Issues related to protection of the rights of persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh discussed with Special Representative of Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees

Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Karapetyan received the delegation led by Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees Leyla Kayacik. The delegation is conducting a fact-finding mission to identify and assess on the spot the challenges conditioned by the humanitarian crisis created in the Republic of Armenia, consider the potential support of the Council of Europe in solving the specified issues and the terms of interaction with the Ministry of Justice in this regard.

The Deputy Minister presented the state of the humanitarian crisis caused by the subsequent large-scale aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the deliberate targeting of the peaceful civilians and infrastructures and forced displacement of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was the ultimate goal of those operations.

The Deputy Minister presented the issues related to protection of the needs and rights of the forcibly displaced persons, as well as their legal status. What was particularly touched upon were the fact-finding activities with respect to the violated rights of forcibly displaced persons, the restoration of their rights, the activities in the context of exercise of the rights to return to Nagorno-Karabakh and the framework of co-operation with the Council of Europe for that purpose.

In this context, Karen Karapetyan considered as significant Resolution 2517 adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 12 October which, inter alia, helped record the fact of more than 100.600 Armenians having left Nagorno-Karabakh, the substantiated doubts of ethnic cleaning in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that the reason for this were the military operations carried out by Azerbaijan on 19 September 2023 and the preceding crisis caused by the blockade of the Lachin corridor. The Assembly highlighted that the tragic emigration of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh must not be accepted as a new reality and called on the Committee of Ministers to undertake monitoring of Azerbaijan.

Leyla Kayacik noted the willingness of the Council of Europe to support the Republic of Armenia in the current crisis, informing that this support may include making relevant amendments under the sector-specific programme and under other actions envisaged by the 2023-2026 Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Armenia, by incorporating the needs of Armenia in this crisis.

The parties discussed the need for capacity-building of employees of state bodies in order to ensure proper response to this crisis, as well as the challenges for securing the legal status of displaced persons and their unimpeded participation in terms of legislation, as well as the practice of EU member states in this direction.

The parties also considered the possibilities of support from the Council of Europe in the implementation of the Rome Statute ratified by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on October 3 of this year.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed willingness to continue co-operation.