Rustam Badasyan's video message at the session of the UN General Assembly

A special session of the UN General Assembly was held on June 2-4 concerning the prevention of corruption, measures and challenges for fight against it, as well as the strengthening of international cooperation.

At the opening of the session, the video message of the Acting Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan was shown, dedicated to the Armenian example of prevention and fight against corruption, which, according to Badasyan, can be exemplary for many young democracies.

In particular, presenting the anti-corruption strategy of Armenia, the Acting Minister singled out the work being performed on institutionalisation of political will to fight against corruption and prevention of corruption cases: the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption operating since 2019; the Specialised Department established in the General Prosecutor’s Office, which deals with cases of confiscation of property of illicit origin; the Anti-Corruption Committee which shall start its activities at the end of this year; from 2022, as planned, the Anti-Corruption Court, etc.

Rustam Badasyan also attached importance to the results of the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International (Armenia has improved its rating by 14 points over the past two years), the sum of 100 million euros recovered over the past three years for corruption-related cases examined in courts and completed (during the past nine years three times less funds were recovered for similar cases), consider the mechanisms introduced for checking the integrity of judges, prosecutors and investigators, checking the property status of judges and expanding the circle of officials submitting declarations, as well as the establishment of a joint register of real beneficiaries of legal persons in the near future as noteworthy.

However, according to the Acting Minister, there are still challenges in the fight against corruption, with regard to raising the level of education and awareness, as the government can not fight against corruption alone.