Disability Rights Agenda (DRA) is pleased to announce the submission of two joint shadow reports to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). These reports, made possible through collaboration with multiple other organizations, aim to shed light on critical issues affecting persons with disabilities in Armenia.
Report on Employment and Inclusive Education
The first report, submitted in partnership with Eurasia Partnership Foundation, focuses on the inefficiency of government employment programs and the lack of inclusive education for children with sensory impairments. Shockingly, of the 3,096 individuals employed through annual government programs from 2020 to mid-2023, only 222 were persons with disabilities. The report also highlights the failure to provide inclusive education for children who are deaf, deaf-blind, or blind, emphasizing the need for universal design principles and removing formal restrictions that hinder job-seeking for individuals with disabilities.
Collaborating Organizations:
- Law Development and Protection Foundation
- Human Rights Research Center NGO
- Child Protection Network
Report on Mental Health and Deinstitutionalization
The second report, submitted in partnership with Democracy Development Foundation and other organizations, targets the right to mental health. Our findings reveal that Armenia's mental health laws are not in alignment with international human rights standards. The prevalence of coercive practices such as involuntary hospitalization, medication, and restraints is alarming. Moreover, there has been a notable lack of initiative from the government in adopting community-based, rights-focused mental health systems.
Collaborating Organizations:
- Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor NGO
- Protection of Rights without Borders NGO
- Real World, Real People NGO
- Transparency International Anti-corruption Center NGO