On May 12, law students from the “ARTICLE 3” Human Rights School visited the Corruption Prevention Commission. The visit was organized at the initiative of the “For Equal Rights” Educational Center NGO, aiming to familiarize young people with the state policy and programs being implemented in the field of corruption prevention in Armenia, as well as with the Commission’s functions and powers.
Mariyam Galstyan, Acting Chair of the Commission, welcomed the students and presented the Commission’s mandate, its functions and scope of authority. In particular, she spoke about the institutional system of integrity, its elements — requirements for incompatibility, other restrictions, regulations on conflicts of interest, codes of conduct, as well as restrictions on accepting gifts and recent legislative changes in the field. The declaration system, integrity assessment mechanism, and oversight of political party financing were also discussed as key tools for prevention.
An active discussion took place during the meeting. The students raised various questions, mainly concerning the process of analyzing declarations, the categories of officials subject to declarations, situational declarations, the process and conclusions of integrity assessments, the code of conduct for public servants, the value thresholds for gifts, and more.
Such meetings are extremely important for encouraging a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption among citizens. They significantly contribute to raising youth awareness and enhancing public oversight.
