Azernews.Az

A report assessing the protection of internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan, prepared by the local representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was discussed in Baku on Wednesday.
The document, mulled at the UNHCR-organized workshop, evaluates efforts being made to ensure legal and social protection of Azerbaijani citizens driven out of their homes during a war with Armenia in the early 1990s.
Jturo Enger, an official of the UNHCR Azerbaijan office, said while presenting the Participatory Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) assessment that the main challenges are the lack of normal living conditions for IDPs, overpopulation of their new places of residence, and problems with education and healthcare services. The report also noted that the residential areas housing the displaced persons are located close to the frontline and away from executive authority bodies.
According to Enger, only up to 30 percent of the 685,000 IDPs in Azerbaijan have so far been provided with decent living conditions. The UNHCR official added, however, that the government has taken a slew of progressive steps aiming to ensure the displaced population’s return to their native lands.
Up to a million Azerbaijanis have been displaced by a war waged with Armenia over the mountainous region of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh in the early 1990s, including 250,000 people who were ousted from their historical lands in Armenia. The refugees and IDPs are currently settled in 62 cities and regions across Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s troops have been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory since the lengthy war, despite four UN resolutions on unconditional pullout of its armed forces and condemnation by a number of other international groups. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.
Ali Hasanov, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, regarded the report as an important and acceptable document overall. However, he disagreed with a number of points cited, terming some problems indicated in the report as "minor gaps".
The committee chairman highlighted the need for continued engagement of international actors in addressing the displacement problems in Azerbaijan until the IDPs return home.
Arun Sala-Ngarm, UNHCR Representative in Azerbaijan, said the report was prepared in November and December 2009, in consultation with government agencies. He said that work will be continued on the feedback and proposals voiced during the discussions.
The workshop brought together representatives from the authorities, diplomatic missions, international organizations, NGOs and IDP representatives with an aim to formulate recommendations and conclusions, which will contribute to supporting the Azerbaijani government’s efforts to improve the situation of IDPs.*