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Chief of State Migration Service met with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees within the framework of the visit to the Swiss Confederation
As reported, the delegation headed by Chief of the State Migration Service, Vusal Huseynov is on a visit to Geneva to participate in the 109th session of Council of the International Organization for Migration.
On November 28, speaking at the general debates within the framework of the session, V. Huseynov said that migration had an important place in the global development agenda and informed the member states of the International Organization for Migration about the steps taken by the Government of Azerbaijan for promotion and facilitation of legal migration. Pointing out the fact that the majority of the internally displaced persons in the world are persons displaced within their own country, the Service chief noted that as a result of Armenia's occupation, more than 700,000 our compatriots have become internally displaced persons. V.Huseynov said that the current status quo has increased the risk of migrant smuggling and human trafficking in the region, which, in its turn, is a threat to global migration.
Expressing his gratitude to the Chief of the Service for his speech, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Antonio Vitorino noted that Azerbaijan's migration management model was a good example and highlighted that he shared the concerns of Azerbaijan about IDPs.
On the same day, the delegation headed by Chief of the State Migration Service met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
During the meeting V.Huseynov noted the existence of long standing beneficial cooperation with the UNHCR, one of the key international partners of the Government of Azerbaijan in humanitarian sphere. Underlining the importance of the UNHCR's support for the establishment of an effective asylum system in Azerbaijan, the Service chief underlined that measures are underway to improve the national legislation in line with international standards in this field. The Service chief stated that he was hopeful that the Global Compact on Refugees, which will be adopted by the UN General Assembly this year, will be the starting point for new global approaches to refugee protection and solution of their problems. Pointing out that the Global Compact for Refugees is mainly related to refugees, V.Huseynov as the representative of the Government facing with the problem of IDPs, underlined the importance of addressing the problems of persons from the mentioned category.
F.Grandi expressed his satisfaction with the level of cooperation with Azerbaijan and noted that his organization will continue to support the Government of Azerbaijan in strengthening the protection of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. The High Commissioner highly appreciated the measures taken by the Government towards the solution of the problems of refugees and IDPs that Azerbaijan faced.
The sides exchanged views on steps that can be taken to expand existing cooperation.
During the visit the delegation was accompanied by the employees of the Permanent Mission of our country to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations.
