The Online Meeting of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Working Group 1 took place

On 8-12 June, 2020, the first online meeting of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Working Group 1 (EaP SCF) took place.

During the meeting, the delegates of the 1st group of the six EaP countries had the opportunity to get acquainted with each other and present the organizations nominated by them. Notably, in 2020-2021, Ms Suzanna Soghomonyan, President of the Armenian Young Lawyers’ Association, was elected a delegate as well.

During the meeting, the impact of the crisis as a result of the new type of coronavirus on various sectoral policies was discussed. In particular, there were discussions and debates on the policies pursued by the six EaP countries in the following areas.

– Media freedom during the COVID crisis,

– Election integrity during the COVID crisis,

– Resilience as the new approach to the EaP, in light of the COVID crisis,

– The impact of the COVID crisis on gender policies and domestic violence,

– Human rights during the COVID crisis,

– The fight against corruption in the light of the COVID crisis: money laundering and transnational financial crimes as a security threat for EaP and EU.

Suzanna Soghomonyan participated in the meetings dedicated to the human rights and the fight against corruption, where she presented the violations registered in the sphere of human rights in Armenia as a result of the coronavirus crisis and the challenges that require a primary solution. And on behalf of the Armenian delegation participating in this meeting, she presented the general situation of the fight against corruption in Armenia.

On the last day of the week-long online meetings, a meeting was held with EU representatives to discuss the current COVID crisis, the future of the EaP policy, and the recommendations formulated during the policy debate sessions.