The disability-related legislative policies adopted by the Republic of Armenia are aimed at social inclusion of persons with disabilities, promotion of equal rights and creation of equal conditions for all.
The Republic of Armenia adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 March 2007 and ratified it on 17 May 2010. The Convention entered into force on 22 Sep 2010, thus creating a foundation for legislative reforms aimed at livelihood improvement of Armenians with disabilities. In this regard especially important was the change in the main law regulating the disability field in Armenia and development of the draft law on "Rights Protection and Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities" which will replace the The Law on the Social Protection of disabled people in Armenia, adopted in 1993. The Draft law is the first step towards bringing the Armenian legislation in compliance with the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, since the draft law makes a transition from the model of social protection to one of social inclusion, which is based on protection and respect of the basic human rights, freedoms and dignity of persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, until the new legislation is in place, the main laws regulating the field are The Law on the Social Protection of the disabled in Armenia, adopted in 1993 and modified multiple times and the Law on the public/state provision of pensions of the citizens of RA (adopted in 1995, amended in 1997 and 1998).
The Armenian legislation regulating the disability field is full of gaps and inconsistencies, which hinder the implementation of the laws. Moreover, even if the laws are perfected, most legislative pieces are not applicable in practice, due to the lack of appropriate mechanisms, resources and conditions for implementation of the laws,