Marat Atovmyan, Vice President of the Armenian Lawyers' Association, participated in the off-site session of the Anti-Corruption Policy Council, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

During the Council session, issues related to CEC electoral violations, criminal cases in the procurement sector, investigation of corruption-related criminal cases, confiscation of illegally obtained property, and the whistleblowing system were discussed.

The work carried out in the development of the whistleblowing system was presented by Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan and Marat Atovmyan, Vice President of the Armenian Lawyers' Association. The Minister of Justice noted that as a result of the work implemented to improve the whistleblowing system, the number of reports has increased in recent periods. Specifically, it was reported that in 2021 the number of reports was 75, in 2022 and 2023 - 116 each, in 2024 - 380, and in the first half of 2025 this number has already reached 282.

The AAL Vice President noted that the organization is consistently committed to assisting the Government of the Republic of Armenia in anti-corruption and legal reform processes. Within this framework, in recent years it has assisted the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia in implementing actions aimed at improving the whistleblowing system included in the Anti-Corruption Strategy and its 2023-2026 Action Plan. Specifically, the Ministry of Justice and the ALA jointly developed draft laws on "Making Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Whistleblowing System" and "Making Supplements to the Constitutional Law on Human Rights Defender." Within the same cooperation framework, drafts on making amendments and supplements to Government Decision No. 272-N of March 15, 2018, and Government Decision No. 439-N of April 12, 2018, were also developed.

The primary basis for developing the drafts was the expert analyses prepared by the experts of ALA and CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia, which also address alternative whistleblowing platforms operated by CSOs.

Furthermore, the ALA, jointly with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, conducted extensive training and awareness-raising events in Yerevan and all regions (Syunik, Shirak, Tavush, Lori, Gegharkunik, Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Armavir, Vayots Dzor, Tavush), engaging 788 participants including teachers, schoolchildren, lecturers, university students, business community representatives, and community and civil servants. The trainings covered the whistleblowing system, whistleblowers' rights, the whistleblowing online platform, digital security, platform usage, and submitting anonymous reports. An important component of the course was practical work aimed at changing perceptions about the image of a whistleblower as a law-abiding citizen.

To assess the effectiveness of the trainings, the ALA team implemented a tool to verify baseline and final results of perceptions and knowledge about the whistleblowing system, which evaluated the training effectiveness and recorded growth in participants' perceptions and knowledge. Specifically, in the first phase of training, which involved 222 civil and municipal servants in Yerevan and Armenian regions, the final knowledge assessment result showed a 35% increase. In the second phase, which involved a total of 566 municipal servants, teachers, pupils, students, lecturers, and private sector representatives in Yerevan and Armenian regions, the final knowledge assessment result showed a 55.64% increase.

The ALA also developed methodological guidelines for internal whistleblowing systems for local self-government bodies and private sector organizations within the framework of the nationwide whistleblowing system awareness campaign. Additionally, the "Your Digital Right to Whistleblow" manual was developed, which provides guidance on how to ensure confidential, anonymous report submission while identifying the necessary and sufficient conditions for effective investigation of reports.

 

It should be noted that the ALA trainings were implemented within the framework of the "BlowtheWhistle, Armenia" and "Development and implementation of Strategic Communication in Governance focused on anti-corruption activities within the scope of EU and EaP cooperation" projects, which the ALA implemented as a result of open competitions.