Armenia`s government took only limited credible steps to investigate  and punish alleged human rights abuses by former and sitting  government officials and law enforcement authorities - U.S.  Department of State

ArmInfo.More than 100,000 ethnic-Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh fled to Armenia between September 24 and October 1, following Azerbaijan's military operation to gain full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, reads the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Armenia. 

"This followed Azerbaijan's closure of the Lachin Corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh to most civilian and commercial access, allowing only intermittent humanitarian access, between December 2022 and September 24, when it reopened for one-way traffic out of Nagorno-Karabakh. During the year, Azerbaijani forces hit certain infrastructure inside Armenia. Armenia's government strengthened its institutional framework to fight corruption by implementing its new anti-corruption strategy on multiple fronts. Numerous nongovernmental organizations reported on a notable increase in cases of abuse or torture by law enforcement officials of individuals in custody and asserted such behavior was becoming systemic and often went unpunished.

"Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: torture or cruel inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; and the existence of the worst forms of child labor.

"The government took only limited credible steps to investigate and punish alleged human rights abuses by former and sitting government officials and law enforcement authorities. There was no reported progress on government investigations of alleged abuses committed by the Armenian armed forces or individuals during the 2020 hostilities," the report reads.  

The full report is available here https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights- practices/armenia/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3Z30OKi5F5wsk_boBNHfMExRC8drMQ76EnUFenR4p9THz4MPJ7Xg2Ta68_aem_Ac1IaFWxcoOJUq9HHu0lIO6YDq-lbgkKTQYHxVjKwzalsCuxc8FtCrvqQEICC_JJ9wYznBtqsxrWQ93OZbWR-LE3