UN calls for nearly $100 million to help refugees in Armenia

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Saturday requested nearly $100 million to help Armenia's Nagorno-Karabakh refugees and those hosting them.

The Emergency Response Plan in Armenia for Refugees (RRP) runs until the end of March and brings together 60 partners, including 43 national NGOs, underlines in a press release the UNHCR, which launched an appeal for funds for an amount of 97 million dollars.

The aim is to provide assistance to some 231,000 people, namely 136,000 refugees and 95,000 members of local host communities. “The plan also takes into account the coming months of harsh winter, during which essential support will be necessary,” underlines the UNHCR, this massive arrival of refugees equivalent to 3.4% of the total population of Armenia.

These come in addition to 35,000 other refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people who were already in Armenia. “We call on the international community to urgently support refugees and their hosts,” insisted Filippo Grandi, who heads the UNHCR and knows from experience that since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the global economic difficulties, it is difficult to raise sufficient funds, even to deal with the most serious humanitarian crises.

If the local communities and the Armenian authorities have been generous, “international support is however crucial to maintain this welcome and allow us to respond to the immediate needs and take advantage of the resilience of this population,” added the High Commissioner. .

The Refugee Response Plan “will support and complement the government’s response, with a focus on protection and emergency assistance,” it is specified in the press release.

It notably focuses on protection against gender-based violence, child protection and education, as well as food security and nutrition, health, resilience, shelter and non-food items.

This plan also places a longer-term emphasis on inclusion and education as well as the strengthening of national public services, underlines the UNHCR.

After a lightning offensive by Azerbaijani forces in September, almost the entire Armenian population fled the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.