Statement of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan on the occasion of World Refugee Day

Dear Colleagues,

Distinguished Ambassadors and guests,

Today we express our solidarity and respect to all those people who have not lost their courage and resilience after overcoming such threats to their lives as violence, blockade, hunger, persecution on national or racial grounds. Moreover, they bring their contribution to the development and prosperity of host countries.

On this symbolic day, it is to be reaffirmed that the civilised world should join efforts to prevent genocides, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are the main causes of mass displacement.

In 2023, the number of displaced people worldwide was close to 120 million, 38 million of whom are refugees. And we should not forget that these are not mere numbers, but we are speaking about human lives.

Unfortunately, since its independence the Republic of Armenia has faced unprecedented refugee issues several times. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, about 500,000 Armenians were forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan. 360,000 of them found refuge in Armenia. We witnessed another refugee crisis in 2020. It was in September of 2023, that as a result of the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh, more than 115 thousand Armenians were forcibly displaced, about two third of them women and children. It is noteworthy that many of the refugees are victims of multiple displacements.

Armenia has done and continues to do its utmost to help the forcibly displaced people. All possible, including legal levers were used by the government to respond urgently and provide assistance.

In order to provide relevant assistance to the forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh, the Government of Armenia and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees appealed for 97 million US dollars. Unfortunately, only a little more than half of the planned funds were collected: to be more precise - 54 million US dollars. This highlights the need for greater engagement of international donors to address existing needs comprehensively.

Considering the priority of addressing the needs of refugees, Armenia took on a number of pledges during the Global Refugee Forum in 2023, the implementation of which requires continuity of work and coordination of efforts.

Dear Colleagues,

Today, in order to comprehensively solve the problems of those forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, it is necessary to shift to the implementation of long-term programs in parallel to addressing their humanitarian needs.

We do believe that our further actions should be in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and be aimed at forming the development agenda for both host communities and refugees.

In this regard, we emphasise the importance of developing Armenia's Transition Plan together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In this context, I will highlight several priorities that should be addressed both within this Plan and within other programs proposed by the UN team.

In particular, Armenia underlines the work carried out to ensure the inclusion of refugees, which should first of all be realised through their involvement in the labour market, followed by enhancing the skills, organising trainings, developing social infrastructure, establishing micro and small business development, their financing, and implementation of other similar projects.

At the same time, it is very important to properly assess the potential of refugees, taking into consideration their education, skills, and preferences. A proper assessment of the refugees' potential will enable the Government to make the provided assistance more targeted, taking into account the features of the urban or rural population, creating relevant conditions for the latter to get engaged in rural and agriculture development.

We emphasise the development of programs that ensure the resilience of refugees and their host communities. The issue of providing housing to refugees is a separate and critical one. The Government of the Republic of Armeniahas already developed a detailed plan to address it.

Of course, we shall continue to prioritise the needs of vulnerable groups, including people with special needs.

Access to quality education and healthcare, social inclusion and, ultimately, sustainable livelihoods are essential components for ensuring a life of dignity for refugees.

All the steps listed above should be implemented by joint efforts of the government, entrepreneurs, international organisations, and donor countries.

In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to all our colleagues for their coordinated work with the Government of the Republic of Armenia on addressing the needs of refugees. We are looking forward to continuing our joint important mission of providing refugees with a decent life.

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