ARMENIA

AT A GLANCE
Head of Government: President Serge Sarkisian
Next election: 2013
Capital: Yerevan
Population: 3 billion (UN, 2008)
Independence: 1991 from Soviet Union
Human Development Index (HDI): 83rd out of 179 countries
Gender Gap Index (GGI): 78th out of 130 countries
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita: US$2,640

Strengthening Armenia’s Anti-corruption Policy

Status: Complete, 2008
Local Organization: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Canadian Expert: Bruce Bailey

A newly independent state of the former Soviet Union, Armenia has suffered from the breakdown of a centrally planned economy. From 2004 to 2007, Armenia collaborated with the UNDP to help tackle corruption and improve transparency and accountability in government institutions by ensuring effective government and civil society participation in anticorruption initiatives.

The CIDA-funded Deployment for Democratic Development was asked to provide expertise in anti-corruption policy to assess the successes and challenges of the newly created National Anti-corruption strategy and institutional framework. Bruce Bailey, a Canadian anti-corruption expert, evaluated UNDP projects that were carried out in partnership with the government and civil society organizations and provided a fresh outlook to the task of measuring progress.  He also made recommendations for Phase 2 of the UNDP anti-corruption program.