State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2013 - Armenia

The absence of political representation for minority communities and civil society organizations is also a key concern in Armenia. The country's largest minority are the Yezidis, with a population of about 40,000. Although the Armenian Ombudsman stated in a 2011 report that national minorities have favourable conditions for preserving their national identity, the chair of the Yezidi National Union voiced his concerns about the lack of minority language and cultural education of Yezidi children living in the capital. The chair of the World Union of Yezidis raised similar concerns, pointing at the lack of representation of the minority community in the National Assembly of Armenia. During an interview in March, the head of the Department for Ethnic Minorities and Religious Affairs insisted that the government had increased its financial support for Yezidis and Armenia's other minorities, in particular in the area of education.

In a recent move the government raised the legal age of marriage of women from 17 years old to 18 years old, the same as for men. This may lead to conflict with the Yezidi community, where girls get married as early as 13 or 14. The community insists that the change is 'inhuman' and will ruin their families. The government argues that the new minimum age will help eliminate gender inequality and bring the country into compliance with the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.