Starting from February 1, 2018, Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) with the support of the Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is implementing the project on “Promoting Human and Labor Rights through GSP+” in Armenia. The project is implemented within the EU-funded “Promoting Human and Labor Rights through GSP+” global project, which DRI implements in nine beneficiary countries of the GSP+: Armenia, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
In addition to providing economic incentives to beneficiary countries, the GSP+ mechanism creates opportunities for the engagement of different stakeholders to advocate for a full implementation of 27 UN Conventions.
The project implemented by EPF aims to strengthen the capacities of Armenian regional CSOs in producing high-quality, evidence-based alternative reports to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The deadlines for the upcoming submissions to UN Human rights Treaty bodies, which Armenian Government is due go as follows: 1) Convention on the Rights of the Child: January 22, 2019; 2) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: May 30, 2019.
At the beginning of the project, EPF will hire human rights consultants, who will be tasked with preparing and conducting a two-day extensive training for CSOs from pre-selected regions. The training will be conducted in Yerevan and shall concentrate on exploration of several key stages of the reporting process to UN treaty bodies. Special attention will be given to actual drafting of alternative reports so that they are designed carefully and present specific points for the UN treaty bodies to be later used while questioning the Armenian Government.
After a completion of the training, a coaching plan and working schedule will be developed by the consultants, EPF staff, and the participants. The consultants will be responsible for weekly communication with the CSOs group working on the report, compiling the information, providing assistance and guidance.
Throughout the implementation of the project, three coordination meetings will be held by EPF team together with the consultants to help the involved local CSOs to identify the strengths of each of partaking NGOs, divide tasks to be undertaken, share resources and start developing the alternative reports. It is expected to have the initial drafts (in Armenian) of the reports by the end of coordination meetings, which will be finalized by the consultant(s) and translated into English before being submitted to the UN treaty bodies.
As a result of the training, coordination meetings and extensive coaching by the consultant(s), it is expected that at least four alternative reports shall be prepared and submitted to the UN Committee on the rights of the child and the UN Committee on economic, social and cultural rights.
EIDHR/2016/376-915
This project is funded by the European Union
More about Generalised Scheme of Preferences can be learned here.
