Freedom House has published its annual “Nations in Transit 2022” report, which also addresses Armenia.
The human rights organization’s report notes that since 2004, three formerly authoritarian countries — Moldova, Kosovo and Armenia — have taken steps toward strengthening democracy, thereby becoming hybrid regimes.
According to the Freedom House report, Armenia registered progress in its overall score, receiving 3.04 points out of a possible maximum of 7, which is the indicator of a more democratic country, compared to 2.96 points the previous year. Armenia registered progress in several areas examined by the report, including democratic governance, the electoral process, and the development and independence of the judicial system, while at the same time regressing in the indicator of press freedom.
In percentage terms, the country’s level of democratic development stands at 34%. According to Freedom House, countries that have transitioned from authoritarian governance to hybrid regimes are more promising, although they “still do not fully meet democratic standards.”
The human rights organization notes that, for example, in Armenia “in 2018, citizens used the protest movement and a series of competitive elections, the last of which took place in 2021, to decisively end the multi-year rule of the Republican Party. The then leaders were replaced by a new generation of politicians who, despite notable shortcomings, are largely committed to democracy and the public interest.” In addition, it is noted that Armenia and Moldova are among the countries where only one party is dominant in parliament.
It is emphasized that in Armenia, civil society groups were able to prevent a bill put forward by the ruling party, which would have placed the Human Rights Defender’s office under governmental control.
The report also addresses the 44-day Artsakh war, noting that as a result of the armed attack launched by Aliyev in Nagorno-Karabakh, thousands of people were killed and displaced.
According to the report, Armenia trails only Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova among post-Soviet countries, leaving behind the Central Asian republics, Belarus, Russia and Azerbaijan.
