News - Council of Europe to earmark €2.8M for resolving issues of refugees in Armenia

The Council of Europe on Thursday will present a comprehensive response package to the refugee influx in Armenia worth a total of €2.8 million, the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan informed in a statement it released. The package is the result of a visit by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) from 11 to 13 October 2023, during which specific areas for support that are in line with the Council of Europe's Action Plan for Armenia (2023-2026) and the Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons within the context of migration and asylum (2021-25) were jointly identified with the national authorities. Through this response package, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia (2023-2026), the Council of Europe seeks to enhance the protection of the human rights of refugees in Armenia who have been forced to flee in 2023, in particular vulnerable groups, such as refugee children and women; to assist the local authorities affected by the large influx of people; to support human rights institutions; and to improve access to healthcare, including mental health. The package consists of four new initiatives and includes additional components to two ongoing projects. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Anna Zhamakochyan, and Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees David Best are expected to open the event. The Director of Program Coordination of the Council of Europe, Claus Neukirch, will present the response package.