Last week, Damtew Dessalegne, the representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Armenia, sent the following letter to Hetq with the request that it be published. We do so in its entirety.

Dear Mr. Baghdasaryan,

I read with interest the article ‘Refugees Continue to Wait for Housing in Kasakh’ posted on your website on 4 April 2011. I regret to note with much disappointment that, indeed, the refugee families who were selected for the Kasakh social house, have not moved yet into their new accommodation. At the same time, I wish to shed light on the situation and clarify some of the inaccuracies in the above-mentioned article.

In 2009, five United Nations agencies – UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNIDO and UNFPA – launched a joint two-year project entitled ‘’ Sustainable livelihood for socially vulnerable refugees, internally displaced persons and local families in Armenia” with funding support from the Government of Japan through the UN Trust Fund for Human Security. The project had two principal objectives: (1) to provide most needy refugees in Kasakh access to suitable housing; and (2) to support socially vulnerable Armenian families in Kasakh, Pambak and Geghamasar communities to improve their living standards through income-generation activities. Project implementation is on target, save for some problems as regards the housing component under UNHCR’s responsibility.

The Kasakh housing project for refugees from Azerbaijan involved remodelling of a former factory building into 45 social housing units. In the implementation of the project, which was carried out by YMCA/Shelter NGO, UNHCR benefited from the close co-operation of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the Kasakh village authorities. Upon completion of the remodeling work and certification of the safety standards by the relevant technical bodies, UNHCR handed over the building to the concerned authorities. The only pending works related to the social house at the time of the handover was the flooring which was not done due to shortage of funds.

I fully understand and appreciate the frustration and anxiety of the refugees resulting from the delay in moving into their new apartments. First, this delay had to do with the required paper work for right of use agreements between the authorities and the beneficiaries. Second, in the meantime, we noticed some cracks on the walls of the building. The safety of the beneficiaries is the prime consideration for UNHCR. We were therefore obliged to ask them to wait until a thorough assessment of the technical state of the building was carried out. I personally talked to the beneficiaries and explained the situation during one of my regular visits to the site.

The technical experts have now concluded their assessment. Their overall conclusion is that there are no structural defects as such and that the problems are manageable and could be resolved. UNHCR, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the Kasakh village authorities are at present discussing the way forward to ensure that the refugee families can move into their new dwellings safely as soon as possible.

I would appreciate if this letter is posted on your website as a response to the article of 4 April 2011

Sincerely,

Damtew Dessalegne

Representative