As part of the study visit of the representatives of the State Attorney’s Office of the Republic of Armenia on 4 July 2022 a meeting was organized at the Ministry of the Judiciary and Public Administration on the topic of the protection of the persons reporting irregularities. Deputy Ombudswoman Dijana Kesonja took part and presented our institution’s work in this area.

Deputy Ombudswoman Kesonja showcased our institution’s work within its mandate as the external mechanism for the reporting of irregularities, with the emphasis on the complaint handling, our powers and responsibilities, the challenges we experience while working with these types of cases, as well as the new developments introduced by the new Act on the Protection of the Persons Reporting Irregularities.

Public awareness raising on the important role and the contribution of the persons reporting irregularities and the necessity of their efficient protection is one of the key preconditions for the elimination of irregularities and the successful protection of the individuals reporting them. Keeping this in mind, our institution continuously takes action aimed at achieving these goals. More specifically, we engage in proactive communication with the citizens via various channels, participate actively in training sessions for various stakeholders the Act applies to, take part in thematic conferences and other events dedicated to the topic of the protection of the persons reporting irregularities, stressed Deputy Ombudswoman Kesonja.

Our colleagues from the Armenian State Attorney’s Office discussed their institution’s work with these types of cases as well as their country’s legislative framework on the reporting of irregularities adopted in 2018. The legislature in question only applies to the criminal offences connected to corruption and the most important obstacle to its implementation lies in the insufficient public awareness of these types of issues and of the importance of the reporting of irregularities as part of the wider efforts to combat corruption.

The visit was part of the technical assistance project “Supporting Judicial Reform in Armenia“, aimed at raising the country’s capacities for the implementation of the Judicial and Legislative Reform Strategy for the period 2019-2023 and the Anti-corruption Strategy for the period 2019-2022. Apart from the meeting at the Ministry of the Judiciary, the guests from Armenia met with the representatives of the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK), the court departments in charge with the suppression of corruption, the National Police Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (PNUSKOK) and the Committee for the Suppression of the Conflict of Interest.

Key information for the reporting persons and the confidential persons is available here.

More information on our work in the area of the protection of the persons reporting irregularities is available here.