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Belgian office of The European Azerbaijan Society organizes seminar in European Parliament

21 June 2013 16:24 (UTC +04:00)

TEAS told APA that the seminar was hosted by Alexandra Thein MEP (ALDE, Germany). Participants in the seminar included MEPs and EU officials.

Alexandra Thein, MEP, focused on the challenge presented by the more one million IDPs and refugees in Azerbaijan and she underlined: “This seminar shed an invaluable spotlight on the issue, and encouraged us all to focus on how to help solve the problem of IDPs and refugees, especially in Azerbaijan. It is very sad to see that around 875,000 people are still waiting to return to their homes. The European Union is doing little or nothing to heighten awareness of the impact from this humanitarian calamity.”

Roman Huna, Head, TEAS Belgium, said: “The world’s refugees require political attention. It is simply unacceptable that over 43m people worldwide are still in need of help and protection. Azerbaijan has one of the highest populations of IDPs per capita in the whole world.”

H.E. Fuad Isgandarov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Belgium and Head, Azerbaijani Delegation to the European Union, commented: “As a result of Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the problem of IDPs absorbs a huge budget. Excess expenditure, due to the illegal occupation of around 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory. These funds could be more usefully spent to social projects. The ongoing plight of the IDPs and refugees also impacts the development of the new generation in Azerbaijan, which is the victim of a sad conflict.”

Katarína NeveÄalová, MEP (Slovenia), continued: “As Europeans, we can and must help the people that are unable to return home. Having visited IDP and refugee accommodation in Azerbaijan myself, I saw that all IDPs and refugees are bound by common hope. We – with all the political tools at our disposal – must translate this hope into concrete reality. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must end, and Armenia should respect its international commitments.”