YEREVAN. – Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan has issued an evaluation of the Ministry of Territorial Administration activities for 2011.

The assessment is as follows:

Shortcomings and problems identified

Although the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MTA) in order to provide housing to refugees expelled from Azerbaijan in 2011 presented financial application from the state budget for the total of 4 billion AMD, this year the application was not confirmed as in previous years, and one of the most serious issues of refugees, i.e., the housing issue, has not been solved yet.

Conditions of refugees  living especially  in remote villages continues to be  difficult where the most part of persons deported from Azerbaijan still live in  to stay in especially difficult situation of the refugees living in remote villages, where most of the persons deported from Azerbaijan, still live in dilapidated buildings, rental apartments or relatives.

 Based on the corresponding information of the MTA State Migration Agency the term of the conventional travelling document has not been prolonged by the Visa and Passport Department of the RA Police for those refugees towards whom the process of discontinuation or invalidation of the status has been launched and the decision of the authorized body is the stage of appeal, despite of the fact that this guarantee is enshrined in the RA Law “On Refugees and Asylum”.

In the conventional traveling documents of refugees details of the person are written in English only by the Visa and Passport Department of the RA Police ignoring the RA law “On Language” and the corresponding decision of the RA Government.

The provided donations were not sufficient for comprehensive development of communities.

Heads of village communities often  declined persons’ request for  necessary information reasoning the decline by non-payment of  land or other taxes; transparency  and publicity of local self-government bodies activities are violated, requirements for reception of citizens.  

In spite of the administrative control that was carried out, various violations of the RA legislation were found out in communities; supervision performed by regional governors has not been satisfactorily assessed by interviewed specialists and representatives of non-governmental organizations. 

Positive Developments

On January 13, 2011 the RA Government positively assessed the concept on RA State Migration Regulation Policy, which defines 14 directions of State Migration Regulation Policy and mechanisms to achieve the identified goals.

On November 10, 2011 the RA Government approved the 2012-2013 Action Plan for the implementation of the   State Migration Regulation Policy.

The process of privatization of housing of the persons who were deported from Azerbaijan from 1988-1992 and got Armenian citizenship was ensured.