On December 22, on the initiative of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, parliamentary hearings were held on the theme of Application and Efficiency of the RA Law on Citizens, who haven’t Passed Obligatory Military Service by the Breach of the Defined Order. The MPs, representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, Prosecutor’s Office, International Organizations, and NGOs participated in the hearings.

Mr. Artur Aghabekyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs said that the base of the hearings were the numerous letters, addressed the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, Prosecutor’s Office, which propose to prolong the application terms of the RA Law on Citizens, who haven’t Passed Obligatory Military Service by the Breach of the Defined Order, as well as the views, related to the result of the analysis and application of the law by Yerevan office of OSCE.

Mr. Aghabekyan said that the subject of settlement of the law are the attitudes, related to the military service of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. He said that the reason of avoiding recruitment for military service was different, which need to have serious debate and assessment.

Mr. Ara Nazaryan, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, presented information, related to the application of the law, after the adoption of the law in 2004, noting that up to December 12 of 2008 the interdepartmental committee convened 72 meetings and has investigated 4045 cases.

Touching upon the cases, related to volunteer service in the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia, from those citizens, who avoided from recruitment, Mr. Sargis Mnatsakan, representative of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia, said that during the last recruitment 119 recruits have expressed similar desire and as a whole the number of the volunteers annually reaches 250 - in such cases the chosen preventive punishment is changed.

Expert Mr. Tigran Yeranosyan, who was the author and analyst of the discussed law, has drawn the participants’ attention to "reconciliatory" legal mechanisms existing in the law, the obligation nature of the term military service, medical and scientific- pedagogical factors marital status, transparency of the application of the law and to the provision of the control. According to him the law is very important as well as it is very important to prolong the application terms of the law.

Ms. Mary Khachatryan, representative of the NGO Sakharov Human Rights Centre in Armenia, said that the refugee have the right to serve in the armed forces, but it is not obligatory, he may do it as a volunteer, whereas there are cases where this norm is breached and that is inadmissible.

The employee of the Yerevan office of OSCE Mr. K.H. has emphasized the importance of similar debates of the law, which provides transparency and it is one of the best forms of information. As to the necessity of making amendments to the law it is the authority of the country to do it.

Mr. Artur Aghabekyan said that all the speakers touched upon the necessity of prolongation of the terms of application of the law, and highlighted the parliamentary hearings as well and asked to present all the proposals in the written form.