The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNICEF
Humanitarian Emergency Karabakh Region: UNHCR - UNICEF - IFRC - ICRC
With tens of thousands moving into Armenia, the needs are growing exponentially: UNHCR
Almost 89,000 residents of the Karabakh region - roughly half of the region’s population - have moved to Armenia since last week’s flare-up in fighting there and the total number of arrivals could rise to 120,000 in coming days, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
“The numbers are increasing as we speak and the needs are also really increasing,” said Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia. The Government is managing registration and reception of the new arrivals “and of course there are huge crowds at the registration centres”, she added. “There is congestion, simply because the sheer numbers are very high.”
Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire and subsequent Trilateral Statement was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.
The exodus of people into Armenia prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to call for fully-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.
As thousands of people continue to cross the border into Armenia, the UN and partner organizations are scaling up their response to support those in need.
“In terms of what are the most urgent needs: psychosocial support because people are arriving very tired, people are also in need of some medicines, especially those who are chronically ill, shelter needs,” said the UNHCR representative.
“The sheer number of people arriving has really constrained the current government ability to provide temporary shelter to everybody and schools have also been turned into shelters.”
Echoing that message, the UN Children’s Fund said that approximately 30 per cent of the new arrivals are children.
“The major concern for us is that many of them have been separated by their family, so we are working in providing first of all psychosocial support and working with the ministries and local authorities as well to make sure that family-tracing is done immediately and families can unite,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Special Coordinator for Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe. Initial support has included a UNICEF child-friendly space, Ms. De Dominicis noted.
Since Sunday, Armenian villages near the border with the Karabakh region have turned into makeshift refuge camps. Some of those seeking shelter had only minutes to pack to leave by cars, buses and construction trucks, they said. While many refugees expressed relief at reaching Armenia from Azerbaijan, they remain traumatized and confused about the future, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“It was so evident on everyone – children, men, women, elderly – the expressions on the faces of those who walk into registration points speak volumes,” said IFRC’s Hicham Diab, speaking from Armenia’s capital Yerevan. “Each face tells a story of hardship, but also of hope, knowing they are in a place where they can receive aid.”
The desperate situation was compounded by an explosion on Monday at a fuel depot in the Karabach region that killed at least 68 people, according to local authorities. An additional 105 people are still missing following the blast, which reportedly occurred as many people were lining up to get fuel to help them leave.
“The priority of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in recent days has been on life-saving activities, including the transfer of the wounded to hospitals into Armenia for treatment and bringing in medical supplies,” said Carlos Morazzani, ICRC Operations Manager. “Over the past week we have transferred around 130 people for medical care and after the explosion – that all of you saw – we increased our engagement with all regional authorities.”
Mr. Morazzani added that “yesterday we transferred nearly 200 bodies – people who died either of the accident this week or the recent fighting. We do this in our capacity as a neutral intermediary working on humanitarian grounds.”
-ends-
STORY: Humanitarian Emergency Karabakh Region – UNHCR, UNICEF, IFRC, ICRC
TRT: 03:35”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 29 SEPT 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag.
- Wide shot of panel and attendees at press briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia: “The numbers are increasing as we speak and the needs are also really increasing. The registration and the reception process is quite well managed by the government and of course there are huge crowds at the registration centers, there is congestion, simply because the sheer numbers are very high.”
- Wide shot of attendees at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia: “As of 10:00 a.m. this morning, the figure of people arriving is 88,780. These are government statistics, that we get from them – but the number of registration done, as of 10:00 a.m. this morning, is 63,483. There is a long line of waiting for registration as well.”
- Attendee taking photo at briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Kavita Belani, UNHCR representative in Armenia: “In terms of what are the most urgent needs: psychosocial support because people are arriving very tired, people are also in need of some medicines, especially those who are chronically ill, shelter needs. The sheer number of people arriving has really constrained the current government ability to provide temporary shelter to everybody and schools have also been turned into shelters.”
- Wide shot of panel at press briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Special Coordinator for Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe: “Approximately 30 per cent of those are children and the major concern for us is that many of them have been separated by their family, so we are working in providing first of all psychosocial support and working with the ministries and local authorities as well to make sure that family-tracing is done immediately and families can unite. We have set up already a child-friendly space.”
- Wide shot of panel and attendees at press briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Hicham Diab, IFRC operations manager in Armenia: “It was so evident on everyone – children, men, women, elderly – the expressions on the faces of those who walk into registration points speak volumes: Each face tells a story of hardship, but also of hope, knowing they are in a place where they can receive aid.”
- Wide shot of panel at press briefing.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Carlos Morazzani, ICRC Operations Manager: “The priority of the International Committee of the Red Cross in recent days has been on life-saving activities, including the transfer of the wounded to hospitals into Armenia for treatment and bringing in medical supplies. Over the past week we have transferred around 130 people for medical care and after the explosion – that all of you saw – we increased our engagement with all regional authorities.”
- Mid-shot of attendees.
- SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Carlos Morazzani, ICRC Operations Manager: “Just yesterday we transferred nearly 200 bodies – people who died either of the accident this week or the recent fighting. We do this in our capacity as a neutral intermediary working on humanitarian grounds. We have been negotiating constantly to ensure this kind of work happens, because ensuring that families can bury their loved ones or relatives, knowing what happened to them, so they are not left wondering.”
- Wide shot of panel at press briefing.
- Mid-shot of attendees.
- Wide shot of panel at press briefing.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.