The Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) ( hy, Իրազեկ քաղաքացիների միավորում, translit=Irazek k’aghak’ats’ineri miavorum) is an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

. Founded in 2014, the UIC is headquartered in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

and operates a satellite office in

Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

. The organization promotes the advancement of

electoral integrity Electoral integrity refers to international standards and global norms governing the appropriate conduct of elections. These standards have been endorsed in a series of authoritative conventions, treaties, protocols, and guidelines by agencies of t ...

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

, and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

in Armenia while also combating

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ou ...

Objectives

The Union of Informed Citizens was founded in 2014 as an NGO. The organization seeks to improve

human rights in Armenia Human rights in Armenia tend to be better than those in most Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics and have drawn closer to acceptable standards, especially economically. Still, there are several considerable problems. Democracy and free ...

, promote democratic reform and civil society, and combat misinformation. The UIC regularly conducts seminars, training programs, and fact-finding investigations. The UIC also monitors

elections in Armenia Armenia has a multi-party system. After latest constitutional reforms, only a legislature is elected on the national level. Electoral system of the National Assembly The National Assembly consists of at least 101 seats. Following electoral system ...

and

elections in Artsakh Artsakh elects on a national level a president and a parliament. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly (''Azgayin Zhoghov'') has 33 members, 16 elected for a five-year term in single seat constituencie ...

. The organization supports the development of stronger relations between Armenia and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Meanwhile, the UIC has been skeptical of Armenia's membership in the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of some post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The Treaty on the Eurasian Econo ...

Partnerships

The UIC maintains several partnerships with other structures, including with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

European Endowment for Democracy The European Endowment for Democracy is a European non-governmental organisation with the stated purpose of promoting democracy, particularly in the European Neighbourhood, Turkey and the Western Balkans. It was established in 2013 following a p ...

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...

Open Society Foundations–Armenia Open Society Foundations–Armenia (OSFA) ( hy, Բաց հասարակության հիմնադրամներ – Հայաստան, translit=Bats' hasarakut'yan himnadramner – Hayastan) is the Armenian branch of Open Society Foundations (OSF). Ope ...

, and the U.S. Embassy in Armenia. The UIC also cooperates with the EU's

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with the EU, its member states, and six Eastern European partners governing the EU's relationship with the post-Sovi ...

Civil Society Forum.

Activities

On 14 April 2017, the UIC held a meeting with the

Delegation of the European Union to Armenia The Delegation of the European Union to Armenia ( hy, Եվրոպական միության պատվիրակությունը Հայաստանում, translit=Yevropakan miut’yan patvirakut’yuny Hayastanum) is the diplomatic mission of the Euro ...

. Former EU Ambassador to Armenia

Piotr Świtalski Piotr Antoni Świtalski (born 2 August 1957, in Kutno) is a Polish diplomat; permanent representative of Poland to the Council of Europe (2005–2010) and ambassador of the European Union to Armenia (2015–2019). Life Świtalski has graduated ...

discussed the importance of upholding the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

in the country. On 11 March 2019, the UIC won the OSCE Democracy Defender Award for their work on advocating media transparency and independent journalism, and advancing democracy and human rights in Armenia. The

U.S. Mission to the OSCE The United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe represents the United States government in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Currently, Michael R. Carpenter represents the Unite ...

presented the UIC an award during a ceremony held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. On 29 July 2020, the UIC called on telecommunication companies in Artsakh to reduce costs and would seek to increase corporate transparency and consumer rights. On 12 January 2023, Daniel Ioannisyan stated that Russia was trying to pressure Armenia to join the

Union State The Union State,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва Расі́і і Белару́сі, Sajuznaja dziaržava Rasii i Bielarusi, links=no. or Union State of Russia and Belarus,; be, Саю́зная дзяржа́ва, Sajuznaja dziar� ...

in exchange for Russian assistance towards resolving the blockade of Artsakh, during an interview.

References

External links

Union of Informed Citizens
official website
Union of Informed Citizens
on Facebook {{portal bar, Europe, Freedom of speech, Journalism, Society Non-profit organizations based in Europe Organizations established in 2014 2014 establishments in Armenia Human rights in Armenia Armenia–European Union relations

Objectives

Partnerships

Activities

See also

References

External links