Our pleasure to inform that due to the decree N 213-A made by RA Prime-Minister Tigran Sargsyan on March 30, 2010 an Interagency Commission to Combat Gender-Based Violence was established.

The goal of Interagency Commission is to raise the effectiveness of events implementation aiming to prevent gender violence, elaborate certain mechanisms for the colleted information to be exchanged, as well as carrying out the purpose of developing the National Program “Against Gender Based Violence”.

The Commission considered to be a vivid example of political attitude towards Gender Based Violence issue and the government willingness actively participate in the problem solving procedure. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia is responsible for reporting on realized work.

The importance of government support for implementation the National Program along with the raising awareness on Gender Based Violence in Armenia is finally under government consideration. Women's Rights Center relies greatly on the Commission for further cooperation with the government.

The Interagency Commission consists of representatives of RA Government, RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration, RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RA Ministry of Health, RA Ministry of Justice, RA Ministry of Economy, RA Ministry of Education and Science, RA Police, International organization, including UN agencies (UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF and UNHCR), IOM, OSCE, USAID, local NGOs: Armenian Association of Women with University Education, International Center for Human Development, Women’s Resource Center and Women’s Rights Center (WRC).

The first meeting of the Interagency Commission to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Armenia was held on May 12, 2010 in the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.The meeting was chaired by Mr. Filaret Berikyan, Head of the Commission, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Issues. During the meeting the following speakers presented description of future goals to be achieved collectively: Ms. Lala Ghazaryan, Head of the Family, Women and Children Issues Department, Ms Armenuhi Tanashyan, Deputy Head of the Department for Family, Women and Children Issues, Ms. Jina Sargisova, UNFPA “Combating Gender-Based Violence in the South Caucasus” project coordinator.