ECHR To Hear Jehovah’s Witness Complaint Against Armenia

Judges at the European Court of Human Rights will today hear arguments in a freedom of religion and conscience complaint brought by a Jehovah’s Witness against Armenia.

Bayatyan v. Armenia (Application no. 23459/03)

Vahan Bayatyan is an Armenian national, born in 1983. He is a Jehovah’s Witness. The case concerns his criminal conviction for refusal to perform military service for conscientious reasons.

Lord Prescott Rallies Against ‘Crisis’ In Democracy

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New forms of democracy – in which citizens can participate directly in decisions, for example – are needed to supplement traditional representative democracy if the current crisis in democracy is to be overcome, Lord Prescott declared at the Forum for the Future of Democracy. 

Delivering a speech in Yerevan, Armenia, on behalf of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Mevlüt Çavusoglu, Lord Prescott, the United Kingdom's former Deputy Prime Minister, said there was a need for “sustained forms of interaction between people and the authorities.”

Speech

Jagland Highlights CoE's Contribution To Europe's "Deep Security"

Effective democratic governance is not only intrinsically linked to the respect of human rights but is also key to to ensuring stability, sustainability and well-being.

This message was writ large in Thorbjorn Jagland speech to the 2010 Forum for the Future of Democracy, which ended in Yerevan, Armenia on 21 October.