Chief of the Staff of the Ombudsman Office spoke at the International Seminar

Aydin Safikhanli, the Chief of the staff of the Ombudsman Office, made a speech at the 8th international seminar organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) on "Protection of the rights of refugees in the Islamic perspective: their right to access to education" in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

A. Safikhanli pointed out that Muslim countries face the problem of refugees and internally displaced people more often, and emphasized the importance of increased attention to the protection of the rights of this population group.

During the speech, it was mentioned that one of the countries which is seriously suffering from this problem is Azerbaijan. As a result of Armenia's policy of occupation and ethnic cleansing, more than one million of our compatriots have been living as refugees and IDPs for many years, and their educational rights have been grossly violated, along with other rights.

It was noted that during the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan liberated its lands occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years, and consequently, ensured the implementation of the relevant UN Resolutions. A. Safikhanli said that although there is an opportunity for former IDPs to return to their native lands, the destruction of social infrastructure in the liberated territories and the existence of hundreds of thousands of landmines hamper and slow down the returning process.

It was brought to the attention of the participants that the state implemented complex measures for the return of IDPs to their native lands, including the construction of apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, international airports, and the construction of roads. The Chief of the Staff of the Ombudsman Office stated that Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan joined this activity and support the realization of the educational rights of IDPs by constructing schools, and invited other Muslim countries to join in this process.

Furthermore, at the meeting, during one of the presentations on "The problem of refugees in Islamic countries", due to the lack of information about refugees and IDPs in Azerbaijan, A. Safikanli made his remarks to the panelist in this regard, which were taken into account.