At the initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a two-day working discussion was held with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Labor and Welfare.

The discussion was co-chaired by Minister of Labor and Welfare Arsen Torosyan and Nazeli Baghdasaryan, Chair of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Labor and Welfare. Participants included UNICEF Representative in Armenia Ghasan Khalil; members of the Standing Committee; Deputy Ministers of Labor and Welfare Lusine Kocharyan and Roza Babayan; Head of the Unified Social Service Agnеsа Aghababyan and Deputy Heads of the Unified Social Service.

The agenda covered a range of issues related to ongoing reforms in the labor and welfare sector, particularly current and planned initiatives in demography, housing support programs, employment, labor legislation and pension provision.

Key sectoral priorities also included the implementation of targeted and effective programs for persons displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as for children, older persons, persons with disabilities, victims of human trafficking, and survivors of domestic violence.

The working discussion aimed to comprehensively review ongoing initiatives in the sector, with a view to improving the effectiveness of the social protection system and its legislative framework, as well as enhancing the services provided.

The discussion was organized with UNICEF support under the “Strengthening Armenia’s Social Protection System” program, funded by the European Union.