US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN546

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, AM 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S PROPOSAL TO REVISE OMBUDSMAN LAW 
DIES IN COMMITTEE 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1. (SBU) The Armenian National Assembly has effectively 
refused two Presidential requests to revise the law on 
the Human Rights Defender, according to the Ombudsman, 
Larissa Alaverdian.  The separate proposals would have 
limited the Ombudsman's power to obtain court documents 
and would have incorporated the office's staff into the 
Armenian civil service.  Alaverdian feared that either 
change would have compromised the independence of her 
office.  On March 18, the Assembly's Committee on Legal 
Affairs rejected President Kocharian's proposal to 
restrict the Ombudsman's access to court documents, a 
rare defeat for Kocharian.  The same committee has also 
indefinitely delayed Kocharian's request to make the 
Ombudsman's staff part of the civil service according 
to Alaverdian. 
 
2. (SBU) Alaverdian, who claimed she did not lobby 
Assembly members, told us that the National Assembly is 
committed to her office because deputies drafted its 
original legislation without input from the executive 
branch.  She said collaboration with the European 
Council created a strong vision for the office, and 
legislators are committed to that vision. 
EVANS