Baku, December 6, AZERTAC
Organized by the Western Azerbaijan Community, an international conference on “Enabling the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia: Global context and just solution” wrapped up Tuesday in Baku.
Addressing the 1st panel meeting on "Forced resettlement of Azerbaijanis from Armenia: History and scale", Deputy Chairman of the Western Azerbaijan Community, MP Ramil Hasan spoke of the essence of the Community`s Concept of Return.
Turkish Grand National Assembly member Shamil Ayrim expressed his support for the right of return of forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis, and commended the peaceful approach of the Community.
Subsequent to these discussions, the panel meeting then featured the reports by employees and professors of leading Azerbaijani and foreign universities, shedding light on the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia.
The second and last panels addressing the themes "Right of Return and Repatriation: Legal and policy framework" and "Right of return: Achievements and challenges in practice" also featured reports on refugee and forced displacement, as well the return cases in different regional contexts. The speakers touched upon the issues of displacement in the world and the right of return.
The meeting also featured a speech by Prof. Chakib Benhafri, who spoke of the crimes against humanity committed by France in Algeria during the colonial period and the policy of forced relocation of the population.