It is political short-sightedness to think that joining the International Criminal Court can ever be used for the protection of Armenia's interests - Republican Party of Armenia

The Executive Body of the Republican Party of Armenia issued a statement.

"On March 24, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia adopted a decision based on the government's application, according to which the obligations stipulated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court correspond to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

This decision of the Armenian authorities in the current geopolitical situation is extreme political blindness and is fraught with unpredictable consequences.

It is no secret that the International Criminal Court is an extremely politicized body and it is no coincidence that even powerful powers such as the United States, China, and Russia, which are permanent members of the UN Security Council, have not signed or ratified that statute and have no such intention in the future.

It is obvious political myopia to think that joining that court can ever be used for the protection of Armenia's interests.

At the same time, it is also necessary to record that the Constitutional Court of Armenia, as a result of unconstitutional amendments to the Constitution in 2020, has an illegal composition, has completely exceeded its powers, and made an obviously illegal decision.

According to the Constitution and the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court was not authorized to examine the case of the constitutionality of the obligations stipulated in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, in the event that the Constitutional Court already made a negative decision on the same issue in 2004.

Since the decisions of the Constitutional Court are final and not subject to revision, the revision of the issue of membership of the International Criminal Court was legally possible only after making a corresponding change in the Constitution."

Amnesty International's report on the human rights situation in Armenia 

The international human rights organization Amnesty International has published the report "State of human rights in the world 2022-2023", which presents the results of studies on 156 countries.

"No progress was reported in investigating war crimes and other crimes under international law during the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan armed conflict and its immediate aftermath. Law enforcement officers used excessive force during anti-government protests. Freedom of expression was restricted as hundreds faced criminal prosecution for allegedly insulting officials. Amendments to the Mining Code made it easier to bypass public opposition and environmental concerns. Laws to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity remained inadequate.

The security situation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border remained tense with frequent skirmishes. Azerbaijani shelling inside Armenia proper, with strikes in the Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Vayots Dzor provinces, resulted in over 200 deaths including two civilians. In October, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the short-term deployment of an EU monitoring mission along their border.

The Security Council Secretary presented security threats to Armenia to his colleagues in Tallinn

The Secretary of the Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan had meetings in the Republic of Estonia with Liis Lipre-Järma, Advisor on Foreign Policy of the Vigilante of Estonia, Kilike Silaste-Eling, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, as well as the former Chairman (now a member) of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Marko Mihkelson.

During the meetings, the parties emphasized the holding of high-level meetings aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, as well as the presence of the EU mission in Armenia.

The Secretary of the Security Council presented the security threats of Armenia to his colleagues, in particular, the possible escalation by Azerbaijan towards Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

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