European Commission decided on Tuesday to allocate a further 5.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to support Armenians displaced from the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Many of those who fled to Armenia during last year’s mass exodus took little or no belongings with them, so they depend on emergency aid.
1.5 million euros of the funds are earmarked for disaster preparedness to make vulnerable communities more resilient to potential crises. The remaining €4 million of humanitarian funding is mainly aimed at providing displaced Karabakh Armenians with regular cash transfers and vouchers to help them meet their basic needs.
Through its humanitarian partners, the EU seeks to support people in need to access food, shelter, health care, mental health services and protection.
Underlining EU’s humanitarian support to Karabakh Armenians, Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said:
“This is the first winter for thousands of Karabakh Armenians who fled to Armenia last Autumn. In these challenging times, it is our humanitarian duty to provide protection and assistance to the people most in need. With this new €5.5 million funding, we will aim to further strengthen the existing EU humanitarian response to the displaced people in Armenia, by providing them with access to basic services.”
This funding will complement the €12.2 million already announced by the European Commission in response to the mass exodus of Armenians from Karabakh in September 2023.
On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, killing hundreds of Armenians and displacing thousands. On 20 September, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the disbanding of the Defence Forces.
