YEREVAN. – Emigration from Armenia is a consequence, the result of a clear criminal policy aimed at reducing country’s population, the first Ombudsman of Armenia, social activist Larisa Alaverdyan said.

“We need to accept that emigration from Armenia exists. This is testified by the UN data, according to which, about 1 million 200 thousand people are not residents of Armenia, although they are registered here,” she said during the Monday press conference.

According to her, the Eurasian Development Bank study showed that Armenia is the second state among migrants with higher vocational training, preceded by Estonia and followed by Latvia and Lithuania.

“This means that Armenia is facing brain drain. This leads not only to quantitative but also to a qualitative change of our society,” she added.

Speaking on efforts to prevent emigration, she noted “there must be a victory of understanding of the political wing of the government, and civil society.”

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