YEREVAN. – The Armenian Government must take legislative measures to eradicate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) report on Armenia states.

CAT is concerned, as the Armenian Criminal Code does not define torture properly and does not make officials accountable for torture. The issue of the Armenian Army has also attracted the attention of CAT. The Committee is concerned over the deaths of Armenian servicemen who annually die because of suicide or incited suicide.

The Committee calls on the Armenian Authorities to conduct independent investigations on such incidents, to punish the guilty and to compensate the families of the dead soldiers. To note, the report was published after the consideration of the report on the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by Armenia.