France , Strasbourg, June 21 /Trend, A.Maharramli/
We must seriously fight against the causes that turn people into refugees, a member of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, MP Ganira Pashayeva said in her speech on the report "Asylum seekers and refugees: the division of responsibility" by rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population Christopher Chope.
"As a result of events in Libya and Syria, every day, thousands of people become refugees, seeking asylum in neighboring countries and Europe. Their number is growing and is approaching one million. Of course, increasing number of refugees creates problems not only for countries neighboring with Libya, but also for Malta, Italy, the southern regions of the Mediterranean. Today the same situation exists in Syria. Thousands of Syrian refugees fled to Turkey in search of refuge, and the increase in their number began to create problems for Turkey. I thank the Turkish state for their support and assistance to the Syrian refugees. We well understand the countries confronted with the problem of many refugees and asylum seekers. They are best understood by Azerbaijan, where the most number of refugees and internally displaced persons lives - 1 million people, or one every ninth people of Azerbaijan. After the forced exile of all Azerbaijanis from Armenia as a result of ethnic cleansing carried out by official Yerevan, and then expelling Azerbaijanis from Armenian-occupied 20 percent lands of Azerbaijan, we faced with a difficult problem to provide refuge and meet all the needs of nearly one million refugees and internally displaced persons. We must seriously combat the causes that turn people into refugees, wherever they occur. We hope that you will not remain indifferent to their concerns and require the Armenian president, who will make a speech in the Assembly tomorrow, to enable the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees to their homes and to implement the PACE Resolution 1416," she added.