UN EXPERT CALLS FOR ACTION TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ARMENIA’S DISPLACED
UN News Centre
Sept 20 2010
Walter Kalin, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human
Rights of IDPs
20 September 2010 – Armenian authorities need to do more to integrate
internally displaced persons (IDPs) into their new communities and
help those still living in difficult circumstances, a United Nations
human rights expert warned today after visiting the Caucasus country.
“Internally displaced persons in Armenia have been forgotten for
too long,” said Walter Kalin, the Secretary-General’s representative
on the rights of IDPs. “More should be done to improve the lives of
these people who have been displaced for two decades, and this needs
a concerted effort by the Government and the international community.”
During his two-day visit, which concluded on Saturday, Mr. Kalin met
with IDPs from the Dprabak village, and from the Gegharkurnik region.
The displaced populations there still face great problems with
respect to their economic and social rights, he said. They suffer,
in particular, from a lack of adequate housing and limited economic
opportunities.
While many IDPs in Armenia have integrated well into their
new communities, a considerable number still live in difficult
circumstances, he said. Others have not been able to return to
their homes in the border regions because of a lack of shelter and
livelihood opportunities.
During the course of his visit, Mr. Kalin met with Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, as well as Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan
and the First Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration. He also
met with the country’s ombudsman and representatives of both the
international community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Mr. Kalin said he was encouraged by the Government’s envisaged
measures to help the displaced return to border villages or to
integrate within the villages to which they had been displaced,
adding that such initiatives must be supported.
“Armenia is in the enviable position of being able to solve
its remaining displacement cases and to be taken off the map of
countries still hosting internally displaced persons,” he said. “It
is imperative that the international community supports the Government
in its efforts.”
He said such efforts should focus not only on housing, but also
on improving social and economic conditions in the border regions –
including opportunities for steady household incomes, quality education
and prospects for youth.
Mr. Kalin stressed that the parties to the conflict and the
international community must strengthen their efforts to reach a peace
agreement, and that any such agreement must address the human rights
of the displaced, including their right to restitution of property
or compensation.
A Swiss law professor, Mr. Kalin has been the Secretary-General’s
Representative on the Human Rights of IDPs since 2004 and serves in
an independent and unpaid capacity, reporting to the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva. This is his second visit to Armenia since 2007.
From: A. Papazian