Monday, 2 October 2023
Document-related obstacles cannot be a barrier in terms of access to social support
Head of Migration and Citizenship Service Armen Ghazaryan and Prime Minister's Press Secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan presented the latest data on forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh, as well as details on support programs.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan first noted that considering the many calls received to the hotline and the many questions of displaced persons requiring urgent answers, the "Humanitarian Center" will continue to work intensively and there will be live broadcasts three times a day: at 12:00 pm, 4:00 pm and at 8:00 p.m.
According to the latest data, the number of people displaced from Nagorno Karabakh is 100,520, 21,107 vehicles crossed the Hakari bridge. 89,167 people have already been registered. The registration is very important to benefit from future support programs.
Distribution of displaced persons in different regions of Armenia continues. 53,935 people used the accommodations offered by the state. The distribution by regions is as follows: Aragatsotn region: 2,454 people, Ararat region: 13,050 people, Armavir region: 5,186 people, Gegharkunik region: 4,337 people, Lori region: 3,263 people, Kotayk region: 13,297 people, Shirak region: 2,558 people. Syunik region - 5089 people, Vayots Dzor region - 2134 people and Tavush region - 2567 people.
Nazeli Baghdasaryan informed that the provision of one-time assistance of 100,000 AMD starts this week and within the framework of this process, displaced persons who have bank cards and accounts can present them to the Unified Social Service, which works 24/7.
The press secretary also referred to the decisions made as a result of the consultation with the Prime Minister this morning. Accordingly, there is a need to visit any bank and open an account, the Central Bank has already arranged that these accounts will be opened free of charge. Then, the account numbers of these cards must be transferred to the Unified Social Service. Nazeli Baghdasaryan stressed that even when the process of issuing cards will require a certain period of time, card accounts are opened very quickly and on the spot. That is, the money will be transferred to the card account, which can be cashed out. Then, after receiving the card, it will be possible to cash the money provided within the framework of other social assistance programs. Nazeli Baghdasaryan emphasized once again that the opened account must be presented to the Unified Social Service. Each member of the family must do this process personally and each person will receive the one-time support directly to their card account. An exception will be children, whose money will be transferred to their mothers' bank and card accounts.
People who own apartments in Armenia can benefit from the 100,000 AMD one-time support program, but only people who do not own property in Armenia can benefit from the apartment rent support program.
Head of Migration and Citizenship Service Armen Ghazaryan presented that 46,139 of the total number of registered persons are females and 43,028 are males. The age group over 65 is more than 10,700, and the number of children under 18 is about 27,000. More than 45,000 displaced persons came from Stepanakert, more than 15,000 from Martuni region, more than 13,000 from Martakert region, and more than 10,000 from Askeran region. There are 230 pregnant women and more than 2,000 people with disabilities among the displaced.
"Document-related barriers cannot be an obstacle from the point of view of access to social support," Armen Ghazaryan noted and added that those who do not have an identity document can approach passport services and submit appropriate applications related to the loss or restoration of an identity document. However, until the document is ready, temporary IDs will be issued for these individuals to be able to access assistance programs. Passport departments will serve displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh on an emergency basis.
