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MORE ARMENIANS SEEK ASYLUM ABROAD
Heghine Buniatian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24531169.html
29.03.2012
The number of Armenian citizens seeking asylum in developed countries
has been on the rise in the past two years, according to a UN refugee
agency.
In a recently published report the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees says more than 11,000 citizens of Armenia,
a three-million-strong nation in the South Caucasus, have asked the
governments of wealthy nations in the West to grant them asylum during
the period in question.
Thus, according to the report, the number of applications for asylum
from Armenians in France doubled in 2011 to more than 3,600 as compared
to the previous year's figure, making citizens of Armenia the third
largest group of asylum seekers in France after citizens of Russia
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which, by contrast, have
populations of around 140 million and 70 million, respectively.
Apart from France, such countries as Australia, Germany, Canada
and Poland have also reported an increase in the number of asylum
applicants from Armenia.
Armenia is the 16th among the world's 40 nations whose citizens most
frequently seek asylum in Europe. Remarkably, it has the smallest
population among the top 20 countries on this list. In 2011, more
than 6,000 Armenians applied for asylum in European countries, an
increase by a thousand as compared to the year before.
In contrast, the number of asylum seekers in Armenia has been
steadily on the decline in the past five years. Whereas the number
of foreigners applying for asylum in Armenia in 2007 was 300, then
in 2011 it dropped to 70.
In general, analyzing the global trends, the authors of the report
conclude that the number of people seeking asylum from the governments
of industrialized nations has increased by 20 percent in the wake
of the revolutions that started in the Arab world in 2011, with the
number of Arab refugees in Europe reaching a record high.
Heghine Buniatian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24531169.html
29.03.2012
The number of Armenian citizens seeking asylum in developed countries
has been on the rise in the past two years, according to a UN refugee
agency.
In a recently published report the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees says more than 11,000 citizens of Armenia,
a three-million-strong nation in the South Caucasus, have asked the
governments of wealthy nations in the West to grant them asylum during
the period in question.
Thus, according to the report, the number of applications for asylum
from Armenians in France doubled in 2011 to more than 3,600 as compared
to the previous year's figure, making citizens of Armenia the third
largest group of asylum seekers in France after citizens of Russia
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which, by contrast, have
populations of around 140 million and 70 million, respectively.
Apart from France, such countries as Australia, Germany, Canada
and Poland have also reported an increase in the number of asylum
applicants from Armenia.
Armenia is the 16th among the world's 40 nations whose citizens most
frequently seek asylum in Europe. Remarkably, it has the smallest
population among the top 20 countries on this list. In 2011, more
than 6,000 Armenians applied for asylum in European countries, an
increase by a thousand as compared to the year before.
In contrast, the number of asylum seekers in Armenia has been
steadily on the decline in the past five years. Whereas the number
of foreigners applying for asylum in Armenia in 2007 was 300, then
in 2011 it dropped to 70.
In general, analyzing the global trends, the authors of the report
conclude that the number of people seeking asylum from the governments
of industrialized nations has increased by 20 percent in the wake
of the revolutions that started in the Arab world in 2011, with the
number of Arab refugees in Europe reaching a record high.