Rustam Badasyan discusses a wide range of issues with Ambassadors of Sweden, Poland and Lithuania

Today, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Armenia Pavel Cheplak and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to Armenia Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė.

Rustam Badasyan welcomed the Ambassadors to the Ministry of Justice and stated that the meeting serves as a good opportunity to discuss issues related to a proportionate response to the violations of fundamental human rights.

On behalf of his counterparts, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet and stated that democracy and human rights are the sectors in the direction of which there is a great desire to develop co-operation in the years to come. "We support the reforms that Armenia earmarked after the velvet revolution for human rights protection, judicial reforms, as well as the strengthening of rule of law and democracy," the Ambassador stated, adding that he and his counterparts are here to reaffirm their willingness to deepen the co-operation.

According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to Armenia Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė, the Ministry of Justice of Armenia is a frontrunner in the implementation of reforms and mentioned that it is important to record the fact that Armenia continued the reforms, in spite of the tragedy and unfavourable events that took place in 2020. The Ambassador also congratulated Armenia on the progress made, based on the results of the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International. "We are ready to intensify our co-operation in order to advance the reforms steadfastly that were launched two years ago," the Ambassador of Lithuania emphasised.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Armenia Pavel Cheplak, seconding his partners, inquired about the activities that are being carried out for the establishment of anti-corruption bodies and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

During the meeting, importance was attached to the issues related to the immediate return of captives, prompt and proportionate response to gross violations of human rights.

Minister Badasyan expressed gratitude to the Ambassadors for the positive assessments and provided details about the process of reforms in the anti-corruption field and police reforms. In this context, Rustam Badasyan attached importance to the budget support that the European Union is providing to the Government of Armenia in the amount of EUR 30 million for the purpose of supporting the implementation of reforms in the justice sector in Armenia, EUR 9 million of which has already been granted.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to deepen the co-operation targeted at the reforms.