On 19 March 2021, Armenia deposited the instrument of ratification on the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, becoming its 89th State party.

While the Armenian Constitution already protects the right to life and prohibits the death penalty, Armenia makes this abolition irreversible with its accession to this protocol.

The EU welcomes this important decision, which is in line with the world trend to abandon the most inhuman and cruel punishment.