Over one million people lost their homes as a result of the Nagorny Karabakh (NK) conflict. This is a legacy that any future peace agreement must address, and reasonable opportunities to realise the right of return, or receive alternative compensation, will be central to its overall legitimacy.

After 20 years of displacement, fulfillment of rights to justice will need to take different forms, depending on the context in which a displaced individual or their descendent finds him- or herself.

Special Report by Richard Gowan

Summary

More than six thousand personnel are deployed in political missions worldwide. The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe oversee the majority of these missions. Although many political missions deal with active conflicts or postconflict situations, some have contributed to conflict prevention in countries ranging from Estonia to Guinea.

YEREVAN -- Most of the residential buildings in the Armenian capital Yerevan may not withstand a powerful earthquake and are in urgent need of strengthening, an official from the National Seismic Defense Service has warned, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Gurgen Namalian, head of an urban construction division at the government agency, said "those buildings...need to be strengthened from the seismic viewpoint so that they...withstand anticipated strong earthquakes."

1. Who are we?

The IFRC Europe Zone is one of the five decentralised geographic areas, with several regional and country offices, covering the European continent in the broadest political meaning, i.e. 52 countries including the successor states of the former Soviet Union in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Key Messages

The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2012/01000

1 . CONTEXT

For the purposes of this Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP), the Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC) region covers the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (Central Asia), and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (South Caucasus). This represents an area of 4.1 million square kilometres and with a population of 77 million.

Pim Valdre, rapporteur

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SC/10426

Security Council
6642nd Meeting (AM & PM)

Calling for Change, Secretary-General Says Women’s Participation Remains Low in Official, Observer Roles; Pledges United Nations ‘Will Lead by Example’

The Security Council today stressed the importance of promoting and protecting the human rights of women and girls, as well as increasing women’s participation in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding, as it reviewed progress on implementation of its landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on Women and Peace and Security.

YEREVAN -- Armenia says it will send a planeload of humanitarian aid to the survivors of a powerful earthquake in southeastern Turkey that killed more than 500 people and left thousands of others homeless, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

The Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry announced that a transport plane will deliver 40 tons of tents, sleeping bags, blankets, and other aid to the western Turkish city of Izmir on October 28.