The Responsiveness Of The Ombudsman's Office Towards LGBT Rights In Armenia

Responding efficiently and effectively to people's real needs requires engaging the public to identify and articulate its needs.It is the duty of the Human Rights Defender(Ombudsman)of the Republic of Armenia to protect and restore the human rights and fundamental freedoms of every citizen.Responsive governance also requires contextual sensitivity to,among other things,cultural traditions,power bases and public opinion.Those seeking to ensure that effective governance is in place must address all these aspects.There have been many concerns from international organizations over the absence of data on the enjoyment of economic,social and cultural rights by LGBT groups,refugees and asylum-seekers,ethnic minorities as well as protection of their basic human rights in Armenia.The main goal of this research is to find out whether Ombudsman's level of responsiveness varies towards LGBT issues;that is,the degree to which policy outcomes reflect the public opinion including those of minorities.The present research adopted a mixed method approach involving both semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys.It has attempted to investigate the responsiveness of Ombudsman's office towards LGBT rights in Armenia.The way LGBT community and NGOs perceive the Ombudsman's office.The data has been compared with the available data on the official website of the Armenian Ombudsman and interview questions have brought to light four major aspects where the Ombudsman needs to be more responsive.Interviews with representatives of LGBT minority groups and NGOs engaged in protection of LGBT rights have been conducted.Current lack of data on the minority rights shows the lack of interest and/or attention to this question.A total of 20 LGBT individuals have taken part in the study as well two main NGOs that deal with human rights infringements and give unofficial protection and advice to LGBT individuals.The Ombudsman's office both present and past,has also been reached and yearly reports have been thoroughly investigated.The quantitative questionnaire shows that LGBT individuals have much less trust in the Ombudsman's office than the majority of the population.From the semi-structured interviews it became clear that a certain group of LGBT individuals have hope that the future of LGBT community in Armenia will change in the near future.One of the factors that was mentioned is the revolution and closer ties with European Union instead of Russia with its anti-LGBT laws.The NGOs on the other hand were very positive towards the Ombudsman's office,mentioning that he was not only responsive but also followed up on the issues raised by them.Based on the surveys and questionnaires it became obvious that the most sensitive and fragile parts of the society where LGBT people face problems are the military,prisons,healthcare facilities and educational institutions.