Portrait of a refugee family in Sevan town, Armenia. June 2024. © UNHCR/Areg Balayan
UNHCR globally and in Armenia is committed to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced to flee. We work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.
The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
Armenia continues to be a generous host to refugees and asylum-seekers, as the number of people forcibly displaced across the world due to conflict, violence and persecution hit record levels. As of December 2024, Armenia hosted 140,260 refugees, 4,124 persons in a refugee-like situation, and 981 asylum-seekers; 663 new asylum applications were registered in 2024, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, and Egypt being the top countries of origin.
Armenia is a state party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (hereafter “the 1951 Convention”) as well as relevant international human rights instruments.
These instruments are implemented through the 2008 Law on Refugees and Asylum (Law No. ՀՕ-211-Ն), which is consistent with international standards. The Law provides for refugee status in line with the 1951 Convention. In addition, situations of armed conflict, generalized violence, massive human rights violations etc., are also covered by the refugee status under the national law. It also provides for protection against refoulement in case of risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. A temporary protection regime may be activated under the Law in case of a mass influx.
To respond to the influx of some 115,000 persons following the escalation of the Karabakh conflict in September 2023, the Government of Armenia adopted Decree No. 1864 on temporary protection of persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, which has been extended until December 2025.
Persons granted temporary protection are recognized as refugees by virtue of Article 62 of the Law of Armenia on Refugees and Asylum, based on a group determination, without the need to apply, and they benefit from all rights and entitlements granted to refugees under the legislation of Armenia.
Detailed information on asylum-seekers’ rights and responsibilities can be accessed on UNHCR Help Armenia website here.