According to Armenia’s draft anticorruption strategy an anticorruption council should be established, and it is envisaged to include two NGO representatives in its structure. However the positions on the structure of the Council are different, specifically, in an interview with Iravaban.net Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Executive Director of Transparency International Anticorruption Center considered that the NGOs involved in the Council should be rather observers and should not have the status of full members. “It seems to me that it is proper for the NGO’s to be observers, especially in view of the current political developments and many other reasons.” According to him, NGO’s “reputation might be at risk” if a number of important provisions assumed by the strategy are not implemented the Council member NGO’s reputation might face risk.”

“There is another important factor, expert commission should be set up, if it is not created, it will be just like it was during the previous strategy. There was an intention to create a permanent Secretariat function to support anti-corruption efforts on a daily basis but it wasn’t established. If a professional and normally paid Commission is not created, then I don’t believe that the Council will work effectively,” Hoktanyan said.

See Iravaban.net for the full text