On September 9, 2014, Ambassador John Heffern and Minister of Justice Hovhannes Manukyan signed an amendment to the Letter of Agreement on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement between the governments of the United States and Armenia. This is the sixteenth amendment to the original Letter of Agreement signed in 2001, underwriting more than USD 2.3 million in U.S.-funded justice sector assistance to Armenia.
The assistance provided through the new agreement will continue helping the Armenian Government fight transnational crime and augment Armenia’s law enforcement capacities, as well as support overall judicial and legislative reforms. Specific Armenian institutions and bilateral projects supported by this assistance will include the Armenia Community Action and Linkages for Legal Socialization (CALLS) project carried out by the NGO “Project Harmony International,” the American Bar Association’s Criminal Law Reform project, and the Resident Legal Adviser project. The assistance will also strengthen Armenia’s law enforcement capacities, anti-human trafficking and anti-corruption efforts, and assist in the development of a new corrections and probation system.
Since the signing of the original Letter of Agreement in 2001, the U.S. Government has provided more than USD 22 million of justice sector assistance to Armenia through the U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section. The assistance and cooperation exemplify the shared desire between Embassy Yerevan and the Government of Armenia to modernize Armenia’s security sector, curb corruption, and improve respect for human rights and the rule of law.
