Press release 03.10.2023

Estonian Refugee Council officially opened its representative office in Yerevan, Armenia yesterday. At the same time, the humanitarian organization started a donation campaign "For Armenia!" to support people who fled Nagorno-Karabakh.

The renewed armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19 has caused more than 100,000 people to flee through the Lachine Corridor to Armenia. Refugees have mainly entered Armenia through the Syunik region and need assistance with accommodation, food and drinking water, hygiene facilities and medical assistance there.

"Today, what we feared already during the 2020 war has come true: because of the military conflict, the people who have remained there are fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh and are looking for a safe place in Armenia. Estonian Refugee Council started preparing for a possible crisis in Armenia this summer, when we started registering our official representative on the ground. It was successfully completed yesterday and we can start providing humanitarian aid," said Eero Janson, head of the Estonian Refugee Council.

Estonian Refugee Council plans to support people in the most vulnerable situations who have fled to Armenia with multi-purpose cash-based aid. In addition, the plan includes activities that support long-term livelihoods, such as cash-based agricultural subsidies and subsidies for starting a small business. The provision of humanitarian aid on the spot is organized by the Estonian Refugee Council's own team in cooperation with local organizations.

Multipurpose cash-based assistance allows those in need to decide what they need most critically at the moment. It is usually used for food, drinking water, medicine, toiletries and rent. The rate of cash-based aid is agreed upon in cooperation with other humanitarian organizations operating in the region. Activities that support long-term livelihoods, such as support for starting agricultural activities, help people who have moved to a new place of residence to achieve independent livelihoods for their households more quickly. Estonian Refugee Council has previous experience in implementing similar aid programmes in Ukraine and Georgia.

Donation campaign "For Armenia!" is up on the Estonian Refugee Council's website: https://pagulasabi.ee/et/armeenia-heaks. Estonian Refugee Council is grateful to everyone who can support the relief of the humanitarian situation in Armenia.

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