Over 30,000 non-citizens in Azerbaijan: researchers
BAKU – There are currently over 30,000 people without citizenship in Azerbaijan, a local group assisting expatriates estimates.
Alovsat Aliyev, head of the Azerbaijan Migration Center, says most of the persons who have no documents have come from Georgia and Armenia, the two neighboring South Caucasus republics.
Aliyev said living without paperwork or with invalid documents deprives people of basic rights and freedoms.
"These people are unable to exercise their rights to medical aid and legal counsel as well as education and retirement benefits. If case of violence, they refrain from approaching law enforcement agencies, gradually become dependent on others, and turn into potential victims of different crimes, including human trafficking."
According to Aliyev, more than 2,000 people without documents appealed to the migration center this year and half of them were provided with legal counsel. Incoming applications have been sent to a number of state bodies and courts. Consequently, identification documents were issued to 51 applicants this year, while the pleas filed by the others are still being considered by Azerbaijani courts.
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