ARMENIA’S LEGISLATION FAULTY IN REFUGEE AFFAIRS
14.06.2007,
03:52
Armenia’s legislation contains numerous faults concerning refugees, Armine Karakhanyan, Legal Affairs Executive, UNHCR office in Armenia stated at a roundtable “Refugees in Armenia: past and present”.
YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Armenia’s legislation contains numerous faults concerning refugees, Armine Karakhanyan, Legal Affairs Executive, UNHCR office in Armenia stated at a roundtable “Refugees in Armenia: past and present”.
Referring to a survey conducted in cooperation with the Danish Council for Refugees, she singled out 11 major fields where the Armenian legislation has faults involving refugees, though it chiefly conforms to the international conventions.
The faults mostly involve the protection of refugees’ rights and the possibility of their appealing the claims concerning their current status, Karakahnyan said.
She reported that the Armenian legislation grants the status of two types – a refugee and an asylum-seeker. To get the refugee status a person must meet one of the following requirements: racial, religious, ethnic, social and political; discrimination.
According to her, all the other persons in need of protection get the status of asylum-seekers.
“The fault is that persons have the right to choose the status they intend to apply for. We are trying to establish a single procedure of getting the status,” Karakhanyan said. She added that the very concept of “refugee” needs to be clarified as well.
Karakhanyan pointed out discrepancies between illegal immigrants and the applicants for a refugee status or an asylum.
“The task group is trying to draft perfect legislation, which would consider all the faults,” Karakhanyan said.
She said that the new bill contains a wider definition of the term “refugee”, which includes persons in need of international protection. She pointed out that the reason for the amendments is that over 400 applications for the refugee status have been received in Armenia from Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, and other countries over the last few years.
The roundtable has been organized by the UNHCR office in Armenia, Armenian Public Relations Association (APRA) and the panorama.am.P.T. –0--
Referring to a survey conducted in cooperation with the Danish Council for Refugees, she singled out 11 major fields where the Armenian legislation has faults involving refugees, though it chiefly conforms to the international conventions.
The faults mostly involve the protection of refugees’ rights and the possibility of their appealing the claims concerning their current status, Karakahnyan said.
She reported that the Armenian legislation grants the status of two types – a refugee and an asylum-seeker. To get the refugee status a person must meet one of the following requirements: racial, religious, ethnic, social and political; discrimination.
According to her, all the other persons in need of protection get the status of asylum-seekers.
“The fault is that persons have the right to choose the status they intend to apply for. We are trying to establish a single procedure of getting the status,” Karakhanyan said. She added that the very concept of “refugee” needs to be clarified as well.
Karakhanyan pointed out discrepancies between illegal immigrants and the applicants for a refugee status or an asylum.
“The task group is trying to draft perfect legislation, which would consider all the faults,” Karakhanyan said.
She said that the new bill contains a wider definition of the term “refugee”, which includes persons in need of international protection. She pointed out that the reason for the amendments is that over 400 applications for the refugee status have been received in Armenia from Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, and other countries over the last few years.
The roundtable has been organized by the UNHCR office in Armenia, Armenian Public Relations Association (APRA) and the panorama.am.P.T. –0--
