Armenia

Lena Mirzoyan with her pupils, who are holding the Yezidi flag. Numbering about 35,000 people, Yezidi are Armenia's largest ethnic minority. © Gayane Markosyan

Armenia’s Yezidi Girls Choose School Over Early Marriage

Despite conservative social norms that mean girls can wed as young as 14, drop-out rates are declining.

1 Jun 23

(left) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan casts his vote in Turkey's general elections at a polling station in the Uskudar district on May 14, 2023 in Istanbul. (right) Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and presidential candidate of the main opposition alliance Kemal Kilicdaroglu arrives to cast his vote at a polling station during Turkey's General Election on May 14, 2023 in Ankara. © Umit Bektas-Pool/Getty Images and Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey Votes: Normalisation With Armenia Will Continue

The presidential contest looms large over the South Caucasus region and the outcome will have a profound impact in Yerevan and Baku.

19 May 23

A woman sings patriotic songs of the Soviet Union during a march near the Kremlin with pro-Communist demonstrators in downtown Moscow, Russia during May Day celebrations, May 2001. © Oleg Nikishin/Newsmakers

Back to the USSR? Memory Wars in the South Caucasus

Kremlin narratives have co-opted history and propagated a distorted memory of the Soviet past.

10 May 23

Apartment blocks under construction in Yerevan, Armenia's capital. The construction sector employs a large number of Indians and Iranian workers who have been increasingly seeking job opportunities in the South Caucasus nation. © A. Avetisyan

Armenia: Indians and Iranians Fuel Labour Market

Numbers have increased in recent years, but migrants often face exploitation.

25 Apr 23

In February 2023, the Armenian government announced the gradual introduction of a national health insurance that in four years would cover the country’s population. Experts have long debated the need to reform the current system, under which the general public pays for treatment, while those from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups can access free care. © Armenia’s Ministry of Health

Armenia to Launch Comprehensive Health Insurance

Country has long had low spending on healthcare, leading to huge pressure on ordinary citizens.

22 Mar 23

Georgia and Armenia are two of the few countries where commercial surrogacy is legal, allowing a woman to be paid to carry someone else’s genetic child through IVF and embryo-transfer. © Gvantsa Seturidze

Surrogacy on the Rise in the South Caucasus

As the practice thrives, experts warn that oversight is crucial to ensure protection and prevent exploitation.

8 Mar 23

On 21 February 21, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) met Stefano Tomat (centre), chief of civilian operations of the European External Action Service, and Markus Ritter (left), head of the new EU monitoring mission in Armenia. Deployed on 20 February, the two-year mission foresees up to 100 personnel, of which 50 unarmed civilian monitors, and will monitor the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. © Press office of Armenia's Prime Minister's office

EU Deploys Two-Year Monitoring Mission in Armenia

Brussels commits to reducing border tensions with a longer-term and more robust deployment.

23 Feb 23

A mother holds the children she gave birth to as a result of in-vitro fertilisation. In January, the Armenian government announced a large-scale free programme to address the country's low infertility rate. © Fertility Center of Armenia

Armenia Offers Free IVF to Tackle Population Decline

Authorities are taking measures to address high infertility rate and address demographic challenges.

3 Feb 23

Armenia’s Russia Challenge

The limits of Moscow’s security promises now clearly demonstrates that Yerevan must adjust to a dangerous new reality of standing alone.

18 Jan 23

Struggling to make ends meet in her native Armenia, Lilit (not her real name) was lured into a nanny job in Greece. Instead she found herself trapped in Istanbul, with no documents and forced into prostitution. According to the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), 68 Armenian citizens were identified as having been trafficked between 2017 and 2021. © Armine Avetisyan

Armenia: Trafficked and Exploited

The pandemic and Nagorny Karabakh conflict of 2020 have led to a steep rise in the number of Armenian victims.

12 Dec 22

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