AZE.US
Azerbaijan is preparing changes to the legal status of internally displaced persons as the state shifts from temporary support programs toward permanent resettlement in territories liberated from occupation.
The proposed amendments to the law on the status of refugees and internally displaced persons were discussed at a joint meeting of the Milli Majlis committees on labor and social policy and human rights.
Under current legislation, a citizen loses IDP status after returning to their former place of residence or receiving alternative housing in the same region. Status may also be terminated when the state provides housing under a special decision.
The new proposal adds another condition: a citizen may also lose IDP status if they refuse the housing offered to them.
Lawmaker Vugar Bayramov said social support mechanisms for former IDPs would be gradually moved into a new legal framework. After returning to their native lands, former displaced persons would remain eligible for social protection programs for three years.
That means the state would both provide housing and preserve social support during the transition period.
Students from displaced families would continue to have their tuition covered by the state budget until the end of their education.
The draft also proposes the creation of a permanent resettlement fund in liberated territories. Housing included in the fund would be used to relocate former IDPs and transfer those homes into their ownership.
Bayramov said more than 35,000 former IDPs have already returned to liberated territories and are being provided with housing by the state.
The proposed changes are intended to clarify the legal status of citizens who return and regulate how housing is provided to them after resettlement.
The issue has been one of Azerbaijan’s largest social policy challenges for decades. From 2004 to 2019, the president signed 75 decrees and orders related to resolving the social problems of displaced persons. The Cabinet of Ministers adopted 224 decisions and orders, while the Milli Majlis passed 11 laws.
In 2007, Azerbaijan closed 12 tent camps and settlements made up of railway freight cars. The last of 16 Finnish-type settlements was closed in 2016.
Overall, housing and living conditions have been improved for more than 62,000 displaced families, covering over 300,000 people.
AZE.US