Amnesty International
June 28 2007
Azerbaijan: Discrimination and segregation compound problems of
internal displacement for hundreds of thousands of people
Press release, 06/28/2007
"We are ready to live with the Armenians of Karabakh and we have not
forgotten our historical home there. But we won’t see peace for at
least ten years, that’s why we want decent living conditions now."
Ayaz, who was displaced from his home in Nagorny Karabakh and has
been living in Goranboy region for 14 years
"I don’t need benefits, I’d rather have my compensation and integrate
into society here in Baku. The government should stop deceiving me
that I’ll be able to return."
Elmar, displaced from the province of Kelbajar.
One of the largest populations of internally displaced people per
capita in the world faces discrimination, segregation and an
uncertain future, according to a new report released by Amnesty
International today. Some 600,000 Azerbaijanis have lived in internal
displacement for over a decade as a result of the conflict between
Armenians and Azeris for Nagorny Karabakh, a territory within
Azerbaijan populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, between 1991 and
1994.
Although minimum essential levels of human rights have been provided
for by the Azerbaijani government, with international assistance,
Amnesty International is concerned that current measures are not
adequate to provide for the progressive realization of human rights
in a context of long-term displacement.
"By law internally displaced people enjoy the same legal protection
and guarantees of their rights as other citizens. In practice,
however, there are numerous limitations on their rights to freedom of
movement, adequate housing, the fullest attainable level of health
care and to work. Taken together, these violations effectively create
a series of barriers discriminating against and segregating the
internally displaced population," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and
Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.
In its report, Azerbaijan: Displaced then discriminated against —
the plight of the internally displaced population, Amnesty
International outlines a series of practices which in effect
discriminate against and segregate the displaced population.
Internally displaced people are restricted by the internal residence
registration system to a fixed address in order to receive aid and
social services, despite the de jure abolition of this system in the
Azerbaijani Constitution. Residence permits in prosperous urban
centres are difficult to obtain without the payment of bribes.
New settlements for the internally displaced have been constructed in
geographically remote, economically unviable and otherwise unsuitable
locations, leading to isolation and segregation.
The internally displaced have not been consulted on decision-making
processes with direct impact on their lives, for example, the
location of new settlements built to house them.
The internally displaced are consistently encouraged to see their
situation as temporary, discouraging them to seek integration or
permanent resettlement in another part of the country.
Internally displaced people suffer from higher rates of poverty
compared to the rest of the population and have consequently remained
highly dependent on subsidies and aid. The internally displaced
population has not benefited from the privatization process in
Azerbaijan and is all but excluded from participation in the
country’s oil-driven economic boom. According to official data
published in 2005 the internally displaced show continued dependence
on state benefits as their main source of income: 8.5 per cent
compared to less than 0.1 per cent of the rest of the population.
Poverty in turn contributes to disproportionately high incidences of
anaemia, tuberculosis, malnutrition and mental health problems.
Displaced people suffer disproportionately from unemployment and
under-employment, compounded by restrictions to their right to move
legally around the country in search of employment and by economic
isolation in new settlements.
Human rights treaties to which Azerbaijan is a party require the
authorities to respect and protect the rights of internally displaced
people to life, and an adequate standard of living.
`Although on paper the Azerbaijani government appears willing to
allocate resources to the needs of the internally displaced
population, these resources are not being used in ways that allow the
progressive realization of their human rights. State officials
consistently emphasize the `temporary’ nature of social and housing
programmes for the displaced. Yet this emphasis is increasingly in
conflict with the prolonged nature of displacement," Nicola Duckworth
said.
"The right to return to their original homes in conditions of dignity
and security is the right of all internally displaced people, and
remains a key aspiration of Azerbaijan’s displaced population.
However, displaced people have the right to make other choices,
including to integrate or resettle permanently elsewhere in the
country. This right to choose cannot be forfeited.’
In order to address the human rights issues of the displaced people,
Amnesty International calls on the government of Azerbaijan to:
Remove all obstacles to the rights of the displaced population to
freedom of movement and choice of residence;
Take steps to provide for the right of displaced people to genuinely
participate in a process of consultation on issues affecting them;
Ensure that the right of the displaced population to an adequate
standard of housing is respected in both rural and urban contexts.
Amnesty International calls on the international community to
continue to assist the Azerbaijani authorities in this regard.
Background
The conflict over Nagorny Karabakh is one of several
minority-majority conflicts contesting sovereignty between former
federal units of the Soviet Union. Known in the Soviet Union as the
Nagorny Karabakh Autonomous Region, Nagorny Karabakh was populated by
a local Armenian majority within Soviet Azerbaijan. With the onset of
political liberalization in the late 1980s, the Armenians of Nagorny
Karabakh began to campaign for separation from Azerbaijan and union
with Armenia. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war in 1991,
ending in 1994 with the de facto secession of Nagorny Karabakh from
Azerbaijan. Nagorny Karabakh exists today as a republic unrecognized
by any state, including Armenia. A number of proposals have been put
forward to resolve the conflict by the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, although no proposal thus far has been
acceptable to the conflicting parties. A key feature of the conflict
was forced population movements. It is estimated that over 400,000
Armenians became either refugees from Azerbaijan to Armenia or were
internally displaced in border regions. Over 200,000 Azeris became
refugees from Armenia to Azerbaijan, while there are over 600,000
internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan today.
After the embargo, you can access the report, Azerbaijan: Displaced
then discriminated against — the plight of the internally displaced
population,at 07