In 2025, Rights Centre NGO implemented the project “From Training to Impact: Enhancing Report Submission Skills for Armenian NGOs,” which aimed to strengthen the capacity of Armenian civil society organizations to prepare and submit high-quality human rights reports to international mechanisms, including the Council of Europe, the Universal Periodic Review, and UN treaty bodies. The project included trainings, mentoring and submissions of the alternative reports on human rights issues, including disability rights.
Within this framework, Rights Centre NGO, in cooperation with Disability Rights Agenda NGO, submitted an alternative report to the European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR) on the status of Armenia’s implementation of its obligations under the European Social Charter.( Report is available here: Alternative Report on Armenias 18th National Report under the Revised European Social Charter: Rights of Persons with Disabilities )
In its 2025 Conclusions regarding Armenia the European Committee on Social Rights, mentioned that it took note of the information contained in the report submitted by the Rights Centre NGO and the Disability Rights Agenda NGO. Most of the recommendations submitted by the alternative report were reflected in this Conclusions.
Rights Centre NGO and Disability Rights Agenda NGO welcome the Committee’s careful consideration of the information and recommendations submitted. We appreciate that the Committee took into account a substantial part of the concerns raised and reflected them in its conclusions. This engagement is viewed as an important step toward strengthening the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and advancing compliance with relevant international human rights standards.
The alternative report highlighted a range of structural challenges that continue to undermine the effective realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and provided recommendations. These challenges include, in particular, the following:
- The right to just conditions of work
Armenia’s legal framework formally recognizes the right to reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities, including flexible working arrangements. However, these guarantees are largely ineffective in practice due to the absence of monitoring, enforcement, and support mechanisms.
- The Right to Safe and Healthy Working Conditions
Armenia’s occupational safety and health framework does not adequately address the safety risks created by workplace inaccessibility for persons with disabilities. Physical barriers such as inaccessible buildings, equipment, and infrastructure expose workers with disabilities to disproportionate hazards, yet OSH inspections do not systematically assess accessibility as part of safety oversight. Armenia lacks a national OSH policy that integrates disability rights or requires employers to adapt safety procedures to different disabilities.
- The Right to a Fair Remuneration
Persons with disabilities are concentrated in low-wage sectors, particularly agriculture, and are largely excluded from higher-paying professions such as ICT and finance, even when they hold higher education degrees. Although disability-disaggregated wage data is lacking, the evidence shows systemic segregation into lower-paid work, resulting in unequal remuneration and undermining Armenia’s obligations under Article 4 of the Revised European Social Charter and Article 27 of the CRPD.
- The Right to Organise and The Right to Bargain Collectively
While Armenian law formally guarantees the right of persons with disabilities to join trade unions and participate in collective bargaining, these rights are largely inaccessible in practice. Trade unions operate with limited capacity and lack mechanisms to ensure disability inclusion, with meetings and information often inaccessible to persons with disabilities.
The Right to Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation without Sex Discrimination
Although the Employment Strategy 2025–2031 identifies disadvantaged groups, it does not include women with disabilities. Labour market data shows that women with disabilities are the most excluded group, with only 21.6% participating in the labour force and 18% employed-significantly lower than men with disabilities and women without disabilities.
The conclusions of the Committee are available here: European Committee of Social Rights_Conclusions2025_Armenia_EN