Just over 1 year ago, as a consequence of the September 2023 military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, more than 100,000 Armenians were forced to leave their homes. According to data provided by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia, in total, more than 200 people died as a consequence of the aggression. 12 stay missing. In Azerbaijan, 23 Armenians are presently being held as prisoners, including the erstwhile military and political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the latest updated data, 115,359 citizens have been displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, of which 30,306 are minors.
Some of these refugees have already emigrated from Armenia due to a deficiency of adequate surviving conditions. According to authoritative data, their numbers now scope around 11,000.
According to various surveys, the main reason for this is the socio-economic conditions that are disrupting people’s everyday lives in Armenia. This is why they like to move, for instance, to the confederate parts of Russia, where it is much cheaper to live than in Armenia.
Employment problems
People displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia present have both urgent and medium-term needs. Their problems are related to various legal, economical and intellectual issues. The people of Karabakh besides face the issue of preserving their identity, as well as their language and cultural heritage.
Many refugees are having difficulties with uncovering a occupation in Armenia. Vrezh Hovsepyan, for example, a doctor forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, tried to find a occupation in Armenia for a long time after the displacement. Having no options, he yet emigrated from Armenia to Russia. At the same time, 38-year-old Vrezh had worked in the ambulance service in Stepanakert for 17 years, despite his disability. “At the first stage, erstwhile we came to Yerevan, I had no place to stay for about 10 days. Then I rented a home in Yerevan, where I was surviving with my father. We stayed in Armenia until March 8th 2024, and then we moved to Russia,” Vrezh tells us, emphasizing that the main reason for moving to Russia was not being able to find work in Armenia.
The Hovsepyan household is not the only 1 facing the problem of uncovering work in Armenia after displacement. Getting a occupation in the state administration of Armenia is besides a problem for refugees from Karabakh. Taguhi Avetisyan, for instance, has been trying to find work in state bodies where she had extended work experience before her displacement from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. However, she is presently facing insurmountable problems uncovering work in the departments of the Republic of Armenia:
“I thought it would not be a problem to get a occupation in the state apparatus again in Armenia. But I faced the following problem: they told me that there is an age limit. I didn’t think it would be like that, I noticed that people of my age and even older than me were working in the system, so what was the problem? After applying to various bodies, I realized that it is indeed hard to find a occupation in the departments of the Armenian state,” says Avetisyan. She besides applied for a occupation at the defence ministry, where Armenian citizenship is required to work. Taguhi Avetisyan’s fear is that if she receives citizenship, she will be deprived of state support programmes.
Why do Karabakh refugees face problems in getting a occupation in the Armenian state administration? According to the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Ruben Sargsyan, there is simply a request of Armenian citizenship. In addition, there are various stages in being hired by the civilian service. There is an examination, certification, interview, and only then a occupation offer.
Concerns are being voiced by opposition circles that the authorities are not bringing the issue of Karabakh refugees to the forefront and making it the number 1 agenda.
Housing problems
Our surveys among the refugees show that the decisions adopted by the government to support the displaced Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh have become a origin of misinterpretation, suspicion, mistrust and even fresh divisions.
Today, housing is simply a key issue for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. However, only those who have received Armenian citizenship have the chance to acquisition housing under the programme proposed by the Armenian government.
In general, both in order to work in the Armenian state strategy and to participate in government-implemented support programmes, refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh must get Armenian citizenship. However, most of them have not yet submitted their documents. The Migration Service of the Ministry of interior Affairs of Armenia reports that as of October 10th 2024, only 3431 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh had received Armenian citizenship. They are afraid that if they get citizenship they may be deprived of the right to return to their homeland and their property left there. 1 exile gave the following reasons why they are not in a hurry to get citizenship: “We dream of returning to Nagorno-Karabakh, our home, but under the condition that it will be the same as before, or there will be circumstantial global guarantees. That’s why we do not rush to get Armenian citizenship. We want to keep our passports with our home address on them. And these passports coincide with our papers of ownership of real property in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Thirty-two-year-old Meline Avanesyan, who was displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, now has her own housing problem, as she wants her 3 sons to have their own place. She besides has wellness issues.
“I’m not working at the moment, the state allocates a certain amount of money, I manage to last someway with that money. Due to financial problems, I am incapable to rent a separate apartment, and we cannot find a suitable home that will fit our budget. Now I have no hope of returning to Nagorno-Karabakh, but God willing, if Nagorno-Karabakh is liberated, I will definitely go,” Meline says.
Status problems
Rima Avagyan, displaced from the city of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, who has 4 insignificant children, inactive does not have any authoritative position even today. She had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 25 years and now has no position together with her children. As a result, she has been deprived of all kinds of support. At the state passport department, she was told that she could not receive exile position due to the fact that she had a birth certificate in Armenia. This is despite the fact that she had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh since the age of 7 and had citizenship there. They suggested that she renounce her current citizenship and get Armenian citizenship. “I said, well, if you’re not going to grant me exile status, at least registry me so I can receive my children’s allowances. They didn’t do that either, they said they couldn’t registry me until I changed my passport, and I replied that I wouldn’t change my passport,” says Rima.
The Armenian government, through its decision No. 1864-N of October 26th 2023, granted exile position to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh for a period of 1 year. This was extended by another decision of the government on October 17th 2024 for another year, until 31 December 31st 2025.
Persons granted temporary protection by the Republic of Armenia, having been recognized as refugees, have acquired the rights and obligations defined for refugees in the second chapter of the law “On Refugees and Asylum”.
However, any of those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh were not granted temporary protection exile position by that decision. This occurred on the grounds that they were citizens of the Republic of Armenia, giving emergence to dissatisfaction among them: “I applied to the passport department, but they refused to grant me the position of a temporary protection refugee, saying that I am a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, but I besides lived in Nagorno-Karabakh and was forcibly displaced like everyone else.” The net was flooded with akin complaints and questions erstwhile it became clear to many of those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh that despite the circumstances of their displacement, they would not be granted any status.
According to data provided by the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of interior Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, “Temporary Protection Certificates” have been issued to 103,590 people.
Ongoing global support for refugees
International support for the Armenian government continues in consequence to the displacement of more than 100,000 cultural Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in late September 2023.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a programme aimed at supporting exile households in Armenia in gaining access to agricultural land.
Many of the displaced, who were previously engaged in agricultural activities, have resettled in agrarian areas of Armenia, where agriculture is their main origin of income.
However, here too, refugees face challenges, specified as unresolved inheritance issues between landowners, as well as restrictions on land ownership rights for abroad citizens.
The European Union is going to supply Armenia with 15 million euros to solve exile issues. Within the framework of the project, it plans to overcome various socio-economic difficulties, paying peculiar attention to supporting refugees with precedence needs (including food).
Larisa Alaverdyan, the first human rights defender to operate in Armenia, who has besides been active in exile issues for many years, notes that there is no monitoring of the funds allocated by the European Union, as well as no control over how these funds are spent and on what. Stakeholders, representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, and non-governmental organizations should know what the government is spending these money on.
Andranik Grigoryan, the president of the Human Rights Protection Union of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees, states that 1 of the priorities concerning the possible return of the cultural Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh is the deficiency of safe and dignified return mechanisms. Given these challenges, the call for global safety agreements becomes crucial. The engagement of reputable global organizations is needed to guarantee the protection of the displaced Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and warrant their rights through global mechanisms. specified measures may include reflection missions or diplomatic oversight to monitor and defend the return process. In addition to safety measures, efforts should focus on combating hatred and intolerance.
Anna Vardanyan is an independent journalist, political analyst based in Armenia.
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