The Fundamental Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: The Right to Housing

2nd Article

One of the fundamental rights that must be upheld for internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced from their homes due to Armenian aggression is the right to housing. The right to housing is constitutionally granted to Azerbaijani citizens, and according to this key document, no one may be unlawfully deprived of their residence[1]. The Constitution also guarantees citizens the right to live in safety. However, the situation differs for citizens who have been forcibly displaced from Karabakh. Following the liberation of Karabakh from Armenian occupation, priority should have been given, under national legislation, to recognizing the housing (residential) rights of individuals previously residing in those territories (or, if deceased, their heirs). Unfortunately, this has not happened.

It is understandable that, as privatization did not occur when Karabakh was occupied, residents of these territories lack documents confirming private ownership of housing. However, similar to other regions of Azerbaijan (except for newly established neighborhoods), most residents held technical passports issued under the housing legislation of the Azerbaijan SSR, a set of laws and regulations that governed property rights and ownership during the Soviet era. These documents confirmed ownership rights. During the period of independence, privatization of residential areas across the country was based on these documents. Interestingly, even today, housing privatization has yet to be fully realized in cities, towns, and villages across Azerbaijan, with many residents still relying on Soviet-era technical passports as proof of ownership.

Emin Huseynov, the Presidential Special Representative of the liberated territories of the Karabakh economic region (excluding Shusha district), addressed the issue of IDP property rights in a 2022 interview, stating: "...Our displaced compatriots from these areas lack property documentation. But they possess moral rights." Firstly, the absence of property documents does not negate their ownership. Secondly, records of these documents are stored in state archives, providing a potential solution. Finally, even if Armenian occupiers destroyed such archive documents, solutions are still available. After the ceasefire, the correct decision was made not to change Azerbaijan's administrative-territorial structure, leaving the administrative districts in the occupied territories intact. Population registration continued under the previous system. According to the latest data, there are 400 administrative-territorial units (regions where local government authorities are established, including cities, towns, and villages) across 1,041 areas in the liberated territories. Of these, 210 administrative territories fall within the Karabakh economic region, while 180 are part of the Eastern Zangezur economic region[2]. Initial estimates indicate that over 900 residential settlements and approximately 131,000 houses were in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation.

Representatives of the administrative-territorial units under executive authorities have records of who owned property (residential houses, apartments, household plots) before the occupation. Notably, the initial resettlement of Karabakh is based on the registry of those who were registered in these areas before the occupation. Notably, newly established families among IDPs are not being settled in Karabakh. One housing unit (individual house) is offered to the residents who had property in these areas before the occupation, disregarding families formed over the past 30 years. Currently, the rights of not only IDPs resettled in Karabakh's liberated territories but also of those with property rights to land and housing (individual houses) in these areas, whose resettlement has been indefinitely postponed, are being violated. Contrary to official statements, IDP property rights are not moral but purely legal under current conditions. Since becoming IDPs, approximately 300,000 persons (58,223 families) formerly from Karabakh have been provided with housing[3]. However, they lack property rights over the homes allocated by the government. The IDP families have received no compensation (in cash or housing) for their lost property. Additionally, those who declined to live in administrative buildings (dormitories, kindergartens, government offices, etc.) provided by executive authorities and opted for rented accommodations, those marrying individuals residing elsewhere, those previously settled temporarily in other cities or regions but who have lived in properties designated for IDP settlement over the past three years, those who divorced individuals registered in regions not under occupation, and those who purchased residential spaces with their funds, have not been provided temporary housing in state-built facilities. To manage the process of resettling IDPs in government-funded buildings, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the "Regulation on the Provision of Housing Units of the Temporary Housing Fund for Internally Displaced Persons," stipulating that housing from this fund is temporarily allocated to improve IDPs' living conditions[4]. The Housing Code also has a specific clause addressing this issue: “Housing units of the temporary housing fund for internally displaced persons and individuals with refugee status are intended, in accordance with the law, to accommodate individuals considered IDPs and individuals with refugee status.”[5]

To date, residential spaces have been provided to internally displaced persons (IDPs) for temporary use based on rental agreements approved by Decision No. 80 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated April 29, 2010, titled "On the Approval of the Form of the Special-Purpose Residential Lease Agreement." According to the decision, these residences are leased to IDPs as tenants, who are not allowed to relocate individuals outside their family (not listed in the agreement), carry out significant repairs, rent out the property, or transfer its use to others, among other restrictions. The lessor (the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs) may terminate the agreement for simple reasons (for instance, if the IDP does not reside in the dwelling for three months, obtains separate housing, etc.)[6]. There is no question of ownership rights or disposal rights over these properties.

The same policy applies to IDPs resettled in newly restored (constructed) residential settlements (individual houses, apartments) in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation in Karabakh. Such IDPs sign a "Temporary Agreement for Relocation to Residential Areas in the Liberated Territories." This agreement represents the state through Natig Nariman oglu Huseynov, Director of the Repatriation Department of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs. The agreement is based on the lease agreement form approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. It does not grant property rights to IDPs, but rather imposes significant and stringent limitations on their rights. According to the agreement, the IDP commits to keeping the residential space in good condition and refraining from significant repairs without permission from the relevant committee authority. Clause three of the agreement, "Registration of Ownership Rights over the Residential Area," states, "The relocated individual may not donate, sell, lease, assign for use by others, alter, sublet, or mortgage the assigned residential space until its ownership rights are registered by the state." As shown, recognition of property rights for IDPs over housing is postponed indefinitely. The Plenum of the Constitutional Court provided an extensive explanation regarding these definitions in its decision dated October 25, 2010, "On the Interpretation of Article 178.8 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan."[7] Since the concept of "disposing of property" is absent in the agreement signed with IDPs resettled in Karabakh, discussing ownership rights is inappropriate.

In the interview above, Presidential Special Representative Emin Huseynov also stated that the state is committed to ensuring both the property rights and the share of land rights of our former IDP compatriots: "Discussions are ongoing on how and when the mechanisms for this will be implemented. When the time comes, specific proposals and initiatives will be discussed and presented to the wider public."

Such discussions should be conducted with IDP communities. This is a legal requirement, as well as a moral one. Decisions should not be made behind closed doors without public disclosure. As an interested party in this process, the opinions of IDPs must be considered. If they are not, then what was the purpose of adopting the law "On Public Participation," the "Regulations on the Election of Public Councils by Civil Society Institutions," and the "Rules for Public Hearings and Public Discussions of Legal Drafts Prepared by Central and Local Executive Authorities and Local Self-Government Bodies"?

And when will that indefinite time come?

Will it ever come at all at this rate?

Previous articles:

1st Article: The Fundamental Rights of Internally Displaced Persons: Property Rights over Land

[1] Constitution Of The Republic Of Azerbaijan. Article 43. Housing law.

[2] The calculation was carried out on the liberated regions, with the exception of Aghjabadi and Barda districts.

[3] http://sfdi.gov.az/mecburi-kockun-tarix

[4] The procedure for the provision of residential areas of the fund for temporary accommodation of Internally Displaced Persons. Article 1.4.

[5] Housing Code. Article 96. Appointment of residential areas of the fund for temporary placement of IDPs and persons with refugee status

[6] https://e-qanun.az/framework/19544

[7] https://e-qanun.az/framework/20512