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 host the refugees and asylum seekers, as the number of people forcibly displaced across the world due to conflict, violence and persecution hit record levels. Armenia as of December 2023 hosted 150,725 forcibly displaced persons (including 145,966 refugees, 4,124 persons in a refugee-like situation, 635 asylum-seekers, and 520 stateless persons). In the case of asylum-seekers, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine and Egypt were the top countries of origin in 2023. At the end of September 2023, renewed hostilities triggered the arrival of over 100,000 refugees in Armenia. In addition, Armenia hosts 520 stateless persons.
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 over 100,000 following the escalation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in September 2023, the Government of Armenia adopted the Decree No. 1864 on 26 October 2023, granting temporary protection for a period of one year with a possibility of extension. 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 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.