“Our Union needs to revise the Charter in order to improve its efficiency and strengthen the position of the UCA, as the unified voice of all communities in Armenia. In this endeavour we are taking into account the experience of other European associations of local governments” stated Emin Yeritsyan, President of the Union of Communities of Armenia (UCA) and Head of  Armenian delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, at the first meeting of the working group on the Charter held in Hankavan, Armenia, on 14 -15 October 2016.

“Our Union needs to revise the Charter in order to improve its efficiency and strengthen the position of the Union of Communities of Armenia, as the unified voice of all communities in Armenia. In this endeavour we are taking into account the experience of other European associations of local governments,” stated Emin Yeritsyan, President of the Union of Communities of Armenia (UCA) and Head of Armenian delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, at the first meeting of the working group on the Charter held in Hankavan, Armenia, on 14 -15 October 2016.

UCA members are determined to improve the effectiveness of the association while ensuring a sufficient representation of its members. They developed a set of recommendations after discussing the structure and functions of the UCA statutory bodies with the support of Jeremy Smith, international consultant and Director of Advocacy International. As a result of this meeting, the first draft of the revised Charter will be prepared and shared with all members of the Union in view of the General Assembly meeting before the end of 2016, in line with the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan of the Union which was adopted in July 2016.

The meeting of the working group was organised within the framework of the project “Institutional support to Communities Association of Armenia”, implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and financed by the Government of Switzerland and the Council of Europe.

This support is provided in the framework of the four-year-programme “Improvement of the local self-governance system”, co-ordinated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, in partnership with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and the Armenian Territorial Development Fund (ATDF).

Armenia joined the Council of Europe in 2001, ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 2002, with entry into force on 1 May 2002 and its Additional Protocol on the right to participate in the affairs of a local authority in 2013. Countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter imposes compliance with a minimum number of rights, which are the bedrock of European local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe ensures respect for these principles.