UN Provides Grants to the National Assembly: Which MPs Will Benefit

The newspaper ‘Zhoghovurd’ reports: The UN office informed ‘Zhoghovurd’ that several parliamentary committees have received grants to present projects and legislative packages. The goal of the UN Development Program (UNDP) initiative ‘New Armenia: Modern Parliament’ is to empower the National Assembly within the framework of its new and significantly expanded role in implementing key functions such as law-making, oversight, and representation in the state governance system.

The program provides strategic and technical support to the National Assembly of Armenia and its standing committees. The support is granted based on the principle of non-partisanship, allowing committees consisting of both government and opposition representatives to make decisions regarding the submitted applications.

No actual grants are being provided within the program. Instead, it offers technical assistance to the standing committees of the National Assembly for conducting studies and policy analyses. After an application is approved, the program organizes procurements in accordance with the UNDP procurement procedures.

According to ‘Zhoghovurd’, currently, four committees are benefiting from this program: the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sports; the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs; the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs; and the Standing Committee on Economic Issues.

Reportedly, the financial support ranges from $15,000 to $20,000, with the Education Committee aiming to develop a project on education strategy soon. The Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs, Ani Samsonyan, and MP Rustam Bakoyan are currently drafting a project within the same program, while the other two committees have organized seminars and discussed draft laws.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.