YEREVAN. – At the Cabinet meeting on June 6, the Prime Minister of Armenia instructed the Ministry of Justice to discuss the expediency of criminalizing the calls for violence, the ministry’s department of information and public relations informed.

Based upon this instruction, the Ministry of Justice studied the current law as well as the international standards and practices in the fight against hate speech.

As a result of the study, the bill on making an addendum to the Criminal Code of Armenia has been developed and submitted for public debate.

This draft law proposes to impose accountability in Armenia for public calls for using violence that is a life or health threat, and for publicly justifying or preaching violence that is a life or health threat.

As per the Ministry of Justice, the approach adopted by this bill is based on the recommendations of international human rights organizations.

The objective of this law proposal is to wage an adequate fight against the extreme manifestations of hate speech in Armenia.