The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirms that it has received official notification from the government of Azerbaijan, and it is concluding its operations in the country, a UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said in response to an inquiry by APA, the latter reports.
Despite the diplomatic chatter accompanying the statement, the fact is extremely sad, with far-reaching consequences.
Several years ago, the Azerbaijani authorities closed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) office in the country, and then, due to Baku’s position, a consensus was not reached on the continuation of the operations of the OSCE office in Yerevan, and it was also closed. And recently, the Azerbaijani authorities have started talking about closing the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to their country.
Now the UNHCR office has been closed in Azerbaijan. The rapid reduction in the number of potential witnesses to what is happening in the country and the so-called pressure on the Azerbaijani opposition and the media give cause for reflection.