https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn refworld en-us 2016-11-18 00:31:52 UTC 2017-05-17 04:08:36 UTC hello@padlet.com namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592323 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mWuOxbBZSuAZ48RmSeX3nT4_3xB6iZ_LC7pBe20Ma48/edit]]> 2016-11-18 00:32:55 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592323 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592340 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G-C0K4NaBFYtJeBsK91jiR-DapbTN_nLYkp2dPZY7gY/edit]]> 2016-11-18 00:33:14 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592340 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592380 A 2009 report produced jointly by the European chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and COC Netherlands indicates that [homosexual men are discharged from military service, this being justified legally by Article 12 of the RA [Republic of Armenia] law on "Military Service".]]> 2016-11-18 00:33:53 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592380 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592426  According to this article, citizens considered unfit for military service due to health conditions are discharged from compulsory military service by the Republican Drafting Commission]]> 2016-11-18 00:34:44 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592426 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592470 There exists an internal decree of the RA Defense Minister, based on this article, according to which gay people are discharged from compulsory military service on the grounds that sexual orientation is an illness.]]> 2016-11-18 00:35:27 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592470 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592495 The report explains that since 2001, "based on Order No. 378 by the Minister of Defense, homosexuality has been considered an illness and, therefore, homosexuals are considered unfit for military service".]]> 2016-11-18 00:35:43 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592495 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592541 According to information collected by the Armenian chapter of Public Information and Need of Knowledge (PINK) and the Civil Society Institute (CSI) and cited in a report produced by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), some military registration and enlistment offices introduce an unwritten rule that if a person declares his homosexual orientation during the obligatory medical board preceding military service, he may be given the option of getting a health certificate stating he has a mental disorder that does not allow him to serve in the military.]]> 2016-11-18 00:36:11 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592541 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592621 The male population in Armenia has to have a military document before going to the army, and in such cases, when someone is being released from the military service due to homosexuality, the Commissariat puts the decision in that document after the medical examination.]]> 2016-11-18 00:37:13 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592621 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592664 The harsh conditions for (in particular) openly gay or bisexual men in the Army are the reason why many would choose a label of mental illness to avoid the potential problems waiting for them in the Army.]]> 2016-11-18 00:37:38 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592664 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592853 Openly gay men were exempt from military service, purportedly because of concern fellow service members would abuse them. An exemption required a medical finding, based on a psychological examination, that an individual had a mental disorder; this information appeared in the individual's personal documents.]]> 2016-11-18 00:40:07 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592853 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592982 Lesbians are perceived to break with the ideal of an Armenian wife and mother, whereas gay men break with the stereotype of the macho Armenian man who is ready to fight and is the head of a large family. Neither of them is likely to have many children that will sustain the Armenian nation and army. Such opinions are commonplace in Armenia and even recited in the media or by government representatives, or expressed directly on the streets. In some cases they incite and result in violence.]]> 2016-11-18 00:41:31 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138592982 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593040 Amnesty International (AI) notes that authorities "frequently" condone violent attacks against LGBT people, describing the violence as an "expression of 'traditional values'"]]> 2016-11-18 00:42:08 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593040 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593060  Human Rights Watch reports that LGBT people face "violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by both state and non-state actors"]]> 2016-11-18 00:42:22 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593060 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593094 A shadow report on human rights violations of LGBT people in Armenia that was jointly produced by PINK, ILGA, the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, and the George Washington University Law School International Human Rights Clinic and submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 2012, similarly notes that "individuals face discrimination and human rights violations on grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity in virtually all spheres of society" ]]> 2016-11-18 00:42:52 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593094 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593143 PINK reports that LGBT persons face human rights violations in institutions such as the military and that those who serve in the military are subjected to "physical and psychological abuse" ]]> 2016-11-18 00:43:41 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593143 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593162 The ILGA and COC Netherlands report states that in the army, "the level of homophobia is extreme and 'homosexuality' is seen as an illness or a pathology, not an orientation"]]> 2016-11-18 00:44:03 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593162 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593257 The same source also reports that homosexuals enlisted into the army do not disclose their sexual orientation to anyone for fear of the consequences. There are, however, reports of cases where a gay man's homosexuality has been disclosed to members of his unit, sometimes by people within the LGBT community itself, creating grave problems for the person concerned.]]> 2016-11-18 00:45:12 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593257 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593291 He may be subjected to constant humiliation through actions such as being given a separate set of dishes with a hole in the plate, being given the dirtiest tasks, such as cleaning the toilet (sometimes with his own toothbrush), being assigned to the most distant barrack or the one with the worst conditions. In extreme cases, he may be subjected to physical violence or sexual assault by other soldiers. ]]> 2016-11-18 00:45:50 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593291 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593336 Two sources note that in 2006 a young solider was reportedly raped and beaten by fellow soldiers. According to the DIHR report, fellow soldiers "completely isolated him as a gay" and continued to beat him. The same source notes that the soldier was treated in military hospital "several times," numerous complaints were made to the military unit by family and NGOs, and the case was settled with "no consequences for the officer or military administration".]]> 2016-11-18 00:46:27 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593336 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593394 The ILGA and COC Netherlands report includes an interview ILGA conducted in January 2006, during which an individual reported a case in which a homosexual soldier was refused food, forced to live in a public toilet for two years and regularly assaulted]]> 2016-11-18 00:47:23 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593394 namendiola18 https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593415 In 2010, EurasiaNet, a news website based in New York that is operated by the Open Society Foundations, reports that one man was assaulted by an army officer when he revealed his homosexuality during a psychiatric exam for military service and then spent three days in a mental hospital before being discharged from military service with the diagnosis of a "personality disorder"]]> 2016-11-18 00:47:47 UTC https://padlet.com/namendiola18/1va80qh984tn/wish/138593415