Highlights
• Fiercest clashes since 2016 in and around Nagorno –Karabakh are expected to lead to displacement, as confirmed by initial observations. No data is publicly available on the number of displaced persons as a result of the current conflict, with news reports claiming that up to half the population of Nagorno-Karabakh has been displaced.
• IOM stands ready to support with humanitarian assistance to displaced and other conflict-affected populations in the fields where it has experience and capacity to respond, in coordination with governmental, international and local actors.
• IOM Armenia maintains its capacity to address the myriad impacts of crises, including in preparedness, livelihoods and health.
Situation Overview
On the morning of 27 September, renewed hostilities erupted in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. This is the latest flare up in a conflict that has been ongoing for over thirty years. In the early 1990s, the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh led to the displacement of 492, 000 individuals, including 420,000 refugees (360,000 out of whom fled from Azerbaijan) as well as 72,000 internally displaced persons. Since 1994, a truce has been agreed between the parties – nevertheless, there have been outbursts of violence, including fierce clashes in 2016 and a previous flare up in July 2020.
The current situation is occurring within a broader context of vulnerability and displacement. Since the beginning of conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, about 25,000 persons have been displaced and sought protection in Armenia, making the country the third largest recipient per capita of Syrian refugees in Europe. This is a considerable number for a country of just 3 million and represents yet another challenge for Armenia.
Additionally, as a result of the massive explosion that occurred in August in the city of Beirut port in Lebanon, over 2,000 Armenians arrived in Armenia in an attempt to start a new life in the country. As per reports from local organizations, up to 10,000 Armenians (mainly women, children and elderly) began arriving in a number of local communities as a result of the current hostilities. According to the latest reports, those spontaneously arriving populations remain in need of shelter, basic food and hygiene items.
At the same time, the Armenian economy is expected to contract significantly as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a rise in the unemployment rate, reduced remittances and increase of poverty. Almost 250,000 persons in Armenia rely on mobility-generated income, including common livelihoods strategies such as remittances sent by family members working abroad and income from circular or seasonal migration.
Importantly, diaspora remittances comprise over 11 per cent of Armenia’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 World Bank figures. Furthermore, data from the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia confirms that 98 per cent of received remittances are spent on routine consumption expenses. However, this income has been severely diminished or interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, crisisaffected people living in Armenia are predominantly engaged in low-income jobs without proper labour contracts, living in rented housing without formal rental contracts, and do not have family/ community support and thus are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Armenia.
The UN therefore remains concerned at the consequences of the ongoing armed conflict on civilian lives, as it increases population displacement from the conflict area, as well as interrupts critical services and livelihoods. IOM therefore joins the call of the UN Secretary General for both sides to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, by ensuring the protection of the civilian population and by preventing damage to essential civilian infrastructure.