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Azerbaijani Ombudsman meets UN Special envoy on IDPs

23 May 2014 09:06 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijani Ombudsman meets UN Special envoy on IDPs

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) met a delegation led by UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Chaloka Beyani.

Saying that she often visits the towns in which IDPs are settled, Elmira Suleymanova noted that huge changes were made in protecting and ensuring the rights of refugees and IDPs in Azerbaijan.

Suleymanova said tent camps were abolished and new settlements were built in Azerbaijan, AzerTag State News Agency reported.

The Ombudsman also highlighted the vast measures taken by the government to improve the living conditions of over one million Azerbaijanis who became IDPs and refugees as result of Armenia's aggression against the country, saying the problem of these people's return to their homes remains unsolved.

Suleymanova also noted that the Ombudsman Office had established bilateral cooperation with the structural departments of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and implemented joint projects.

The Ombudsman also gave detailed information regarding the activity plan and program approved by President Ilham Aliyev in 2006 and 2011 regarding the protection of human rights.

Beyani, in turn, praised the Ombudsman's views on the IDPs' return to their homes, and said creating equal rights and conditions for them with regards to other categories of the population was important.

He also noted the importance of studying their needs, especially those of female IDPs and refugees and their participation in decision-making, and paying attention to gender issues.

Beyani also hailed the Azerbaijani Ombudsman's activities in the human rights field.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the US have produced no results so far.

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