OSCE/ODIHR trains Armenian police on human rights-compliant policing of assemblies

Protecting and promoting human rights while policing assemblies, as well as police accountability, were the focus of a three-day training course organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) from 13 to 15 February 2019 in Yerevan.

The training event brought together 28 representatives (22 men and 6 women) of police departments from the city of Yerevan, five of the country’s provinces, as well as the Police Academy of Armenia.

Participants in the interactive workshop explored human rights standards and internationally recognized good practices in assembly policing, drawing on real-life examples.

“It is an obligation of each OSCE participating State to uphold everyone’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly,” said Anita Danka, ODIHR Human Rights Adviser and a trainer at the course. “This means that the police have a positive duty to facilitate peaceful assemblies without discrimination. ODIHR has built up vast expertise in this area by monitoring the enjoyment of freedom of peaceful assembly in the OSCE region and developing tools to support the work of legislators, policymakers, law enforcement officers and independent observers.”

Colonel Vladimir Avagimyan, Associate Professor at the Police Academy’s Faculty of Law, said: “The protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens is the most important principle of work of democratic police forces. Therefore, this training and, in particular, an opportunity to look at the work of police during peaceful assemblies through the lens of international human right law and best practices of other democratic states was very useful for Armenian police officers. We can share the knowledge obtained at the training with our colleagues already responsible for facilitating assemblies, as well as with police cadets.”

ODIHR has previously conducted similar training sessions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Poland and Ukraine.