News - Those forcibly displaced from Karabakh to be given refugee status, they must become Armenia citizens get pension

In its Cabinet session Thursday, the government of Armenia approved the description of the identity document of the person forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh under temporary protection, as well as the refugee who received temporary protection and the procedure for its issuance. Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan, presenting the respective draft decision, noted the persons who will be taken under temporary protection by the Armenian government's decision. Accordingly, they are persons who are registered in the population register of Nagorno-Karabakh, persons residing in the territory of Armenia or outside Armenia, whose last registered address was in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the 3rd group are persons who were not registered in the population register of Nagorno-Karabakh, but lived in Nagorno-Karabakh and were registered by the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia after September 19. "In fact, the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh today do not have the opportunity to return to their country of permanent residence. As a result of the adoption of the draft, the legal status of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh will be clarified, and thus also the scope of their rights and responsibilities," the minister added, in particular. Grigor Minasyan emphasized that persons taken under temporary protection become refugees by force of law and enjoy the rights provided for refugees by law and international conventions, including the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. "The adoption of the draft will provide an opportunity to start more effective protection of their rights and legal interests," he announced. He added that after the entry into force of this decision, all forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh will automatically become refugees and within three months they can get a refugee document from the relevant agencies o Armenia, which they need in case of travel. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, for his part, stated that people having that refugee status have the right to apply for and receive Armenian citizenship with all the additional rights and responsibilities arising from it, including receiving a pension, but also, for example, upon becoming a citizen and receiving a pension, the social support being provided to the refugee will not be appropriate.