Int’l community turning blind eye to problems of refugees, IDPs
By Sara Rajabova
The Azerbaijani and Iraqi officials have discussed the events in Iraq, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the problems of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs).
Deputy Azerbaijan's Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugee and IDP affairs Ali Hasanov met Iraq`s ambassador to Azerbaijan Hayder Shiya Ghubeshi Al-Barrak on August 27.
Hasanov noted during the meeting that the world community must take concrete steps to solve the conflicts.
The sides exchanged views about ongoing developments in Iraq and emergence of many refugees and IDPs as a result of these events.
Hasanov expressed Azerbaijani government`s concern over the developments in Iraq. He underlined that millions of innocent people are suffering as a result of these conflicts, which have given rise to the increase in number of refugees.
He touched upon the Iraq events, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the problem of refugees and IDPS caused by them.
Hasanov regretted that the international community turned a blind eye to these processes, remaining indifferent to millions of civilians dying, becoming refugees and IDPs.
He stressed that the international organizations only make ineffective statements and adopt fruitless resolutions instead of taking concrete steps to solve the conflicts, adding that they are gradually losing the public trust.
Hasanov further said economic interests of political forces are behind UN Security Council`s inability to bring to fruition its four resolutions demanding withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, OSCE Minsk Group`s failing to find a solution to the conflict, presence of 1.2 million refugees and IDPs.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.
The Iraqi ambassador Al-Barrak, for his turn, said thousands of Iraqis fled their homes in the wake of ongoing violence in the country.
High Commission for Refugees said the number of refugees in Iraq hit 1.4 million, placing the country at the second place in terms of the number of refugees around the world.
Al-Barrak called Iraq the door to the Arab world and Azerbaijan the door to the South Caucasus.
He expressed regret at the fact that both countries faced a similar problem.
The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest at the meeting.