The Armenia armed forces` problems are the focus of attention of the OSCE office in Yerevan and arouse concern, Head of the OSCE office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos stated at a roundtable on human rights protection in the army.

The Armenian armed forces have to take steps to put an end to the shortcomings so as they might meet the OSCE standards. On behalf of the OSCE, Ambassador Kapinos stated willingness to contribute to the democratic reforms in the Armenian army. He pointed out the need for an effective complaint processing system in Armenia. Ambassador Kapinos said that Armenia has relevant laws on armed forces, which, however, are not properly applied.

"The Armenia public has recently heard of unpleasant army incidents and trials. So effective mechanisms of complaint processing, monitoring and appealing are of paramount importance. The OSCE will continue cooperating with the Ministry of Defense to prevent such incidents," Kapinos said.