Strasbourg, 13 April 2026 – In a letter to the Prime Minister of Armenia published today, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty recommends that Armenia adopts a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
The Commissioner welcomed Armenia’s progress, including the new sectoral legislation and guarantees in the Criminal Code, as well as the proactive engagement by the Human Rights Defender. Noting that the Ministry of Justice is preparing a Draft Law on the Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination, the Commissioner invited the Prime Minister to seize the opportunity to create a robust anti-discrimination framework that meets international standards and the needs of a diverse society. This should be done in consultation with civil society and international partners, including the Council of Europe.
Commissioner O’Flaherty highlighted several issues to ensure that the future law fully aligns with Council of Europe standards. It is important to provide the Human Rights Defender with a clearly defined mandate as an equality body, with the competencies, powers and resources necessary to effectively combat discrimination and promote equality.
Other issues include: ensuring legal certainty in the protection of the human rights of LGBTI people; enabling organisations with a legitimate interest to bring or intervene in anti-discrimination cases; and addressing the issue of hate speech.
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Michael O’Flaherty began his six-year term as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2024. He promotes awareness of and fosters the effective observance of human rights across the organisation’s 46 member states.
