Committee o n E conomic, Social and Cultur al Rights

List of issues in relation to the combined second and third periodic report of Armenia *

I.General information

Please provide information on cases in which the rights under the Covenant have been invoked before – and/or applied by – domestic courts in the State party.

Please provide information on steps taken to prevent and combat corruption at all levels of public administration, as well as on the number of prosecutions and the sentences passed, if any, against high-level officials found guilty of such conduct.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1–5)

Article 2,paragraph 2 – Non-discrimination

Please provide information on steps taken to address discrimination against persons based on ethnicity, as well as on sexual orientation or gender identity, including in the health, employment and educational settings.

Please provide information on steps taken to address the widespread discrimination against persons with disabilities, including in their access to health care, education, social protection, and transportation. Please also provide information on steps taken to raise public awareness of persons with disabilities and to combat the social stigma that these persons face.

Article 3 –Equal rights of men and women

Please provide information on steps taken to increase the participation of women in public and political life, particularly in high decision-making positions, through, inter alia, the adoption of affirmative measures. Please also provide information on steps taken to address deeply rooted patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes regarding women and their role and responsibilities in the family and society.

Please provide information on steps taken to address the persisting gender pay gap.

III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6–15)

Article 6 –The right to work

Please provide information on steps taken since 2009 – and the impactsthat have been measured – to address the high unemployment rate, particularly among women and people living in rural areas. Please also provide information on the impact of steps taken to reduce youth unemployment, in particular through the Youth Professional Orientation Centre.

Please provide information on targeted steps taken to address the high unemployment rate of persons with disabilities, and on measures in place to guarantee effective protectionagainst discrimination in the workplace for persons with disabilities.

Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to reduce the informal sector of the economy with a view to promoting employment in the formal sector, as well as on measures taken to ensure that workers in the informal sector have access to basic services and social protection.

Article 7 – The right to just and favourable conditions of work

Please clarify whether the State party has taken steps to strengthen the inspection regime for occupational and health standards, including by the State Labour Inspectorate.

Please indicate how the State party ensures that employers respect the 40-hour work week, the 20 days of mandatory annual leave, and the provision of compensation for overtime and night-time work, as provided by domestic law. Please clarify which regulations are in place regarding the maximum daily working time.

Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to protect employees from dismissal without notice, as well as to ensure that calculation of the amount of severance pay is based on the length of service of the employee.

Article 8 – The right to form and join trade unions and the right to strike

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure that the right to form and join trade unions is not jeopardized or interfered with by employers. Please also clarify whether the State party will amend the Police Force Act to allow police officers to form or join trade unions.

Article 9 –The right to social security

Please clarify whether the social security system covers health care costs incurred through sickness and injury not related to employment.

Please clarify whether the amounts of unemployment benefit anddisability benefitare sufficient for an adequate standard of living. Please clarify whether the State party continues to provide social benefits for unemployed persons, and which modifications have recently been undertaken in this respect.

Please provide information on the level of non-contributory pension paid to a single elderly person, and clarify whether this amount is sufficient for an adequate standard of living.

Article 10 – Protection of the family, mothers and children

Please provide information on how the State party criminalizes domestic violence, and clarify whether it intends to address domestic violence as a separate crime under the Penal Code. Please also clarify which steps have been taken to address the high level of domestic violence against women. Please clarify whether there are, and if so how many, State-funded shelters available for victims of domestic violence.

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure access to comprehensive family planning services, contraceptives and safe abortion services in cases provided for by law, especially in rural areas.

Please provide information on steps taken to combat ill-treatment, including corporal punishment, of children in closed and partially closed institutions, such as children’s homes and boarding schools.

Please provide information on steps taken to prevent the increasing placement of children in care institutions, including due to the inability of families to cover educational expenses or the basic needs of their children.

Please provide information on steps taken to enforce the existing legislation on the prohibition of child labour and to ensure that children attend school. Please also indicate whether the Labour Inspectorate has so far investigated cases of child labour, and whethersuch cases, if any, have led to prosecutions.

Please provide information on steps taken against trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and of men for forced labour.

Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to ensure that all children are registered at birth, including those of families that do not have the financial means to travel to registration centres after a birth.

Article 11– The right to an adequate standard of living

Please provide updated information on poverty levels in the State party, disaggregated by year, and rural/urban areas, as well as population and age groups.

Please provide information on steps taken to combat child malnutrition.

Please provide information on steps taken to provide social housing to disadvantaged and marginalized groups and individuals. Please also clarify whether, following the 1998 earthquake, affected families are still living in temporary shelters (domics), and provide information on steps that the State party has taken to provide permanent, adequate housing for those individuals.

Article 12 – The right to physical and mental health

Please provide updated information on steps taken to improve the access to health care services in rural areas, as well as on the availability of qualified health care professionals in such regions. Please provide information on measures taken to address the levying of informal fees for medical care in hospitals.

Please provide information on steps taken to improve the health care offered in prisons, and to address the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C in prisons.

Please provide information on steps taken – and the impacts that have been measured – to reduce the infant mortality rate. In addition, please provide information on the maternal mortality rate, disaggregated by year and region, and on measures taken by the State party that aim to reduce this rate.

Please provide information on steps taken to provide refugees and asylum seekers with free health care, and to raise awareness among them of their right to free health care.

Articles 13 and 14 – The right to education

Please provide information on steps taken to improve the conditions in schools, particularly with regard to heating, water and sanitation. Please indicate which steps have been taken to improve the quality of education in the State party and to address the high drop-out rate of pupils following primary education, particularly that of girls in rural areas. Please also provide information on steps taken to ensure that children with disabilities, including those living in rural areas or in institutions, receive formal education.

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure that programmes are in place for the teaching of Armenian to migrant workers and their family members.

Article 15– Cultural rights

Please provide information on steps taken to encourage participation in cultural life by children, including children from families living in poverty, and migrant and refugee children, as well as by older persons. Please also provide information on steps taken to eliminate physical, social and communication barriers preventing persons with disabilities from fully participating in cultural life.

Please indicate the measures taken by the State party to ensure access to the Internet, in particular for disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups.