Government Seeks Restrictions Unfitting for Democracy, Claim Journalistic Organizations

A number of journalistic organizations have issued a statement addressing the government's intention not to publish information on the purpose of state employees’ business trips and purchases from a single source on the e-gov.am platform. The statement is presented below:

“Draft amendments to the RA Prime Minister’s Resolution No. 1230-N dated September 19, 2018, RA Government Resolution No. 1104-N dated August 30, 2012, and RA Government Resolution No. 982-N dated September 22, 2016 have been posted on the official e-draft.am website for discussion. The first of them proposes not to publish information on the purpose of state employees' business trips, the topics discussed, meetings, speeches, and decisions made on the e-gov.am platform. The second suggests not presenting information on purchases made from a single source, the registry of hazardous production facilities, and data concerning companies having the right to exploit mineral resources and geological studies of groundwater.

In addition, it is proposed to remove information regarding air carriers, flights, their costs, booking codes, and the number of passengers from gov.travel.am.

These documents have been developed by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia in collaboration with the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia.

The fact that the political force that came to power during the 2018 revolution, and which also won the snap parliamentary elections on June 20 of this year, is advocating for restrictions unfit for a democratic society in the realm of information freedom raises deep concerns. The overwhelming majority of the provisions in the discussed documents contradict Article 51 of the Constitution, the Law on Freedom of Information of the Republic of Armenia, as well as Armenia’s commitments under the Open Government Partnership framework.

The government's lack of transparency was initially evidenced by the fact that no initiative was taken to revise the provisions of the ‘Law on Purchases’ which classified expenses concerning the activities of the country’s top three officials (the Prime Minister, the President, and the Speaker of the National Assembly) as state secrets under the previous administration. Another concerning step was recorded when the government approved a draft law in April 2020 aimed at restricting environmental information. The current package of documents under discussion is the logical continuation of those erroneous approaches.

While we acknowledge the statement disseminated today by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, we nonetheless emphasize that it does not alleviate our concerns that the government, based on its subjective perceptions and narrow political interests, may restrict also information of public interest and significance.

Considering that such informational restrictions carry corruption risks and contradict RA legislation and international norms, as well as democratic principles of transparent governance and accountability to society, we, the undersigned organizations, demand from the Government of the Republic of Armenia:

• to cancel the aforementioned drafts,
• to organize comprehensive discussions aimed at finding solutions to issues related to freedom of information with the participation of relevant state bodies, specialized public organizations, independent experts, and representatives of international organizations.”

Signatory Organizations:

• Speech Freedom Protection Committee
• Media Initiatives Center
• Agency for Freedom of Information
• Press for Future NGO
• Journalists for Human Rights NGO
• Goris Media Center
• Femida NGO