What Should Citizens Subject to Draft Living Abroad Do? Clarification from the Ministry of Defense Spokesperson

In response to concerns from representatives of civil society regarding the need for responsible authorities to carry out awareness-raising activities for citizens subject to conscription living abroad, we would like to clarify that, as a result of cooperation between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the process of informing citizens subject to conscription residing abroad through the diplomatic missions and consular establishments of the Republic of Armenia has been ensured and continues.

This was stated by Shushan Stepanyan, spokesperson for the Minister of Defense, on her Facebook page. She also noted: "In particular, on the official websites and social media pages of the diplomatic representations and consulates of the Republic of Armenia abroad, for example, in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, EU countries, the USA, Canada, UAE, etc., the following announcement has been posted: 'Citizens subject to mandatory military service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, who have been unable to return to their homeland on time due to restrictions related to the pandemic and the lack of air communication, need to send their information to [email protected] in order to regulate further legal processes and, if possible, to organize their transportation to the Republic of Armenia.'

In the letter addressed to the Armenian embassy, it is necessary to provide the citizen's first name, last name, patronymic, passport series and number, date of birth, name of the military commissariat at the place of registration or the address of registration in Armenia, location in the respective country, mobile phone number, email address, as well as Viber and WhatsApp contact information.

As soon as possible, the embassy will establish contact with the registered citizens and inform them about possible options for returning to Armenia. We remind you that citizens returning to the homeland for the purpose of mandatory military service who have an expired passport will be provided with a return certificate to Armenia free of charge.

Currently, dozens of citizens subject to conscription have been registered, and their information has been sent to the military commissariat for verification. At the same time, the divisions of the Ministry of Defense are also conducting individual awareness-raising activities in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this period, the Ministry of Defense has received dozens of calls from citizens subject to conscription living abroad and their parents, which have been directed accordingly.

Once again, we urge citizens subject to conscription living abroad to contact the diplomatic representations and consular establishments of the Republic of Armenia to organize their return and fulfill their legal obligations.