Helsinki Citizens´ Assembly Vanadzor (HCA Vanadzor)

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Helsinki Citizens´ Assembly-Vanadzor (HCA Vanadzor) is a non-political, non-religious, non-profit NGO, which unites individuals who acknowledge the supreme principles of democracy, tolerance, pluralism and human rights as values. HCA Vanadzor was founded in 1998 as a branch of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Armenian Committee. It was registered as an independent organization in 2001 and was re-registered in 2005.

The vision of HCA Vanadzor is to form a society based on the supreme values of human dignity, democracy and peace.

The mission of HCA Vanadzor is the promotion and support of civil initiatives, strengthening of rights protection and peace-building activities on regional and national levels.

HCA Vanadzor functions in the following spheres:
• Protection of human rights,
• Civil initiatives and
• Advocacy, peace-building.

In order to implement its activities HCA Vanadzor carries out discussions, seminars, public hearings, (joint) public actions, trainings legal actions, civil participation, publications, studies/research, monitoring, lobbying, involvement of mass media, TV and radio discussion and debates.

Activities:
• Human Rights Defense: Provision of free legal assistance to socially vulnerable citizens; Disclosure of legislative gaps, drawbacks, and imperfection; Conduction of monitoring and preparation of reports on human rights defense in closed and semi-closed institutions; Conduction of strategic litigation; Conduction of studies in the field of human rights, preparation of reports, etc.
• Peace building: Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts; Formation of Mutual Trust: Through elimination of hostility and intolerance between the conflicting societies by periodically enrolling representatives from conflict parties/ conflict victims, students, and young journalists/ in various seminars, trainings and events aimed at intercultural recognition, HCA Vanadzor trying to form mutual trust, provide dialoguing opportunities and willingness among the aforementioned groups; Toleranc
• Advocacy and Civil Initiatives: Anti-corruption Activities; Campaigns: demonstrations, press releases, press conferences, articles, media campaigns, strategic litigations, round-table discussions, seminars, meeting-discussions with decision makers (NA deputies, Avagani and etc.), drafting legal acts (participation in the amendments of legal acts).
• Monitoring: Human rights monitoring is a systematic study to collect, analyze, and verify information of certain aspects of social life focused on positive changes in the reality without any violence; Monitoring of Electoral processes or Closed and semi-closed institutions.

Projects:
• To defend human rights and provide support to human rights defenders at risk in Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine
• Raising Effectiveness of Protection of Citizens´ Rights in Relations with the Police

Artur Sakunts is the Chairman of Helsinki Citizens´ Assembly-Vanadzor (HCA Vanadzor).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.