Today a virtual conference entitled “Every Action Counts: Efficient and Sustainable Protection of Refugee Rights in Armenia” was held to mark the World Refugee Day.
photo (c. UNHCR)
The conference launched with the video message of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, which was followed by the video message of the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The Minister depicted the mass flows of refugees to Armenia over the last three decades that were displaced in particular from Azerbaijan, Iraq and Syria, while highlighting the challenges in this area: “I would like to highlight two aspects. First is the international solidarity underpinned in “The 1951 Refugee Convention”, and the second one which persists as the imperative of all times – the exclusion of politicization of humanitarian crisis. Under no circumstance should the refugees and displaced persons be used as instruments of political gains,” said the Minister adding that the task of the international cooperation to serve the goals of humanitarian challenges efficiently, in particular refugees, should know no boundaries and be inclusive to the extent possible.
Artak Apitonyan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed the main theme and history of the event referring to Fridtjof Nansen as the Nation of League’s first High Commissioner for Refugees and his humanitarian undertakings. “UNHCR has assessed the experience of integrating refugees into Armenia and granting them citizenship to be among the best practices in naturalization of refugees around the world. Needless to say, the shameful practice of using refugee issues and making them a tool for political pressure has always been anathema to us,” mentioned the Deputy Minister and added that despite its restricted financial capacities Armenia was still acting as a host country providing safe haven to people affected by war and inner unrest at all times.
The event was attended by the Deputies of the RA National Assembly, Government officials, representatives of sectoral non-governmental and international organizations, refugees from Armenia, USA and EU, who gathered together to once again reverberate refugee issues, develop new approaches to specify those, and recommend solutions for facing the newly emerging challenges.
Quoting the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia Mr. Shombi Sharp said: “This year, the COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional threat to refugees and displaced people, who are among the most vulnerable. My recent Policy Brief on COVID-19 and People on the Move called on governments to ensure that they are included in all response and recovery efforts”.
According to Anna-Carin Ost, the representative of the UNHCR in Armenia, World Refugee Day celebrates the strength and resilience of those who have been forced to flee and find a safe haven and had the valor to start a new life in a new country that can be considered home. “Refugees bring a countless variety of skills, knowledge and experience with them. If provided sufficient opportunities, they can make a significant contribution to the development of their host country,” she said, adding that the UNHCR appeals to everyone to help continue the global action for solidarity, where everyone can make a difference and everyone counts when it comes to the promotion of inclusion, respect and dignity of all, including refugees, displaced and stateless persons.
Armen Ghazaryan, the Head of Migration Service, addressed the new challenges emerging daily emphasizing the works aimed at improving the asylum system in Armenia. “Last year we launched the Program of Apartment Purchase Certificates. Together with international partners, we make every effort to support the integration of Syrian-Armenian refugees,” he stated, accentuating the right to work, among other rights, of refugees almost equal to those enjoyed by the Armenian citizens, as the best practice of integration in Armenia.
Arman Tatoyan, the Human Rights Defender underlined the fact that refugees were more vulnerable in terms of human rights violations because of the linguistic, cultural and other differences, and to that effect the level of the state’s defense mechanisms should be higher.
Many of the participants welcomed the proposal made by Tevan Poghosyan, the Chair of the ICHD, on establishing a common refugee platform. The scope of the collected issues will be further developed by the organizers as categories of sector-specific problems, challenges and best practices. Based on them, stand-alone agendas will be elaborated to make the collected issues a subject for discrete examination.
The Conference was organized with the joint efforts of the Migration Service of the RA MTAI, UN Refugee Agency in Armenia and the International Center for International Development NGO.
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