Government to Set Up Advisory Board to Combat Corruption

During its February 19 session, Armenia’s government passed a decision to create an advisory board to combat corruption in the country.

The institutional framework that will effectively implement an anti-corruption strategy “must be aimed at improving the efficiency of those bodies commissioned with the implementation of anti-corruption policies, including also ensuring the prevention and disclosure of corruption among those bodies,” the decision read.

“In the past decade. fighting corruption has become one of the priorities of the government of the Republic of Armenia,” the government decision stated and went on to say that the institutional framework to implement an anti-corruption strategy also stems from Armenia’s obligations under international treaties.

Leading the new anti-corruption advisory body will be the country's Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan. It is foreseen that Minister Davit Harutyunyan, the government’s Chief-of-Staff and former Justice Minister will also be included in the body. Other members of the advisory body will include Justice Minister Hovhannes Manukyan, Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan, Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan and potentially the chair of the National Assembly's Standing Committee for ethics, one representative from each of the opposition parties (Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia Party, Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Heritage Party) represented in the country’s parliament, president of Armenia’s Public Council, and one representative each from civil society and communities corporations.

According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index 2014, out of 175 countries and territories, the Republic of Armenia ranked 94th with a total score of 37/100.