Azerbaijan faced war and conflict from a neighboring country, and 20 percent of its territories were occupied. This led to one of Europe’s largest humanitarian crises since World War II.
elchi reports that this was stated by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, at the event titled “Housing at the Center of Global Coalitions” held within the framework of WUF13.
“In a short period, Azerbaijan, a relatively small country, was faced with 1 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). All of them were deprived of their homes and normal living conditions. At that time, Azerbaijan also faced serious economic problems and difficulties, which created great challenges for both the people and the government. We were forced to create shelters, tent houses, and even tent cities for refugees, although the necessary conditions were not available. Wagons were even used to house more than 1 million refugees. The government’s main goal was to provide shelter, accessible food, and living conditions for the refugee and IDP community. Since then, certain state benefits have also been provided for IDPs in Azerbaijan. However, the main goal of the Azerbaijani government was to ensure their safe and dignified return to their homes. Despite the difficult conditions of that period, the Azerbaijani government built 300,000 houses and apartments for refugees and IDPs so that people could live in normal conditions. Because I think there is such an expression in every language: ‘My home is my castle.’ Whether big or small, a person’s own home is their castle. With this philosophy, we provided living conditions for the IDP community. However, their main desire was still to return. Meanwhile, the problems related to the placement of IDPs became even more difficult. Because 300,000 ethnic Azerbaijani refugees expelled from Armenia had also arrived in Azerbaijan,” Hikmet Hajiyev emphasized.
The President’s Assistant noted that the conflict is now behind us and Azerbaijan is facing new realities: “As of 2024, war and conflict are over. The South Caucasus should no longer be a place of war and confrontation. Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty. An initiative for a peace treaty with Armenia has also been put forward, and the Washington summit held last year created favorable geopolitical conditions for lasting peace and security in the region. However, after the territories were liberated, we saw a completely different picture. It was an unimaginable scene. As our President noted yesterday, for example, the city of Aghdam, where 100,000 people once lived, was completely destroyed and is called the ‘Hiroshima of the Caucasus.’ Hiroshima was destroyed by nuclear weapons, while Aghdam was purposefully dismantled stone by stone and destroyed. In total, 9 cities and more than 300 settlements in Azerbaijan have been almost completely destroyed. Currently, Azerbaijan is implementing the process of the return of more than a million refugees and IDPs. This is a huge mission facing the state. We are rebuilding those territories from scratch. I would even say we started from ‘minus five’ because these territories were contaminated with mines. More than 1.5 million mines and unexploded ordnance have made those areas dangerous. We are carrying out a large-scale mine clearance campaign for safety. Because safety and security are the main conditions in the concept of housing.”