Two-day training of trainers also held within the scope of a nationwide awareness-raising campaign for the whistle-blowing system

Within the scope of the nationwide awareness-raising campaign for the whistle-blowing system with the participation of Advisor to the Minister of Justice Liana Tovmasyan and in close co-operation with the Council of Europe, training of trainers was held to raise awareness and build the capacities of representatives of state bodies and civil society organisations participating in the campaign. In her opening remarks, the Advisor to the Minister expressed gratitude to the Council of Europe for the ongoing assistance provided within the scope of the awareness-raising campaign for the whistle-blowing system, noting that the co-operation began with the official launch of the campaign and that multi-vector developments have taken place since then.

The aim of the two-day training is to facilitate comprehensive discussions between representatives of CSOs and NGOs engaged in the activities in the areas of application of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On the whistle-blowing system", in the study of international best practices and in the development of a culture encouraging whistle-blowing. The event also aims to enhance the role of mechanisms for protection of whistle-blowers and promote transparency and accountability within state bodies. In general, the programme pursues the following goals:

• Deepen the understanding of state servants, CSOs and NGOs of the whistle-blowers’ protection system in Armenia;
• Study the international best practices and recommendations for whistle-blowers’ protection;
• Consider the ways to manage whistle-blowing cases (from referral to criminal prosecution mechanisms);
• Contribute to education and awareness-raising by promoting whistle-blowers protection and accountability.

Coordinator of the awareness-raising campaign for whistle-blowing Liana Tovmasyan emphasised that, in the first stage of the campaign, awareness-raising events had already been held in all marzes of Armenia, engaging more than 300 representatives of local self-government bodies; summing up this stage, she emphasised that the campaign has already produced positive results: the number of whistle-blowing cases has increased by almost tenfold. The Advisor to the Minister informed that the next step will include various communication events and training sessions at universities in Yerevan and the marzes starting in September 2024.

In this context, great importance was attached to participation of Council of Europe experts Ashley Christian Savage and Ara Ghazaryan in the training course in terms of transmitting deeper and more comprehensive knowledge to the participants of the event. The training was conducted in co-operation with the Council of Europe Project "Enhancing national capacities for effective prevention and fight against economic crime in Armenia”.