Tuesday, September 20 2016 17:17

ArmInfo.Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has made the statement at the High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants.  The statement published on the Foreign Ministry's official website reads as follows:

"Honorable Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, the convening of this  meeting at such a high level indicates the growing prominence of the  problem of migrants and refugees on the global agenda, including  within the UN system and the strong determination to tackle it.   Armenia has been facing the challenges relating to refugee hosting  for almost 3 decades. In the late 80s and beginning of 90s Armenians  were massacred and expelled from their homes in Azerbaijan and found  refuge in Armenia. This year again, in early April Azerbaijan  unleashed another large-scale military offensive against  Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in a number of casualties among  civilians and another wave of displacement.

In this context we would like to stress the significance of  addressing the root causes of large movements of people through the  prevention of conflicts and crisis situations, peaceful settlement of  disputes and achievement of long-term political solutions. Likewise,  we would like to highlight the importance of providing equal, prompt  and unhindered access to international humanitarian assistance for  refugees and displaced persons in all affected parts of the world,  without distinction to their current political status.

Mr. President, Armenia is deeply concerned by the situation in our  immediate neighborhood - the Middle East. On numerous occasions  Armenia has condemned the crimes committed by DAESH and other  terrorist groups, which threaten the people of the region and beyond.   The war in Syria has a devastating impact on its civilian population,  including national and religious minorities who face existential  threats due to identity based crimes perpetrated by terrorists and  foreign fighters.

The violence in the Middle East has not bypassed Syrian Armenians,  many of whom lost their lives in terrorist attacks.  The Armenian  settlements, churches, schools and cultural institutions were  destroyed.  One hundred years ago Armenian refugees found shelter in  many Arab countries after the Armenian Genocide. Today thousands of  Armenians, together with other people of the Middle East, again are  forced to abandon their places of residence. From Syria alone more  than 20 thousand Armenians found refuge in Armenia, making our  country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on  per capita basis. Therefore, we have first-hand knowledge about what  it means to be a refugee and to host refugees.

The challenges of receiving, accommodating and integrating refugees  from Syria are high on the agenda of the Armenian Government. We have  been offering a variety of protection options of accelerated asylum  procedures, facilitated provision of residence permits and  naturalization. The State supports them in setting up businesses,  provides durable housing, free medical assistance and scholarships.   Armenia is committed to making its utmost to address the issues of  Syrian refugees, however no one State can manage such large movements  on its own. We believe that greater international cooperation is  needed to assist host countries. To this end, we welcome the adoption  of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and believe  that the full implementation of our collective commitments,  particularly those referring to a more equitable sharing of the  burden and responsibility, could make a real difference for the  benefit of refugees".