There were seven prosecutions in 1996 and four in 1997 under the law (according to Amnesty International), and four in 1999 (according to the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe). On 1 August 2003, President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan ratified it, bringing to an end the decades of repression against gay men in Armenia.
In December 2002, the Azgayin Zhoghov (National Assembly) approved the new penal code in which the anti-gay article was removed. The abolition of the anti-gay law along with the death penalty was among Armenia's pre-accession conditions to the Council of Europe in 2001. The specific article of the Penal Code was 116, dating back to 1936, and the maximum penalty was five years imprisonment. Lesbian and non-penetrative gay sex between consenting adults was not explicitly mentioned in the law as being a criminal offence. Until 2003, the legislation of Armenia followed the corresponding Section 121 from the former Soviet Union Penal Code, which specifically criminalized anal intercourse between men. Legality of same-sex sexual activity Ä«etween 19, Armenia was part of the Soviet Union.
However, as of 2019, no such recognition has yet been documented. On 3 July 2017, the Ministry of Justice stated that same-sex marriages performed abroad would be recognized. In 2011, Armenia signed the " joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity" at the United Nations, condemning violence and discrimination against LGBT people. So reported incidents of discrimination, harassment or hate crimes are likely to underestimate their true rates. Many LGBT people say they fear violence in their workplace or from their family, and therefore, do not file complaints of human rights violations or of criminal offences. Armenia has been ranked 47th out of 49 European countries for LGBT rights, with Russia and neighboring Azerbaijan taking the 48th and 49th positions, respectively. There is, moreover, no legal protection for LGBT persons whose human rights are frequently violated. Furthermore, this study found that 70% of Armenians find LGBT people to be "strange". In a 2012 study, 55% of correspondents in Armenian stated that they would cease their relationship with a friend or relative if they were to come out as gay. Homosexuality remains a taboo topic in many parts of Armenian society. Many LGBT Armenians fear being socially outcast by their friends and families, causing them to keep their sexual orientation or gender identity secret, except to a few family members and friends. However, even though it has been decriminalized, the situation of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens has not changed substantially. Homosexuality has been legal in Armenia since 2003.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Armenia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, due in part to the lack of laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and in part to prevailing negative attitudes about LGBT persons throughout society. Same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned Same-sex marriages performed abroad recognized since 2017 No law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation LGBT people are not allowed to serve openly