RAPPORTEUR OF THE PACE COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION, REFUGEES AND POPULATION URGES THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES TO CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE DEVELOPMENT BANK

ArmInfo
2009-06-16 15:35:00

ArmInfo. Rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and
Population John Greenway urges the Armenian authorities to consider
becoming a member of the Council of Europe Development Bank, which
could offer new funding opportunities for refugee and IDP- related
programmes, says the Report ‘Europe’s forgotten people: protecting
the human rights of long-term displaced persons’ based on his visit
to the region in May.

Improvement of housing conditions and providing adequate shelter for
all is the declared key priority to the Government. Many "dormitory"
buildings, which were in repairable conditions, have been restored
with funds from the UNHCR and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Some
of these have been privatised, enabling people living there to
become homeowners. In 2004, a special programme on housing purchase
certificates (at nominal value of 30,000 USD per 2-member family) was
launched to enable those refugees currently living in most precarious
conditions in collective centres to acquire new apartments. According
to different data, 3,300 to 3,740 families were identified in 2003,
qualifying for this programme. In three years, about 900 families
from nine of the eleven "marzes" (territorial divisions of Armenia)
have solved their housing problems through these certificates. Both
government officials and civil society representatives agree, however,
that the sum does not correspond to market conditions, especially in
urban areas.

It has therefore been decided recently that in the case of bigger
cities like Yerevan, new houses will be built instead. The state is in
need of 45 million USD for this purpose. The rapporteur suggests, given
the economic difficulties the Republic of Armenia is currently facing,
that this problem be solved through international donor aid. He calls
upon the European Union in particular to consider funding this through
the new eastern partnership programme or through other applicable
programmes. He further urges the Armenian authorities to consider
becoming a member of the Council of Europe Development Bank, which
could offer new funding opportunities for refugee and IDP- related
programmes, the report says. The report touches upon the problems of
IDPs in the North Caucasus, Georia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Cyprus. The
report is put on the agenda of the PACE Summer Session on June 22-26
in Strasbourg.