Armenia

Youngsters who fled conflict and persecution find new friends and new confidence at summer camp in Armenia.

By Anahit Hayrapetyan in Lake Sevan, Armenia

The still waters and stunning landscape of Lake Sevan in Armenia make it a popular beach destination for tourists. But this year it also became the setting for a summer camp that helped 40 displaced young people from Syria, Iraq and Nagorno-Karabakh find confidence, opportunities and friends in their new home.

Key messages

• International prices of wheat dipped in August, after increasing in the past few months, following an upturn in production prospects in the Black Sea region which improved the 2017 global supply outlook.
  Maize quotations also fell on improved weather conditions and abundant global supplies. International prices of rice were relatively stable, although price movements were mixed across the different rice market segments.

Overview

Water is indispensable to human life. Though plentiful, it is limited and global demand for freshwater has been growing rapidly due to population growth and greater affluence. At the same time, climate change and environmental degradation are altering the regional and seasonal availability and quality of water. The resulting competition over water use may lead to conflict and sometimes violence, though researchers emphasize that it is rarely the lack of water as such that fuels conflict, but rather its governance and management.

by Stephen M. Bland

At 7 AM on a recent Monday morning, the staff of the HALO Trust gathered at their compound in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. This summer, tension has been running high amid frequent exchanges of gunfire along the line of contact separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.

Published on the 31st August, The 2017 Cluster Munition Monitor report, reveals a sharp rise in the number of new casualties of cluster munitions, which more than doubled between 2015 and 2016. Handicap International is calling on States to enforce international law and to put pressure on belligerent parties to end the use of this barbaric weapon.

Highlights

• On 7th July, the National Assembly approved the 2017-2022 Programme of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, which establishes the strategic framework for the next five years across all sectors.

• The Minister of Finance approved the 2017-2019 midterm Expenditures Framework, which includes School Feeding with two additional provinces to be taken on by the Government.

Key messages

Yerevan – On 2 August, the first inter-agency simulation exercise on humanitarian relief and disaster preparedness between Armenia and Georgia took place with the support of IOM, the UN Migration Agency.

At the request of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations, IOM organized a simulation for 30 participants from concerned agencies at the Gogavan crossing on the Armenian-Georgian border. The exercise aimed to build the capacity of Armenian officials in humanitarian crisis response, including conflict-induced displacement.

This bulletin examines trends in staple food and fuel prices, the cost of the basic food basket and consumer price indices for 69 countries in the second quarter of 2017 (April to June). The maps on pages 6–7 provide impact analysis dis-aggregated to sub-national level.

Global Highlights

Highlights

• The Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for Armenia to capitalize on opportunities for inclusive growth during his visit to Yerevan in recognition of the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s membership in the IMF.

• In early June, the Armenian parliament unanimously approved Government plans to establish a new anti-corruption task force.

Purpose: To analyse the general context for housing solutions and compensation in other contexts in order to make relevant recommendations for Ukraine on the ways ahead of policy formation, formation of compensation, restitution and compensation claims, development of housing programs. Through looking at the case studies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Colombia, Cyprus, Georgia, Molodva and Serbia, the Housing, Land, and Property Technical Working Group found the following general trends that Ukraine should take into consideration:

CONCLUSIONS

Moscow, July 12, IRNA – Iran Red Crescent chief and Armenian Ministers of Emergency Situations, Health and Territorial Administration and Development agreed on expanding cooperation in related fields.

The high-ranking Iranian delegation, headed by Iran Red Crescent Chief Amir Mohsen Ziaee, in talks with Armenian ministers and authorities on Tuesday explored relations expansion in rescue and relief and other related fields.

Key messages

↗ International wheat prices generally increased in June on quality concerns amid unfavourable growing conditions for the 2017 crops in some key producing countries. Export prices of maize remained generally unchanged, while rice quotations continued to increase mainly on account of strong demand.

In September 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda was adopted, and for the first time, migration was included in mainstream global development policy. With the objective of communicating how IOM identifies migration in the 2030 Agenda to stakeholders and the wider public, and to shed light on the complex challenges and opportunities that accompany the migration-related targets, this IOM publication aims to showcase how different areas of migration are addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Strasbourg, 07.07.2017 - The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia and Azerbaijan by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have expressed their concern at the escalation of violence near Alkhani village in the Fuzili region, and regretted that this has led to casualties among which are civilians, including reportedly a two-year-old child.

New Report Reveals Governments are Failing to Prioritize Tuberculosis, the World's Deadliest Infectious Disease

MOSCOW / WASHINGTON D.C. / PARIS, 5 July 2017 - The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Ambassador Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Stephane Visconti of France, and Ambassador Richard Hoagland of the United States – have received information of renewed violence late in the evening on July 4 at Alkhanli village of Fizuli region that resulted in casualties, including civilians.

By Rashid Shirinov

Construction of 100 more houses starts in Jojug Marjanli village, Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Refugees and IDPs reported on July 4.

In this regard, representatives of the Social Fund for Development of IDPs and construction companies visited the liberated Jojug Marjanli and inspected the area where the new settlement will be built.

WHO/Europe, in collaboration with partners, has developed a blueprint for a people-centred model of tuberculosis (TB) care that shifts care closer to people and communities. This entails moving towards ambulatory treatment and care, strengthening services involving primary care, and better integrating care across various providers, levels and settings within health systems.