Podcast | Are the rights of queer Armenians being forgotten?

23 November 2023

The recent suicide of a queer Armenian teenager shook many in Armenia, with activists accusing the authorities of lacking the sensitivity or willingness to help queer victims of abuse or bullying.

In the absence of any legislation to protect them, queer people in Armenia are frequently subjected to discrimination and violence in Armenia, including in their own homes.

This week on the Caucasus Digest, a queer Armenian student talks about the challenges of being queer in Armenia, Mamikon Hovsepyan of Pink Armenia discusses the role of queer rights activism and organisation in the country, and Freedom House’s Andranik Shirinyan about what the authorities should do to protect queer Armenians.

Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.

Armenia

Pashinyan and Lukashenka argue during EAEU session

Arshaluys Barseghyan

••3 min read

Pashinyan said the Armenian delegation might even sit out the EAEU sessions in Belarus.

A 2017 meeting in Geneva between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (CL) and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan (CR). Official photo.

Armenia–Azerbaijan Relations

Russia agrees with Azerbaijan to dissolve OSCE Minsk Group

Aytan Farhadova

••3 min read

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has insisted on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group multiple times.

Armenia

Pashinyan challenges former presidents to debate on Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations

Arshaluys Barseghyan

••3 min read

On Monday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed a live debate with three former Armenian Presidents to discuss the decades-long negotiation process with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. All three refused Pashinyan’s invitation. Pashinyan invited the former presidents — Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Serzh Sargsyan — claiming on Facebook that since the 1994 Russian-mediated ceasefire between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh, the negotiation process was always ab