On May 7, Rovshan Rzayev, Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs met with the delegation led by Director of the Council of Europe`s Political Affairs Directorate Alexander Gessel who is currently in Azerbaijan.

Chairman of the State Committee informed the guest about deprivations, material and moral losses faced by over 1 million 200 thousand of our compatriots who became refugees and IDPs as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the attitude of international organizations to the solution of this problem, the work done by our state within its capabilities and the forthcoming tasks. It was underlined that the four resolutions of the UN Security Council, as well as the Resolution No.1416, dated on January 25, 2005 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in which concern expressed about the occupation of a significant part of the Azerbaijani lands and reaffirm the right of displaced persons to return to their homes safely and with dignity from the territory of conflict are still not implemented.        

Chairman of the State Committee said that international organizations shall take decisive steps to resolve the conflict, and violated human rights shall be restored.

It was noted that a consistent and purposeful state policy is being implemented in our country regarding the IDPs who suffered by the conflict, faced severe deprivations. Chairman of the State Committee said that Azerbaijan is one of the few countries that improve the social wellbeing and housing and living conditions of IDPs prior to political solution of the conflict. President Ilham Aliyev takes purposeful measures to improve the housing and living conditions of our compatriots from this category, as well as to ensure their employment. The First Vice President Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva implements purposeful work to solve the problems of IDPs.

Director of the Council of Europe`s Political Affairs Directorate Alexander Gessel thanked for the reception, highly appreciated the state care for IDPs in Azerbaijan and pointed out that it is an important practice for the whole world.

Views were exchanged on issues of mutual interest.