Azernews.Az

BAKU – Head of the UN agency for refugees visiting Azerbaijan on Wednesday examined the plight of the people displaced during the war with Armenia in the early 1990s.

Antonio Guterres called on the IDPs at a newly built settlement in the frontline Aghdam region together with Ali Hasanov, head of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs.

Guterres said during a conversation with the displaced persons that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could not achieve a settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh but is doing its utmost to keep the issue in international limelight.

The IDPs told the UN commissioner of the challenges facing them and cited facts of Armenian troops’ killing civilians on the contact line with Azerbaijani armed forces.

Guterres and other UNHCR representatives further headed to the Yevlakh region where they visited a settlement densely populated by IDPs.

Guterres said in a meeting with the IDPs that since he last visited Azerbaijan five years ago, the Azerbaijani government has implemented large-scale projects, praising its efforts aiming to improve the living standards of the country’s displaced population.

The UN commissioner also visited a dormitory settled by IDPs in Baku's Binagadi district on Wednesday.

700,000 Azerbaijanis were ousted from Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions during the conflict with neighboring Armenia that began in 1988 on Armenian territorial claims. 250,000 others were driven out of their historical lands in Armenia. The refugees and IDPs are currently settled in 62 cities and regions across Azerbaijan.

The UN commissioner met with the head of the Azerbaijani committee for refugees Ali Hasanov on the same day.

Hasanov said Azerbaijan has passed several state programs in recent years to address IDPs’ problems and tens of settlements have been built for the displaced population, with a total of $3.2 billion spent on these activities. He said these efforts have reduced IDPs’ poverty level to 23 percent from the previous 73 percent. This year, 450 million manats (over $560 million) will be allocated from the state budget to improve their living standards.

Guterres said his visit aimed to reaffirm UNHCR’s commitment to aiding Azerbaijan and study the country’s successful experience in bettering the living conditions for IDPs.

"I can assure you that we will continue assisting you even after a peace accord is signed [with Armenia]," Guterres added.

Armenian troops have been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory since the Karabakh war, despite four UN resolutions urging their unconditional pullout and condemnation by a number of other international groups. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.