Zahid Oruj: “Azerbaijani citizens previously identified as IDPs are acquiring a new legal identity from today”

The refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) legislation adopted by the National Assembly over the 35 years since independence is now becoming part of history, as new laws of the Great Return are being written. This legislative act, which holds a special place in the history of parliament, will become a glorious chapter in the history of our nation and state in the future. The Great Return laws represent the key national idea signaling the end of the era of defeat, occupation, and displacement and the beginning of a victorious new century.

This was stated by Zahid Oruj, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee, during a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s Committees on Labor and Social Policy, Human Rights, and Legal Policy and State Building, News.Az reports, citing AZERTAC.

He noted that, under amendments to the Housing Code, residential properties included in the newly established Permanent Settlement Fund in the Liberated Territories will no longer be provided to citizens on the basis of lease agreements but will instead be granted with ownership rights.

Amendments to the Law “On the Status of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons” clearly define the legal grounds for the loss of IDP status when a person receives a new residence in the liberated territories in place of their former home or declines such an opportunity.

Meanwhile, amendments to the Law “On the Social Protection of Internally Displaced Persons and Persons Equivalent to Them” clarify that social protection measures will continue for a period of three years. This period will be calculated starting from the date on which the person loses IDP status. Transitional provisions are also important. Internally displaced persons who had already received housing in the newly developed territories before the law enters into force will also be able to benefit from the proposed legal privileges. The legislation brings together homeland memory, social protection, economic development, and national reconstruction within a single legal framework.

The committee chairman emphasized that Azerbaijani citizens who, for thirty years, had been presented on various international platforms as “refugees,” “internally displaced persons,” or “displaced people” are acquiring a new legal identity as of today. They are no longer people receiving assistance; they are representatives of a victorious nation who own their land, their homes, and their future.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada