 1990s. Internationally, Nagorno-Karabakh is considered part of Azerbaijan, but its Armenian inhabitants call themselves citizens of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic. Although self-governed, it depends financially and militarily on Armenia. Both countries also have different supporters who are entangled in the dispute. Turkey has promised to stand with Azerbaijan while Russia pledged to defend Armenia.

The ‘frozen conflict’ had been ongoing for over two decades without a peace agreement. Peace negotiations mediated by the Minsk Group, under the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), had seen little progress. There were still frequent shootings across the frontline, with dozens of deaths each year. Each side blamed the other for military casualties.

The conflict was reignited on the 27^th of September 2020. During six weeks of fighting over 6,000 people lost their lives. After the war was halted, the situation on the ground had significantly changed. Azerbaijan managed to take control over territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. More than one third of the population was uprooted from areas that were formerly under the control of Armenia are now controlled Azerbaijan. Specifically important gains for Azerbaijan were the town of Shusha, which lies close to Nagorno Karabakh’s capital Stepanakert, and the Lachin corridor. Azerbaijan also gained some of Nagorno-Karabakh mountainous areas and seven additional pieces of territories that it had lost to Armenia in the 1990s.

On November 9, a Russia-brokered ceasefire was established in which Azerbaijan got to keep the territory it regained in the conflict. Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that were held by Armenian forces. Part of the territory that is controlled by Russian peacekeepers is the Lachin corridor that contains the main road to travel from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan regained this corridor during the war, but will be under temporary control by Russian peacekeepers. The Lachin corridor is important to Armenia because it is a direct connection with Nagorno-Karabakh. If the territory were to fall under Azerbaijani control, this would cut of Armenian support to the region. It could also prevent refugees from fleeing to Armenia. Russian peacekeepers have been checking documents of travelers trying to enter Nagorno-Karabakh since January 2020. They do so in accordance with a new regime imposed by the de facto authorities.

Many foreign citizens, including those of ethnic Armenian origin who are engaged in humanitarian projects, have been refused entry to the region since this regime came into force. The ceasefire also created a new frontline. Where previously the opposing parties where separated by hundreds of meters, they are now separated by 30 to 100 meters. The close proximity of the military forces makes the new frontline more volatile. Regardless of the ceasefire, the situation on the ground remained tense and several confrontations have taken place since November 2020.

The conflict escalated again on September 13, 2022 after large-scale clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia culminated in the deaths of at least 200 soldiers. The Armenian side has accused Azerbaijan of shelling military positions on Armenian territory with artillery and large-calibre firearms. Armenia requested its CSTO partner Russia for mutual assistance, but this call remained unanswered, which left Armenia dissapointed with the decisiveness of the alliance. A new ceasefire agreement was announced on September 15, 2022.

The ceasefire was violated by Azerbaijan on 19 September 2023, when it overrun the region completely with a devastating attack. Within a day the conquest was over and Armenian authorities resigned. The attack initiated an Armenian exodus of over 100.000 people. Azerbaijan promised the people they would be integrated and would receive the same civic and religious rights, however people took matters into their own hands and made their departure towards mainland Armenia. As the Lachin corridor was still blocked during the first days after the attack, people had to survive of very little food, water, medicines and fuel. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing. In the meanwhile, almost the complete population has left the region.

Velvet revolution

In early April of 2018, outgoing President Sargsyan was nominated by his ruling Republican Party as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister. With an absolute majority in parliament, there was no doubt he would be elected. This move was highly controversial. Sargsyan just ended his second and final presidential term in April 2018. During his term, he and the Republican Party launched an initiative that would change the constitution and transfer crucial powers from the President to the PM. The opposition from the very start feared this was simply a ploy for Sargsyan to remain in power as PM. In reaction to the nomination, the opposition called for protests. Most notable was Nikol Pashinyan, MP and one of the leaders of Yelk, an opposition alliance of three parties (including Pashinyan’s own Civil Contract party), with 9 seats in parliament.

Apart from a couple of small clashes and some hard-handed arrests there were practically no cases of mass beatings or crackdowns. Within days the protests had not only spread to the outskirts of Yerevan but also to other cities and towns across the country. Attempted talks between Pashinyan and Sargsyan on April the 22^nd ended with the latter walking out after 3 minutes, angered by the presence of journalists and Pashinyan’s insistence on his resignation. After the talks, Pashinyan and most leaders of the protest were arrested. Instead of demotivating the protesters, this caused the pouring out of an unprecedented number of people onto the streets, with students taking over the lead as the politicians were jailed. Under such massive public pressure, Sargsyan resigned his post while Pashinyan was released alongside other protest leaders hours earlier on the 23^rd of April. The ruling Republican Party was not yet ready to give in, however. Calling for new PM elections within several days, the party held on to its power. The parliamentary elections took place on the 9th of December and were won by Pashinyan’s My Step Alliance.

2022 – more protests over Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations

Since April 2022, Azerbaijan and Armenia are negotiating a new peace deal, mediated by western powers. On April 7, 2022, Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Aliyev met in Brussels alongside European Council President Charles Michel. Lately, progress has been made in the peace talks, with both parties seemingly ready to make concessions. Baku requests a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity – Pashinian said this was acceptable for his government. In an April 13 speech, he had also said that the international community pressures Armenia to “lower the bar a bit on Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” – angering many in Armenia.

Since then, protesters call on PM Nikol Pashinian to step down as they oppose concessions to Azerbaijan regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. The protests gained momentum as major opposition leaders joined. The fierce protests continued until June 2022, when the opposition parties ended the demonstrations – saying to “re-evaluate their strategies”.

Human Rights

Reports have always shown that human rights violations remain an important issue in Armenia. The former authorities interfered in a number of peaceful protests that took place throughout the years. In several instances, police dispersed protesters using force. Local human rights defenders continued to raise concern over high numbers of reported beatings and ill-treatment in police custody. Some groups within society also aim to discredit human rights work and silence human rights defenders. Antidemocratic activists also appeared to target individuals with large amounts of hate speech online. Photos of activists were posted online in order to indicate that these individuals were being monitored. The government failed to take effective measures to counter these campaigns.

The US State Department has noted “systemic corruption” as one of the most frequent and serious forms of human rights violations in Armenia, saying the former authorities were not doing enough to tackle it. Local anti-graft watchdogs like the Anti-Corruption Center (ACC), which operates as the Armenian branch of Transparency International, was highly sceptical about the former government’s assurances of intention to tackle corruption. Armenia ranked 60th out of 180 countries and territories evaluated in Transparency International’s 2020’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The post-revolutionary government of PM Nikol Pashinyan has made human rights and a fight against corruption its key points, next to eradicating monopolies and separating business from politics.

According to a Reporters Without Borders’ report regarding freedom of the media, there is a significant degree of pluralism and relatively little state censorship, as a law prohibits censorship in media. But still, there are laws through which defamation and libel can be punished by prison terms. Journalists have faced pressure, violence and charges under such laws. While it is too early to say whether and how the new government will affect change in this regard, it should be noted that PM Pashinyan, himself a former journalist, has so far been notably public and accessible to the media.

Women’s rights

Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are serious problems as well. A few incidents were recorded when women’s rights activists were threatened and assaulted, as well as threats made to the Women’s Resource Centre following its calls for gender equality legislation. The anti-discrimination draft bill, prohibiting all forms of discrimination, was abandoned after the former government initiated the process to join the Eurasian Economic Union. While PM Pashinyan has singled out the role of women in the Velvet Revolution and expressed hope it was only the beginning of women’s active participation in politics, his current cabinet includes only 2 female ministers of a total of 15.

Violence against women is also still a problem in Armenia. Armenia has signed, but still has to ratify, the Council of Europe (CoE) Istanbul Convention on Prevention and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). According to a Human Rights Watch Report, several cases of domestic violence were publicized by media and civil society groups in 2020. One incident was reported of a man who beat his partner to death. According to the Armenian criminal code, domestic violence is neither a stand-alone felony nor an aggravating criminal circumstance. According data collected during the first half of 2020, 395 cases of domestic violence were investigated by authorities. Charges were brought against 196 people, and 62 were send to court. Armenia only has two shelters for survivors of domestic violence, which only have the capacity to shelter 17 to 20 victims.

LGBTI rights

According to a report from the US Department of State, antidiscrimination laws do not extend protection to LGBTI individuals. Consequently, members of the LGBTI community cannot rely on hate crime laws or other judicial mechanisms to aid in the prosecution of crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Furthermore, the report states that societal discrimination of LGBTI persons negatively effects all aspects of live, including employment opportunities, housing, access to health care and education and family relations. Transgender persons specifically are vulnerable to psychological and physical abuse. Public officials and politicians also take part in anti-LGBTI rhetoric.

The Armenian NGO PINK documented 41 cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The cases included hate crimes such as physical, sexual and psychological violence, as well as violations of property and threats to someone’s life. In most of these cases the victims did not seek help from law enforcement, believing it unlikely that law enforcement would take action. Another NGO reported 130 cases of violations of the rights of LGBTI persons in 2020.

Gay men encounter abuse and discrimination due to mandatory military service. Men who are openly gay can be exempt from military service. However, the exemption requires a medical finding based on a psychological examination that indicates that an individual has a mental disorder. This mental disorder indication also appears on personal identification documents. This creates obstacles when gay men are looking for employment or want to obtain a driver’s license. Gay men who do not get an exemption and serve in the military have reported physical and psychological abuse by fellow soldiers and command.

Prison Monitoring Group described how LGBTI individuals are also suffering from abusive prison conditions in prisons. LGBTI individuals are held in segregated cells under worse conditions than other inmates. Cutlery and food preparation was separate, they had their own washing machine and a separate cell for solitary confinement. LGBTI individuals were also forced to perform humiliating tasks such as picking up trash for other prisoners, cleaning toilets and providing sexual services.

Armenia-EU relations

In the wake of a positive conclusion to four years of negotiations between Armenia and the EU on an Association Agreement, it seemed that Armenia could start to look forward to deeper cooperation with the EU, which would hopefully bring strong economic and political benefits. However, only months before the planned signing of the Association Agreement, President Serzh Sargsyan, after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suddenly decided to make Armenia a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) instead, thereby precluding the AA. On 2 January 2015, Armenia became a full member of EEU. The move is widely believed to be the result of strong Russian pressure in the areas of economy, energy and security. The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed on 24 November 2017. It replaces the former EU-Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. As of August 2020 22 EU countries have completed the internal procedures necessary for the ratification of the CEPA, and 5 states – Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Greece and Italy, are very close to the completion of that ratification process.

Armenia and the EU are committed to further cooperation aimed at the continuous improvement of areas including democratic institutions and judiciary, the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, good governance, the fight against corruption, the strengthening of the civil society, and others.

Developments on Constitutional Court

The Armenian parliament has adopted proposed changes to the constitution that would lead to the removal of Constitutional Court judges, potentially opening the door for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to exert more influence over the South Caucasian nation. A total of 89 members of the National Assembly — all affiliated with the ruling My Step bloc — backed the draft constitutional amendments in the first and second readings on June 22 2020. The votes were boycotted by the two opposition parties represented in the 132-seat legislature — the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) and the Bright Armenia Party (LHK). The draft changes, unveiled by the My Step bloc of Pashinian, would lead to the immediate dismissal of three of the nine Constitutional Court members. It would also require the court to elect a new chairman, since constitutional changes meant that chairman Hrayr Tovmasian was removed from his position. He does remain a member of the court as a judge. In September of 2020, the three Constitutional Court members that had to resign were replaced. Tovmasian and three other judges are under government pressure to give up their positions in order to be replaced. Tovmasian and the three ousted judges have made an appeal in front of the European Court of Human Rights in order to be reinstated in their old positions.