The countries that are members of the Council of Europe undertake to ratify several international norms that cover some important aspects in the field of human rights. One such international convention is the "Framework Convention for the Protection of the Rights of National Minorities" (FCNM). Since the largest Yazidi community in the South Caucasus remains in Armenia, the issues of ratification and implementation of this document are important for the Yazidis. The Republic of Armenia signed this document in 1999. Since its ratification, Armenia has submitted five official reports about national minorities. The first report on the situation was sent to the Committee on the Convention on National Minorities in 1999. Based on the state reports, the Committee of the RKNM prepares resolutions and sends them to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the decision of the Council of Europe is binding. Also, after the publication of the state report, the Committee of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Rights of National Minorities conducts its independent monitoring of the situation of national minorities and publishes its comments, criticisms, possible violations of the rights and freedoms of national minorities, in general, the provisions of the implementation of the Convention.

Based on the above, we consider it important to inform the Yazidi community about their situation, as described in the state report, and the results of the monitoring of the Council of Europe's RKNM Committee.

In this article, we have deduced from the state report of Armenia the important points that describe the situation of the Yazidi community, what has been done to develop culture, preserve traditions, and receive education in their native language.

The Republic of Armenia submits its fifth report on the protection of the rights of national minorities in accordance with article 25, paragraph 2, of the Council of Europe Framework Convention.

The report contains information on measures taken between 2015 and 2019 to implement the provisions of the Convention in accordance with rule 21 of resolution (97) 10 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. I would like to note that the report was prepared in connection with the dramatic changes in the political life of Armenia. In the spring of 2018, a velvet revolution took place in Armenia. As a purely internal process, the Velvet revolution provided a new impetus for reforms in the country, including in the promotion and protection of human rights. The protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, the preservation of their language and cultural heritage are among the priorities of Armenia's policy.

The report shows the work that the new government had to reform. Since national minorities, and in particular the Yazidis, are the largest community in the Republic of Armenia, more attention is paid to it. For example, the report refers to the lack of access and education for Yazidi girls and women in accordance with human rights standards, in particular the freedom of education. Sharp attention is paid to the fact that it is necessary to amend the legislation, namely, the coercion and criminalization of early marriages, families are created without the consent of the spouses.

After the early parliamentary elections, Yazidi deputies received mandates, along with other national minorities.

Funding for NGOs that work on cultural and religious issues has also increased. The trend of financial assistance from the state institutions of Armenia for national minorities is growing, the area of funding is growing, but not the amount.

A lot of grants were also allocated for projects that support the publication of books in the native Yazidi language. The books were printed for schools from grade 1 to grade 12, and this fact encourages Yazidi children to receive education in their native language. Books by independent Yazidi writers are also being funded, and Yazidi newspapers are also being funded by the state.

Non-governmental organizations regularly organize seminars and discussions on the real problems of the Yazidi community in the Yazidi areas (provinces). For example, from 2015 to 2018, important projects were implemented at the expense of the annual grant programs provided for by the state budget of Armenia and approved within the framework of the Council of National Minorities, such as:

- Organization of trainings for five Yazidi communities aimed at increasing the role of education.

- A two-day educational and cultural gathering of Yazidis in the Armavir region. Implementation of the program "Development of the Yezidi community in the Republic of Armenia".

- An event called "Enhancing the role of education among Yazidis".

Also, the non-governmental organization “Armavir Development Center "funded by the Embassies of the United States and Canada in Armenia, in 2018-2019, implemented the program" promoting the realization of the right to education of Yazidi girls/women”, the purpose of which was to promote the full realization of the right to education of Yazidi girls and women, strengthening respect for human rights.

One of the most important priorities for the Republic of Armenia is the digitization of the press and literature in the languages of national minorities. Financial support was provided to ensure the continuity of the publication of the press and books, as well as the digitization of newspapers in the languages of national minorities. For example, the publication of the newspaper "Yezdihan" (2001) is one of the main sources of news about the Yazidis in Armenia in their native, Yazidi language. The newspaper still continues its activities. Over the past five years, national minorities have been actively engaged in book publishing. For example, in 2016, a collection of short stories by Mraze Jamal “Rainbow of Mountains” (in Yazidi) was published. In 2017, a collection of prose works by Yazidi author Amo Sharoyan, “The Pain of Shangal”, and a Kurdish-language book, “Poems”, were published.

In addition, based on the report, the Youth Foundation of Armenia provided financial support to both the education of Yazidi students and the implementation of cultural programs proposed by youth organizations representing the Yazidi community.

For Yazidi children and teachers, the mechanisms for improving the education and professional development of employees of national minorities have been improved. For the 2018-2019 academic year, textbooks (1st, 4th, 5th, 6th grades), “Yezidi” (from 1st to 4th, 11th, 12th grades) were ordered. Which strongly encourages Yazidi children to learn in their own Yazidi language. Much attention is also paid to the promotion of Yazidi writers and their heritage, for example, the primary school of the village of Ferik in Armavir region is named after its former director, the Yazidi writer Rzali Rashid Ozmanyan.

As we know, the identity of the Yazidis ' nationality is closely linked to their religion, and the Government of the Republic of Armenia is well aware of this, so it supports various projects related to religious holidays and religion in general.

From 2015 to 2018, the Government of Armenia funded a number of non-governmental organizations ("Yazidi National Union", "Humanitarian Public Organization"), which later organized a number of Yazidi cultural, educational and festive traditional events in Armenia.

It should be noted that in 2019, the construction of the Yezidi temple in Armenia-Malek Taus and the Seven Angels-was completed. The temple was built in the small Yezidi village of Aknalich, 35 kilometers from the capital Yerevan. The 25-meter-high temple has a large prayer hall, a religious school and a museum.

The report also mentioned the fact that monuments were built in Armenia in honor of the Yazidis who died in the 2014 genocide in Syria/Iraq.

The report raises serious questions about the rights of national minorities in Armenia, which the new Government of the Republic needs to do a lot of work on. Although there are small advances in this direction, but at this stage it is not enough.