OSCE/ODIHR to study problems of refugees and IDPs
Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of
the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, has met Michael Link,
the director of the OSCE/ODIHR.
The sides described Azerbaijan's long-term cooperation with the
OSCE ODIHR as “productive” in various fields, including fight
against terrorism, human trafficking, as well as in democratization
of a society and issues related with tolerance.
Hasanov noted a legal state was established and a serious work on
the principles of protection of human rights has been done in
Azerbaijan, which restored its independence 24 years ago.
“Before, we were rebutted in various fields of democratization,
fight against corruption and protection of human rights. But look
how it changed during these 20 years,” he said reminding that the
country is still in war conditions
"Twenty percent of our territories have been occupied, and we
have more than a million refugees and IDPs. Despite all of these,
Azerbaijan is on the way of development, and cooperates with
international organizations and other countries,” he said.
Hasanov underlined that the Azerbaijani president have determined 5
directions of strategic development of the country. “According to
that strategy, until 2020 there will not be a poor person in the
country.”
Hasanov described traditions of tolerance in Azerbaijan as an
“example for a number of countries of the world”.
He recalled his meetings with heads of observation missions of the
OSCE/ODIHR, which monitored presidential and parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan, and noted “Observation, during the
elections should be just. The results of the observations must be
written here.”
Link, in turn, said during the visit he wanted to study problems of
refugees and IDPs.
“This issue is directly connected with human rights. If
thousands of people cannot live in their homelands, this means
rough violation of human rights,” he said.
Touching upon the upcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,
Link expressed confidence that the OSCE/ODIHR would organize an
observation mission in transparent and unbiased manners, AzerTac
state news agency reported.
Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory was turned into a battlefield and zone of aggravated tensions after Armenia sent its troops to occupy Azerbaijan's lands in the early 1990s. As a result, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory stands under military occupation of Armenia.
For the past two decades, and despite calls from the international community, Armenia has refused to withdraw its troops and retreat within its national borders.
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