Our involvement in Armenia began in the early 2000s. Between 2006-2009, we collaborated with UNDP Armenia to implement a Sida-funded project to strengthen the capacity of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender’s Office to promote and protect human rights. In 2019 we re-engaged in Armenia aiming to support the country’s democratic transition and since 2020 we are implementing a Sida-supported human rights programme and other smaller projects.
We currently engage with our Armenian partners to increase the capacity of representatives from the judiciary, state agencies, academia, and civil society, to apply international human rights standards in ongoing and future reforms in the country. We work together with a range of local and international stakeholders.
Since August 2023, our cooperation in Armenia has been managed from our office in Yerevan.
Read more about our Armenia Programme.
Armenia Programme Staff
Laura Milne
Laura Milne has over 14 years of international experience working on human rights, rule of law, and access to justice. Prior to joining RWI, Laura worked for almost four years as Country Director for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in Jordan, where she led both the country and regional offices based in Amman. In that role, Laura worked closely with government and civil society partners to strengthen labour rights, counter trafficking in persons, and respond to sexual and gender-based violence. Prior to joining ABA ROLI, Laura worked for over four years in Myanmar, first as Senior Legal Advisor to an USAID-funded civil society and media strengthening project and later with International Development Law Organization where she advised on the design and implementation of rule of law programs. She has lived and worked across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and in Vietnam, where she spent five years overseeing projects focused on anti-corruption, clinical legal education, and trafficking in persons. Laura qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2009 before starting her career in human rights with Liberty, the UK’s largest civil liberties organization. In addition to her work at ABA ROLI, Laura sits on the board of Justice Base, an UK-registered organization working to support community-led democracy and governance initiatives in Southeast Asia. In her free time, Laura enjoys travelling, cooking for friends, and dancing.
Meline Avagyan
Arman Gasparian
Arman Gasparian joined the RWI Armenia Office in August 2023. He has a solid track record in the international development field, most notably with the UN and the Council of Europe, and has experience with project and team management, event organisation, fundraising and advocacy, and data collection and analysis. Alongside his work at RWI, Arman is also pursuing a PhD focusing on Public Governance from KU Leuven. Arman has authored close to ten academic articles, the most recent being “From paperwork to pixels: Workload and digital governance in Armenian local authorities” published by Frontiers in Political Science.
Nona Galstyan
Nona Galstyan joins RWI as Senior Programme Associate at the RWI Armenia Office.
Nona has an experience in Programme Management with a demonstrated history of work with international NGOs, coordinating Human Resources section, managing and assisting different programmes. Nona is skilled in human recourses, public administration, governmental networking, data collection and analysing, youth participation, community development and more. Her latest work experience with UNICEF Armenia office, expanded her experience in Climate Change and resilience actions.
Nona can be reached at: nona.galstyan@rwi.lu.se
Nvard Minasyan
Nvard Minasyan joined the RWI Armenia office as Programme Officer in December 2024. Nvard holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Democratization from Yerevan State University and a second Master’s degree from the Management Department of the London School of Economics, with a focus on Responsible Management, Corporate Social Responsibility and International Labour Standards.
Nvard has extensive experience in fundraising, project management, public-private partnerships, and advocacy. Her specialization is in human rights and gender equality, with a primary focus on anti-discrimination and promoting equal opportunities. She also has significant experience in consulting, research, and training facilitation in these areas. Furthermore, Nvard has served as a trainer and mentor for local NGOs and social enterprises, helping them build institutional capacity in research, advocacy, and financial sustainability.
Naira Manasyan
I have joined RWI Institute Yerevan’s office as a participant of the Global Internship Programme 2024-25 by the Global Campus of Human Rights. Recieving my Master’s degree from the Center for European Studies at Yerevan State University allowed me to become competent and qualified in the fields of human rights, international law, democratisation and public policy. My main goal for the work at the RWI Institute is to contribute to educational initiatives and reserch on human rights and international humanitarian law in Armenia.
Contact the Yerevan Office
Address
106/1 Nalbandyan Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Email: office.yerevan@rwi.lu.se