Tuesday, 17 May 2011
PM and UN High Commissioner for Refugees look at refugee issues
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Gutierres.
Welcoming the guest, the Prime Minister thanked him for attendance of the international conference of donor organizations: “The fact that refugee issues are still high on our agenda was behind the idea of holding such an important conference. Evidence shows that Armenia continues to be handicapped by its relatively high refugee/household ratio. I am convinced that your participation will help us find efficient solutions to the problem.”
Pleased with current status of GoA-UNHCR cooperation, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees advised that the objective of his visit was to assure of international community’s support of Armenia in this matter. Appreciative of Armenia’s refugee integration-oriented efforts, Mr. Gutierres said to have personally called on refugee households in Armenia and expressed hope that joint action will help address the refugee status and accommodation-related problems.
Presenting his government’s steps, Tigran Sargsyan dwelt on refugee housing and integration-related endeavors.
The parties went on to discuss the possibility of co-funding the primary refugee housing program and the prospects of cooperation with the international donor organizations.
The meeting continued with the discussion of UNHCR’s continued backing of NKR refugees.
Highly appreciative of the assistance received from the United Nations, the head of government hailed the efforts exerted by the Office of UNHCR and Mr. Gutierres, in particular.
Wrapping up the meeting, the Prime Minister and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees attended the international conference titled “The possibility of co-funding the would-be donors-assisted primary refugee housing program for Armenia-based refugees having fled from Azerbaijan in 1988-92.” Addressing the forum, Tigran Sargsyan stated in part, “Armenian refugees keep on facing serious housing, poverty and unemployment challenges. They represent a key target group on the government’s poverty reduction strategy paper, with their permanent housing problems being the center of the government’s attention.”
The head of government underscored the importance of adequate international response to refugee issues: “Ever new refugee flows are caused by political tensions, armed conflicts and natural disasters worldwide, and it seems to be quite natural that the international community is paying greater attention to emergency-hit persons’ needs. We expect the bottlenecks caused by longer-standing emergencies will not be overlooked, including the ones faced by the Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan.”
The full text of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s statement is available at the “Statements” section of the Government’s official website
