Ombudsman delivered a speech in the roundtable event dedicated to the rights of IDPs

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) organized a roundtable on the topic of “Assistance by the UNHCR to IDPs in Azerbaijan”. The meeting was aimed at expanding networking and coordination work and brought together representatives from state bodies, international organizations, NGOs and mass media.

In the event the Ombudsman mentioned about the occupation of seven rayons in the early 90s, emergence of more than one million refugee and IDP people, achievement of suspension in this process by the return of Heydar Aliyev to the power and signing of ceasefire agreement. She told that 70 million of more than seven billion world population are refugee and IDP people (almost 1.5%), whereas in Azerbaijan refugees and IDPs comprise 10 percent of its 10 million-population. They were forced to leave their native lands as a result of military aggression and occupation of our territories, consequently, almost all of their fundamental human rights and freedoms of were violated./span>

At the same time, the Ombudsman brought into attention the features of the refugee and IDP problem in Azerbaijan; its sudden and unexpected occurrence, massive character, poor economic status and instability ruling in the country at that period. She reminded that the first revenues earned from the oil production after the signing of the “Contract of the Century” 25 years before at the initiative of the National leader Heydar Aliyev were directed to improvement of the social-economic state of the IDPs.

At the end of the event the Commissioner recommended conducting joint monitoring and assessment, as well as implementation of SDGs, Global Compact for Refugees and other international instruments.