On March 6, 2025, the government approved the draft laws on the "Law on Disaster Risk Management and Population Protection" and the "Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Armenia."

It should be noted that the existing law on "Population Protection in Emergency Situations" was adopted in 1998, and it does not align with either the current governance system or international requirements and standards.

Moreover, at almost all levels of the population protection system in emergency situations, there is an insufficient level of disaster risk awareness, particularly in areas such as raising public awareness and education, disaster forecasting and early warning, developing a culture of disaster resilience, infrastructure and territorial balanced development, as well as improving the process of recovery after disasters.

Each body, organization, and individual involved in the population protection system must take daily steps in their respective areas to reduce disaster risks and develop response capabilities for emergency situations, thereby minimizing the consequences.

The draft law on "Disaster Risk Management and Population Protection" has been developed taking into account extensive and in-depth studies of international best practices. The lessons learned from the disastrous events that occurred in Lori and Tavush provinces in May 2024 have also been considered, and appropriate solutions have been provided.

▪️Accordingly, the adoption of the "Law on Disaster Risk Management and Population Protection" will ensure the formation of a stable institutional system for disaster risk management, with the proportional and collaborative involvement of all stakeholders.

▪️With the application of standards, the levels of emergency situations will be classified, and the authorities of the competent entities will be defined at each level, thus establishing national, regional, community, and local (object-level) levels of governance.

▪️The draft law also establishes the expansion of the digital toolkit. Specifically, to make the management of processes more efficient, it is proposed to digitize and make all disaster risk management and emergency response plans quickly accessible. Additionally, the competent authority will be provided with the ability to operate a unified electronic information system.

▪️The adoption of the draft law will introduce the concept of mandatory insurance for life (death) as well as damages caused to a person's property and health as a result of an emergency situation. The model for this insurance will be selected, and further details will be defined through subordinate legislation.