Embassy Political Section Head Discusses 2004 Human Right Report with University Audience

March 23, 2005

Ms. Cynthia Doell, head of the U.S. Embassy political/economic section, gave a presentation on the recently released U.S. State Department 2004 Human Rights Report, and fielded questions from professors and students at the American University of Armenia. Ms. Doell discussed the role of the report as a tool for Washington policy makers, an effort to give them the information they need when making decisions about a host of issues.

Participants reviewed the section on Armenia for 2004, and commented on the areas of concern noted in the report, highlighted in the central paragraph of the introduction: "The Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. Security forces beat pretrial detainees, and impunity remained a problem. There were instances of arbitrary arrests and detentions. In April, police used excessive force to disperse an opposition rally, detained opposition politicians, and raided opposition party offices. During the year, the Government helped to create a civilian prison monitoring board and permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions. There were reports that the Government limited the right to privacy. There were some limits on press freedom. Journalists engaged in self-censorship to avoid problems with government authorities, and there were some instances of violence against journalists. The law places some restrictions on religious freedom. In October, the Government approved the registration of Jehovah's Witnesses as a legal entity. While the Government took steps to limit trafficking in persons, violence against women and trafficking of women and children remained problems. Societal harassment of homosexuals and Yezidis was also a problem."

Noting that an active, engaged populace was the best guarantor for the observance of human rights, Ms. Doell urged seminar participants to play a greater role in their country's development and to work at the grass roots to encourage full respect for their own and their countrymen's human rights.