UNHCR PRAISES AZERI GOVT FOR NATURALIZING REFUGEES FROM ARMENIA

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
August 17, 2006 Thursday

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant?nio Guterres visiting
Azerbaijan has praised the governments support for 250,000 Azeris
displaced from Armenia during the outbreak of the armed Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict in the late 1980s. The fact that these
persons were granted citizenship in 1998 is particularly commendable,
Guterres told a news conference on Thursday.

He said that granting citizenship is the highest form of care the
UNHCR demands from various countries. The organization at times puts
pressure on governments to take the step. However, Azerbaijan
provided this status to refugees fleeing Armenia without any
pressure, said Guterres. There is no higher form of state care for
refugees anywhere in the world, the UNHCR head said. He criticized
other former Soviet republics for failing to grant citizenship to
their refugees. The provision of refugees from Armenia with
citizenship has drawn differing responses from the Azerbaijani
public, with some experts terming the measure as rather hasty. There
have been some allegations that by naturalizing these people, the
government actually deprived them of international aid. Deputy Prime
Minister and chairman of the State Committee on Work with Refugees
and Displaced Persons, Ali Hasanov, said these statements are wide
off the mark. By taking the step, the government showed that it
honors international law. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have joined
international legal acts dealing with persons devoid of citizenship,
which stipulate that if refugees are settled in a country for over
seven years, they automatically receive citizenship status, Hasanov
said. He noted that Armenia has not granted this status to refugees
from Azerbaijan yet and is still receiving international assistance,
which runs counter to standing international conventions.