Round table of Public Association for “Protection of Rights of Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan” and “Public Council on Human Rights” held on 28 October, 2009 on theme “The present situation and problems of migrants in Azerbaijan”
A round table held by “Public Council on Human Rights” and Public Association for “Protection of Rights of Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan” on 28 October, 2009 was dedicated to the theme of “The present situation and problems of migrants in Azerbaijan”. Professor Nadir Abdullayev, chairman of the Public Association for “Protection of Rights of Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Azerbaijan”opening the event with introductory speech said the number of people living across their homeland for last 35 years reached 200 million increasing twice according to last investigations of UNO. Every one of 35 people in the world is migrant now.
Afterwards Dayanat Musayev, the expert of the Public Association made a report. Dayanat said in his report that migrants are divided into 3 groups: people occupied with labour activity (toiler migrants), people coming to get a refugee status, people wanting to use Azerbaijan territory as a transit country.
Economic factor is one of the main reasons for migration in world practice. As citizens of non-developed countries are not provided with releavant working places in their countries because of economic development level, they try to reside in developed countries either legally or illegally to get better living style. Economic changes happened in the country last years, reforms carried out in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms, icrease of hope for settlement of Karabagh problem peacefully, strengthening of procedure of integration to Europe, so on caused speedy increase of number of visitors to Azerbaijan from different countries.
Musayev noted that number of migrants (especially, toiler migrants) increase in the world as a result of global finance crisis. Due to UN’s last estimations, global finance crisis caused lost of 50 million working places. Nearly 100 million people live in poor condition in 2009.
Expert uttered the reason for increase of the number of migrants in Azerbaijan is the closing of “Cherkizov” market on 29 June, 2009. Russian press stated there are 20 000 migrants illegally living and working only in this market. As another reason he showed a quote was put to foreigners’ occupation with retail trade, non-allowing them to sell alcohol drinks in Moscow and decrease of quote number allocated to toiler migrants from 750 000 to 250 000 in Moscow, and areas around Moscow.
Afterwards the word was given to Vahid Gahramanov, deputy head of migration policy section of State Migration Service of the Azerbaijan Republic. V. Gahramanov said he drew the attention of State Migration Service to that nearly 7000 foreigners and people without citizenship appealed; these appleas are investigated and corresponding decisions are made in 2009. He noted the body has a hotline service (561-87-54) and electronic address (www.migration.gov.az) for complaints and proposals.
Fuad Jabbarov, sector chief of migration department of Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of People; Arzuxan Alizade, executive director of Public Council on Human Rights; Saltanat Mammadova, project officer of International Migration Organization; Xamzat Ilyasov, representative of Chechen commune in Azerbaijan; Mugalib Mahmudov, official of Ombudsman Office; Alovsat Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijani Migration Centre; Ibrahim Burhanov, chairman of “Veten” society of Axisxa Turkish; Musa Musayev, official of Human Rights Institute of Academy of National Sciences of the Azerbaijan Republic and others spoke around the theme.
Significance and importance of migration procedures from the viewpoint of elimination of existent shortages and regulation meeting obligations forwarded by international agreements were once again noted by making discussions and exchange of views around discretions and proposals in line of improving this field of service at the round table arranged on theme “The present situation and problems of migrants in Azerbaijan”.
