News

Transparency International (TI) and a broad civil society anti-corruption coalition have labelled as a major setback the failure of the international corruption conference on Bali to agree on how to independently assess country progress in implementing the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Disagreement at the conference meant that concrete steps will only be decided at the next Conference on the Convention in late 2009, six years after the instrument was adopted.

As a part of Transparency International delegation, CRD/TI Armenia Chairwoman Amalia Kostanyan from January 28 to February 1, 2008 participated in the Second Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Bali, Indonesia. The priority topics at the Conference were monitoring, asset recovery stolen by corrupt leaders and technical assistance for lower-income countries to implement the convention.

Organized by Open Society Institute, a delegation of Armenian civil society representatives paid advocacy visit to Brussels between January 21 and 25 in advance of European Commission progress reports.
During the meeting they discussed a wide range of issues on Armenia's European Neighborhood Policy implementation.

The environmental public alliance of Armenia and 40 NGOs expressed their deep concern with the ongoing in the Republic of Armenia processes of rapid and extensive use of natural resources and, in particular, with the construction of an ore processing factory in Teghut and the exploitation of the Teghut forest for copper-molybdenum mining.

Within the framework of the project "My Question to Future President" CRD/TI Armenia completed shooting of the first ever TV show on the threshold of the upcoming presidential elections with high school students and presidential candidates. The show brought together students from Armenia's major cities Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor and Goris to ask one question to the candidates. Three out of nine nominated candidates rejected the CRD/TI Armenia's invitation to participate in the show.

On December 27, CRD/TI Armenia together with partner NGOs held the last in the series of press conferences organized with the support of Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia to sum up the passing year and give assessment of developments in various fields in the country. CRD/TI Armenia Chairwoman Amalia Kostanyan briefed on the major events in the country's political arena, while Executive Director Sona Ayvazyan focused on environmental, the Chairman of Armenian Helsinki Committee Avetik Ishkhanyan on human rights issues and the Broadcaster of Gyumri GALA television Derenik Malkhasyan - on the current situation related to pressure on that television company.

CRD/TI Armenia invited representatives of state structures, international organizations, NGOs, educational institutions and media outlets on December 26, 2007 to present its findings on the assessment of public procurement system in Armenia. The study aimed at revelation of corruption risks and development of recommendations to increase the transparency of procurement processes in the country.

On December 19, 2007 the representatives of CRD/TI Armenia, together with other civic activists rallied in support of GALA television in Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri, organized by the Headquarters of Protecting Freedom of Speech and GALA television. Hundreds of demonstrators in Gyumri Theatre Square demanded normal conditions for the operation of GALA television, which was under threat of being taken off the air and tax service and Gyumri city municipality pressures ever since providing airtime to the former president.

CRD/TI Armenia held a press conference on December 6, 2007, at 1 p.m. Yerevan time in Golden Tulip Hotel Yerevan to present the Global Corruption Barometer 2007 released that day in Berlin. The Barometer 2007 questionnaire was for the first time carried out in special surveys in Armenia. CRD/TI Armenia Chairwoman Amalia Kostanyan focused on the current corruption related situation in Armenia and introduced Global Corruption Barometer 2007, while Vice Chair Varuzhan Hoktanyan reflected on the methodology before answering the journalists' questions.

The Center for Regional Development/Transparency International Armenia, with the support of the British Embassy Yerevan is implementing a project on "My Question to Future President." Within the project framework a competition was held among high school students in Yerevan and Goris on December 5 at 3 pm, in Vanadzor on December 6, and in Gyumri on December 8, 2007. The winners will be entitled to ask the top 2008 presidential candidates a question to be aired on television.