SOCIETY
'Azerbaijan signed agreements with a number of countries in order to ensure the protection of the rights of migrants'
Baku, September 21, AZERTAC
"Azerbaijan signed agreements with a number of countries in order to ensure the protection of the rights of migrants," said Chief of Azerbaijan`s State Migration Service Firudin Nabiyev as he addressed a round table on refugees and migrants as part of "Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants" high level meeting of the UN General Assembly.
Firudin Nabiyev said that the process of globalization has turned the migration management, based on the flexible mechanisms, into one of the most urgent issues. He hailed the importance of the implementation of relevant migration policy in proper management of migration processes and regulation of these processes in accordance with the country's economic interests.
The chief of the Migration Service noted that Azerbaijan persued an active migration policy in order to influence the migration processes in the region, to control migration flows in the country and manage and adjust the migration processes in accordance with local legislation.
"Today, the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world has reached a critical point. As a country affected by the conflict we understand very well the suffering of refugees and internally displaced persons. Having been expelled from their places of permanent residence as a result of Armenia's occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands, more than 700,000 Azerbaijanis became internally displaced persons. Unfortunately, the UN Security Council`s four conflict-related resolutions demanding the liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories from the Armenian armed forces have not yet been fulfilled," he said.
"Addressing social problems of displaced people does not solve the problem of their displacement. Cases of internal displacement should be eliminated, a comprehensive and fair stance should be demonstrated and peoples' living in peace and security should be ensured through the efforts of the international community."
Nabiyev noted that Azerbaijan has signed bilateral and multilateral agreements with a number of countries in order to ensure the protection of the rights of migrants and their family members. "We have bilateral agreements on cooperation in the field of migration with a number of countries, including Turkey, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Belarus."
The Chief of the State Migration Service concluded his speech by saying that the problems of migrants, particularly refugees and internally displaced persons could be solved through solidarity, the fight against xenophobia and joint efforts. He also emphasized the necessity of strengthening efforts towards eliminating the root causes of the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons, and preventing conflicts.