Baku hosts PACE Committee's meeting on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
A two-day meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons commenced in Baku on March 15.
Atwo-day meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons commenced in Baku on March 15.
The meeting convened at the Milli Mejlis [parliament] with the participation of Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov, Education Minister Mikail Jabbarov, Chairman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova, Head of the State Migration Service Firudin Nabiyev, Head of the Council of Europe in Baku Dragana Filipovich, Head of the EU Delegation in Azerbaijan Malena Mard and the representative of the United Nations High Commissariat for Refugees Furio De Angelis, as well as the Chairman of the PACE committee, MP Sahib Gafarov and Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, MP Samad Seyidov.
Addressing the meeting Vice Parliamentary Speaker Valeh Aleskerov said the international community is considering the issue of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan through the prism of "double standards".
Azerbaijan faced the problem of refugees and IDPs immediately after gaining independence as Armenia, having occupied twenty percent of the territories of Azerbaijan, has put the country face to face with such a serious problem, he underlined.
Azerbaijan with the population of 10 million people has been engaged in overcoming refugee problems for over twenty years, while Europe, with its 500 million people, finds it difficult to solve the problem of about two million migrants, Aleskerov noted.
"We do not complain, but only call on international organizations to show a more constructive and resolute approach to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - this painful and complex problem of Azerbaijan," Aleskerov said.
Education Minister Mikayil Jabbarov stated that Armenians purposely choose Azerbaijani schoolchildren living near the frontline as targets.
Jabbarov informed that although the ceasefire regime was established in 1994, the Armenian side is constantly violating it and targets schoolchildren.
"We remember the killing of Fariz Badalov by an Armenian sniper, he said stressing, that children were also a target during the Armenian provocations committed last April.
Jabbarov also stressed that the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands hurt the educational sector as “more than 700 educational institutions have been destroyed in the occupied territories.”
The Minister added that the problems of refugees and IDPs are in the center of attention in Azerbaijan. He said that the expenses for children's studies from families of refugees and IDPs are covered out of the state budget.
He further informed that they commenced the construction of a school building in the liberated from occupation village of Jojug Marjanli. The school is scheduled to be commissioned in September.
As a result of violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces on March 8, 2011, between five and six o'clock in the evening, a nine-year-old resident of the village of Orta Garvend Fariz Badalov was killed as a result of a sniper fire opened from the side of the village of Shikhlar, occupied by Armenia.
The problem of migration and refugees threatens international security, leads to violation of borders of other states and promotes formation of separatist regimes, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said at the event.
“The solution to all these problems requires the implementation of joint actions,” Khalafov stressed.
He noted that Azerbaijan also faced with problems of refugees and IDPs, and the country has been addressing these problems for more than twenty years.
Khalafov said Azerbaijan has prepared a program of the Great Return of refugees and IDPs after the liberation of Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia.
He underlined that the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are used for illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, as well as for human and weapon trafficking. “Azerbaijan has appealed to the UN for assistance to prevent these phenomena.”
He also noted that the international community applies double standards regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and this delays its resolution.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan in early 1990s laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
Besides, a PACE delegation on March 15 visited Azerbaijanis, who have violently been driven out of their native lands and obliged to live a refugee life for about 30 years.
The delegation visited the settlement for the refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) located near Masazir settlement of Absheron District to get acquainted with their plight.