YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Ministry of Internal Affairs has suspended its bill seeking mandatory installation of video surveillance systems with 24-hour police access.
In a statement on November 12, the ministry said it won’t submit the bill to second reading in parliament without broad public consensus.
The bill passed first reading in parliament on June 12, 2024. The ministry of internal affairs said the bill seeks to ensure a safer environment. According to the ministry, the purpose of the bill is exclusively “the full use of the opportunities of modern technological developments in withstanding the modern challenges to public safety, and ultimately the significant improvement of the public safety environment.”
Authorities said they studied international experience and researched the matter in terms of constitutional guarantees protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms. In this context, a study of the European Court of Human Rights practice concerning the inviolability of privacy and family life was also conducted. Authorities concluded that surveillance in public areas and access to relevant publicly accessible data does not constitute disproportionate interference into private and family life, if prescribed by law and pursuant to a lawful goal.
Nevertheless, the ministry said that not all concerns among various groups in the public have been dispelled.
“Taking this into consideration, attaching importance to the necessity to develop a common perception and unified action agenda in ensuring public safety, the Ministry of Internal Affairs finds it appropriate not to submit the bills for second reading without broad public consensus. This is a testament that our bill does not have any pretext, and it indeed stems from exclusively the public interest,” the ministry said, adding that it is freezing the further course of the bill because there is no wide consensus among the public. The ministry expressed readiness to again hold discussions with stakeholders.
At the same time, the ministry said it is now discussing a separate initiative envisaging a phased solution to the issue. The first phase of the new initiative seeks to grant police access to surveillance cameras of state and local self-government bodies with the goal of strengthening security in public areas.
