A.E., the mother of a member of the LGBTIQ community, applied to Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO and reported that she has reached her retirement age, but the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia rejected her application for a pension. In particular, the rejection of the application was based on the fact that the period from January 1, 1992, to May 25, 1999, was not included in the work experience, because, although there is a note in the workbook, that the applicant worked in the Sevan branch of the Dilijan knitting factory during that period, there is no information about the organization in the electronic database, so it is necessary to apply to the court.

On May 23 of this year, the legal team of Right Side NGO sent a letter to the RA Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, N. Mkrtchyan, with a request to once again make a request to the National Archives of Armenia and find out whether there are any documents related to A.E. in the archival records related to the Dilijan knitting factory. In response to that application, a letter was sent to the organization, stating that on June 7 of this year, the Unified Social Service made a request to the State Register Agency of Legal Entities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, and after receiving the answer, the issue of calculation of A.E.’s work experience, appointment (rejection) of pension will be examined again.

On October 4, 2023, Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO received a response that the application was satisfied, and A.E. was included in the payment list for October.

Right Side Human Rights Defender NGO will continue to provide legal services to the representatives of the Trans LGBIQ and sex worker communities, as well as to the family members and supporters of the community, ensuring full protection of their rights and exclusion of discrimination.

October 27, 2023 Armenia, Yerevan