Azerbaijani President’s policy to solve refugee problems – example for countries facing similar problems
By Rashid Shirinov
A successful state policy to address the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons, led by the President of Azerbaijan, is an example for countries facing similar problems, said Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Fuad Huseynov.
He made the remarks on January 31, at a meeting with Jonathan Hayes, the U.S. Department of State’s Regional Coordinator of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, who is on a visit in Azerbaijan.
Huseynov noted that Azerbaijan has always been committed to a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but due to the Armenia’s continuation of aggressive policy, this problem is not solved yet.
The deputy chairman reminded that there are decisions and resolutions of authoritative international organizations condemning the aggressive policy of Armenia, demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Azerbaijani territories, but the aggressor Armenia does not fulfill any of them.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have 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.
Huseynov informed Hayes that Azerbaijan will never accept the occupation of its lands, will restore its territorial integrity at any cost, and will launch large-scale restoration works in liberated territories. As an example of the Great Return, he noted the Jojug Marjanli village, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.
The deputy chairman highlighted the national leader Heydar Aliyev’s and the President’s role in solving the problems of refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan. He also spoke about noble initiatives of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva to improve the social conditions of IDPs.
Jonathan Hayes, in turn, underlined the importance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as possible and praised the work done by Azerbaijan to solve the problems of refugees and IDPs.
He also praised the restoration work carried out by Azerbaijan in the Jojug Marjanli village.
At the end of the meeting, Huseynov spoke about the humanitarian assistance that international humanitarian organizations provided to Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs in the early 1990s. The deputy chairman stressed that Azerbaijan highly appreciates this as an example of charity.
With a population of almost 10 million, Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms. However, enjoying the growing economic and political situation in the country, the Azerbaijani government pays much attention to the most difficult problems concerning the refugees and IDPs. The country adopted relevant programs and legislative acts, and it continues to improve the living conditions of refugees and IDPs.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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