The Nagorno-Karabakh refugee problem is still an unresolved issue more than one year after the deportation

Refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Photo: Raimond Spekking. Justice and Peace commission - Archdiocese of Malta

Just over one year ago, as a result 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 result of the aggression. Twelve remain missing. In Azerbaijan, 23 Armenians are currently being held as prisoners, including the former 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 lack of adequate living conditions. According to official data, their numbers now reach 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 prefer to move, for instance, to the southern parts of Russia, where it is much cheaper to live than in Armenia.

Employment problems

People displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia today have both urgent and medium-term needs. Their problems are related to various legal, economic and psychological issues. The people of Karabakh also face the issue of preserving their identity, as well as their language and cultural heritage.

Many refugees are having difficulties with finding a job in Armenia. Vrezh Hovsepyan, for example, a doctor forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, tried to find a job in Armenia for a long time after the displacement. Having no options, he eventually 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 initial stage, when we came to Yerevan, I had no place to stay for about ten days. Then I rented a house in Yerevan, where I was living 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 family is not the only one facing the problem of finding work in Armenia after displacement. Getting a job in the state administration of Armenia is also a problem for refugees from Karabakh. Taguhi Avetisyan, for instance, has been trying to find work in state bodies where she had extensive work experience before her displacement from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. However, she is currently facing insurmountable problems finding work in the departments of the Republic of Armenia:

“I thought it would not be a problem to get a job 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 job in the departments of the Armenian state,” says Avetisyan. She also applied for a job 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 job in the Armenian state administration? According to the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Ruben Sargsyan, there is a requirement of Armenian citizenship. In addition, there are various stages in being hired by the civil service. There is an examination, certification, interview, and only then a job 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 one 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 source of misinterpretation, suspicion, mistrust and even new divisions.

Today, housing is a key issue for Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. However, only those who have received Armenian citizenship have the opportunity to purchase housing under the programme proposed by the Armenian government.

In general, both in order to work in the Armenian state system and to participate in government-implemented support programmes, refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh must obtain Armenian citizenship. However, most of them have not yet submitted their documents. The Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal 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. One refugee 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 specific international guarantees. That’s why we do not rush to obtain Armenian citizenship. We want to keep our passports with our home address on them. And these passports coincide with our documents of ownership of real estate 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 three sons to have their own place. She also has health issues.

“I’m not working at the moment, the state allocates a certain amount of money, I manage to survive somehow with that money. Due to financial problems, I am unable to rent a separate apartment, and we cannot find a suitable house 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 four minor children, still does not have any official status even today. She had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 25 years and now has no status 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 refugee status because she had a birth certificate in Armenia. This is despite the fact that she had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh since the age of seven and had citizenship there. They suggested that she renounce her current citizenship and obtain Armenian citizenship. “I said, well, if you’re not going to grant me refugee status, at least register me so I can receive my children’s allowances. They didn’t do that either, they said they couldn’t register 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 refugee status to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh for a period of one 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, some of those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh were not granted temporary protection refugee status by that decision. This occurred on the grounds that they were citizens of the Republic of Armenia, giving rise to dissatisfaction among them: “I applied to the passport department, but they refused to grant me the status of a temporary protection refugee, saying that I am a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, but I also lived in Nagorno-Karabakh and was forcibly displaced like everyone else.” The Internet was flooded with similar complaints and questions when 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 Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, “Temporary Protection Certificates” have been issued to 103,590 people.

Ongoing international support for refugees

International support for the Armenian government continues in response to the displacement of more than 100,000 ethnic 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 refugee households in Armenia in gaining access to agricultural land.

Many of the displaced, who were previously engaged in agricultural activities, have resettled in rural areas of Armenia, where agriculture is their main source of income.

However, here too, refugees face challenges, such as unresolved inheritance issues between landowners, as well as restrictions on land ownership rights for foreign citizens.

The European Union is going to provide Armenia with 15 million euros to solve refugee issues. Within the framework of the project, it plans to overcome various socio-economic difficulties, paying special attention to supporting refugees with priority needs (including food).

Larisa Alaverdyan, the first human rights defender to operate in Armenia, who has also been involved in refugee 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 one of the priorities concerning the potential return of the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh is the lack of safe and dignified return mechanisms. Given these challenges, the call for international security agreements becomes crucial. The involvement of reputable international organizations is needed to ensure the protection of the displaced Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and guarantee their rights through international mechanisms. Such measures may include observation missions or diplomatic oversight to monitor and protect the return process. In addition to security measures, efforts should focus on combating hatred and intolerance.

Anna Vardanyan is an independent journalist, political analyst based in Armenia.

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Armenia, civil society, human rights, Nagorno Karabakh, refugees, South Caucasus