Armenia reforms refugee and asylum system

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Around 220 people on average seek asylum in Armenia every year. And as Armenia has always given a priority to human rights, it seeks to provide proper solutions meeting international standards to the issues of refugees and migrants. For this purpose, the Armenian state agencies have initiated reforms of refugee and asylum system with the support of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the European Union.

Today, a meeting was held in Yerevan between the Migration Service of Armenia, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the structures interested in the comprehensive reforms of migration protection legislation.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the Head of the Migration Service, the Deputy Minister of Justice, the Human Rights Defender, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, acting representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as representatives of judiciary, state structures, international organizations and civil society.

In his remarks Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia Vache Terteryan said that these reforms will be implemented within the frames of the two-year program that launched in February 2022, which in its turn is in accordance with the agenda of reforms being implemented under the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and is aimed at creating a system for ensuring resident and rights of migrants and refugees. According to Mr. Terteryan, this is a key political challenge for Armenia because the country has always accepted the priority of the rule of law.

“This is really a very important start. I think it is logical to address the situation from time to time after experimenting our legal regulations and working in a real life, as well as to analyze the strong and weak sides, and depending on the next milestone of our country’s economic, political, public organization and development to also make reforms and corrections in the regulations of an important sector such as those connected with the asylum of refugees and migrants and its related issues”, he said.

Deputy Justice Minister of Armenia Arpine Sargsyan added that the planning of institutional, proper changes in the field of migration and migration management is a high priority, in the person of the upcoming Minister of Interior, that will come to help solve all the problems existing in migration sector and among refugees and asylum-seekers.

She also thanked the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the UN Refugee Agency for organizing this event, as well as the international partners for paying attention to the issues relating to refugees and asylum-seekers.

Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin also highlighted the meeting, stating that the European Union decisively supports the Armenian government’s initiative to strengthen the migration system. She said that these reforms are in accordance with the commitments of the sides assumed within the frames of CEPA.