On September 9, representatives of the Ministry of Environment of the RA, led by Deputy Minister Ara Mkrtchyan, met with Anahit Manasyan, Human Rights Defender and representatives of the Human Rights Defender’s Office.
During the meeting, issues related to the proper guarantee of the right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment were discussed, as well as opportunities for cooperation between the Human Rights Defender and the Ministry of Environment of the RA.
Ara Mkrtchyan addressed the legislative and institutional reforms implemented by the Ministry. He emphasised that, taking into account the specificities of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and international obligations, appropriate amendments have been made to the legislation regulating the field of environmental impact assessment (EIA).
The parties emphasised the importance of potentially mitigating the requirements established by national legislation for public organisations to use administrative or judicial procedures on environmental matters, as well as introducing effective mechanisms to ensure access to justice.