Activists Call on Karabakh Refugees to Join Public Councils

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With the support of the EU, the project "Human Rights with and for Refugees" has been launched in Armenia, the goal of which is to help internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh to realize their rights. Public councils are being formed in Yerevan, Gyumri, Dilijan, Yeghegnadzor.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, by September 6, more than 16 thousand refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and received Armenian citizenship, including five thousand minors who receive citizenship automatically following their parents. Internally displaced persons were reluctant to apply for citizenship, believing that they were already citizens of Armenia and hoping to return to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian authorities made citizenship a mandatory condition for participation in the housing program. By the end of July, the number of applications for Armenian citizenship from refugees had doubled, while the displaced persons themselves called the change of passport a forced measure - according to them, citizenship is also required for employment.

The announcement of the creation of public councils of refugees and an application for membership were published on the website of the public organization "Union Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)". The text states that the RCBs are created with the aim of "supporting and empowering internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh by raising the level of knowledge and awareness of their rights, as well as providing access to information on the services and opportunities available to them." The work of the public councils will be carried out in Yerevan by the NGO “Union for the Protection of the Interests and Rights of the Artsakh People”, in the city of Gyumri by the NGO “Socio-Psychological Center “Kanani”, in Yeghegnadzor by the NGO for territorial development “Labor and Homeland”, in Dilijan by the NGO “Dilijan Youth Cooperation Center”.

“Refugees who are ready to attend monthly discussions, trainings and seminars where the problems of refugees and ways to solve them will be discussed, as well as to propose solutions to public problems that will be financed, can join the public councils,” Chairman of the NGO “Union for the Protection of the Interests and Rights of the Artsakh People” and “Union Artsakh” Artak Beglaryan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent on September 14.

Such a program allows providing forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh with the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge about their rights and opportunities to solve problems

According to him, the program will be in effect for two years. "We started accepting applications in September. The deadline for applications is September 23, 2025. After that, we will announce the first meeting. There will be close cooperation between the councils in Yerevan and in the regions. Such a program allows providing forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh with the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge about their rights and opportunities to solve problems,” Beglaryan said.

He also added that “the creation of public councils with international support is a necessary and long-awaited step, it gives refugees a real opportunity to actively participate in processes, promote their interests in decision-making structures related to refugee issues.”

Karabakh public figure Tatiana Aghayan considers the creation of the public council a positive step.

“It is especially noteworthy that public councils have access to the international level, as this provides an opportunity to more effectively express the problems of refugees, and perhaps even solve some of these problems. But on the other hand, several similar public structures have been created over the past two years, but not all have been able to achieve anything. In addition, all these initiatives operate separately, are unwilling to unite and cooperate. And some simply prefer to sit. Therefore, it remains to wait and see whether the RSC will achieve its intended goals,” she told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

We must understand that there are problems that can only be solved in Armenia

“Let’s hope that the program will provide an opportunity to raise the main issues of concern to us in international structures, and attempts to find solutions in Armenia will be successful. At the same time, we must understand that there are problems that can only be solved in Armenia. For example, social problems, for the solution of which it is necessary to achieve the desire of the authorities,” Karabakh public figure Vahram Sargsyan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

We remind you that by October 7, 2023, 100,632 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh arrived in Armenia, said the press secretary of the Prime Minister Nazeli Baghdasaryan. By October 14, 2023, there were no more than 40 residents left in the region, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians, Karabakh human rights activists said.

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