Delegation of the State Migration Service attends the 70th session of the UNHCR Executive Committee

Rza Talibov, Chief of the Citizenship Issues Head Department of the State Migration Service, III rank state migration service counselor is in Geneva to attend the 70th session of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Executive Committee.

On the first day of the session, a high-level segment on statelessness was organized. Speaking at the event, Rza Talibov touched upon the importance of a number of international documents on the reduction of statelessness that Azerbaijan has acceded to since 1992. He said that as a result of a planned policy of ethnic cleansing by Armenia in 1988-1992, 250,000 Azerbaijanis, who had historically been living in that area, were forcibly deported from their homeland. All those people took refuge in Azerbaijan. In the 1990s, up to 50,000 Meskhetian Turks also found refuge in our country.

Underlining that targeted policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev in the country serves to the welfare of the population. Rza Talibov informed about the care for foreigners and stateless persons in the country, measures implemented for their integration into the society, as well as simplification of legislative requirements in the field of migration and application of humane legal approach in the field of citizenship.        

He emphasized that as a result of successful policy of the Head of the state a child born in our country whose both parents are stateless, as well as child who is in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and whose both parents are unknown is considered a full-fledged citizen.

The chief of the Head Department also spoke about the steps taken to naturalize stateless persons in our country. He said that there was an increase in the number of people applying for citizenship, which is related to the socio-economic development in the country. A total of 1,619 stateless persons were granted citizenship by the relevant decree of President Ilham Aliyev during 2008-2019. And citizenship of 51 citizens has been restored. At present, there are 545 stateless persons in the country. Naturalization of those individuals will be ensured in the next three years.