On 8 December, the event dedicated to the International Anti-Corruption day organized within the framework of the National Awareness Campaign on the Whistleblowing System, in cooperation of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO, the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia and the Constructive Dialogue Network of Armenian CSOs took place. The event was organized in the scope of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project implemented by the ALA with the support of the European Union and the “Open Government Partnership Europe” Foundation.
Mr. Karen Zadoyan, the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, mentioned that after the April war, he defined that corruption took the form of blood, and after that, practical anti-corruption reforms began. Speaking about the whistleblowing system, he mentioned that the whistleblowing system is good, but the effectiveness of the unified whistleblowing platform www.azdararir.am operated by the RA Prosecutor’s Office is low. According to the speaker, public perceptions about the whistleblowing system and whistleblowers should be changed. Stereotypes that have been rooted in the society since the Soviet years prevent the development of the whistleblowing system.
“Our main message is that whistleblowers are not ‘snitchers’. They are decent, honest and law-abiding citizens who love their country. This image should be presented in public. The perceptions of the government officials should also change. Whistleblowers must realize the importance of their mission. They should be advocated and encouraged to report corruption crimes,” Karen Zadoyan said.
Mr. Karen Karapetyan, the Deputy Minister of Justice thanked for organizing the event. He mentioned that one of the cornerstone directions of the Government is the fight against corruption, the formation and rooting of the idea of zero tolerance towards it in the society.
“The public’s support in the fight against corruption should not be ideological only. The government expects that the society should show a proactive approach to this process, and one of those mechanisms is the public whistleblowing system, which has long proven its importance in modern democratic states,” he said.
Mr. Jan Plesinger, Head of the Political, Press and Information Section of the European Union to Armenia, conveyed his greetings to the attendees on behalf of the EU Ambassador in Armenia. He noted that the event is held at the right time, because 9 December is the day of fight against corruption and such campaigns are very important.
“I would like to emphasize Armenia’s progress in the fight against corruption. It was reflected in many indicators. I want to welcome the commitment of the Armenian Government to that goal and the steps that were taken as a result of GRECO’s consultations,” Jan Plesinger said, noting that he was born in post-Soviet Czechoslovakia and the experience of his country is similar to Armenia’s experience.
Ms Lilia Afrikyan, OGP Coordinator/Point of Contact of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, noted that the will and efforts of the Government in the context of the fight against corruption were highly appreciated by the international partners. According to her, there is a misconception among the public that the fight against corruption is merely the mandate of the executive.
“The opinion was formed as a result of meetings with young people in various educational institutions. During simulated discussions, we asked: for example, would you report if your friend or relative committed abuses? They very frankly, without thinking, told: ‘of course not, I’m not a betrayer – a snitchers. We have a lot of work to do in explaining the purpose of the whistleblowing system to the public. In this case, they are partners for the law enforcement system, and not betrayers,” Lilya Afrikyan said.
As part of the anti-corruption measures, drawing and essay competition entitled ‘Illustrate the Truth’ and ‘Tell the Truth” were organized. Schoolchildren and students from all regions of Armenia and Yerevan participated in these competitions. The organizer of the contest Ms Anahit Mardoyan announced the names of the winners, who were awarded prizes and certificates. Both participants from Syunik region received special awards.
Ms Mariam Zadoyan, the Anti-Corruption Expert of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project, presented the new alternative civil society platform for whistleblowing haytnir.am, as well as the vision of the Armenian model of the whistleblowing system and the possibilities of improving the protection system of whistleblowers’ rights.
The platform has been developed in the scope of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project implemented by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association with the support of the European Union and the “Open Government Partnership Europe” Foundation.
“The website also includes information about the whistleblowing platforms currently operating in the RA. For this purpose, a link to the azdararir.am website, which is operated by the Prosecutor General’s Office, is placed on the main page of the website. The objective of Haytnir.am is to promote awareness at the state level,” Mariam Zadoyan said.
The results of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project were presented as well. Ms Syuzanna Soghomonyan, Anti-Corruption Expert of the project presented and explained the types of whistleblowing system, recommendations for their development, as well as the possibilities of introducing mechanisms to encourage the whistleblowers.
Syuzanna Soghomonyan mentioned that in the case of internal reporting in RA, the picture is confusing. Various government agencies received only 13 reports, which is due to a number of circumstances.
“Whistleblowers are inclined to conduct whistleblowing internally, taking into account the fact that they are in working or service relations with this or that body. They have information about the damage to the public interest, about the threat, and present it to the body that makes that decision and solves the problem, which in this case is the head of the given body or an authorized person. Having appointed persons responsible for internal whistleblowing in all bodies is one thing. Yet another aspect is how those people are appointed to that position,” Syuzanna Soghomonyan stressed.
A truly comprehensive analysis of each component of the whistleblowing sector was carried out and the legislation and practice of the Republic of Armenia were studied. Mariam Zadoyan mentioned in her speech.
“I would like to address the concept of a central, competent body in the field of whistleblowing. At the moment, we do not have such a body in our country, which have such a set of tools, which will be assessed satisfactory from the point of view of international standards, particularly the OECD standards,” she said.
According to Mariam Zadoyan, there are two most important functions. One is to have a centralized set of whistleblower protection tools, specifically to protect whistleblowers from harmful practices in both the private and public sectors. The second is the implementation of centralized control over the implementation of internal whistleblowing systems by both the public and private sectors.
It has been mentioned many times how important it is to inform about the whistleblowing system, that is, all citizens, regardless of age, regardless of their workplace, know about the whistleblowing system, the possibility of whistleblowing. Ms Alisa Chilingaryan, the Communication Specialist of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project said.
“We have started working in the form of regular news not only on the websites, but also moved to other social networks. Iravaban.net is currently conducting an awareness campaign regarding the whistleblowing system. We have started posting reels about whistleblowing – videos up to one minute duration on Iravaban.net’s YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and Telegram channels and pages, because young people are using these options and this gives them the opportunity to inform them about the whistleblowing system,” she said.
According to Alisa Chilingaryan, people’s interest in the system has increased. She noted the particular interest of the public in the possibility of anonymous whistleblowing.
At the end of the event, the attendees asked the speakers questions about the whistleblowing system, based on which the opinions and observations of the participants were collected as well.
The event was attended by the representatives from a number of RA state bodies, including the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee, the Anti-Corruption Committee, the SRC, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, the Health and Labor Inspection Body, the Anti-Corruption Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the Corruption Prevention Commission, the National Assembly, the Office of the Human Rights Defender, international organizations, including the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, USAID, the Center for International Private Entreprise, the Council of Europe, as well as the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia, the Academy of Advocates of the RA, a number of non-governmental organizations, pupils and teachers of the schools, as well as students from Yerevan and marzes, and field experts.
