Mr. Chairman,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank Minister Alfano and his team for the organization of this Conference.

It is widely acknowledged that the security of the OSCE area and of the Mediterranean region is interconnected and the recent developments came to prove the veracity of this assumption. The unprecedented large movements of migrants and refugees across Mediterranean and Middle East, in particular from Syria and Iraq require close regional cooperation in order to address such security related issues as combating terrorism, countering trafficking, dignified treatment of refugees, to name a few.

From Syria alone Armenia has harbored about 22.000 refugees, on per capita basis making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe. This has caused a number of challenges for a country of just 3 million which has in the recent past already received hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from Azerbaijan. Many of the Syrian Armenian refugees are descendants of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide who found shelter in Syria. One hundred years passed, they were forced once again to abandon their places of residence. Thus, Armenians know what it means to be a refugee and to host refugees.

The Government of Armenia has undertaken substantial efforts in assisting the refugees and facilitating their integration. We offered wide variety of protection tools such as accelerated asylum procedures, facilitated naturalization, emergency and medical assistance, housing, scholarships, simplified access to educational institutions and labor market, flexible taxation and business environment. We are grateful for certain international support provided to Armenia in this regard and look forward for the continued cooperation.

Armenia has also tried to reach out to the people who need assistance in Syria by continuous provision of humanitarian aid. The Consulate General of Armenia in Aleppo has been the only diplomatic mission in the city that despite challenging conditions has never stopped operating.

It goes without saying that comprehensive response to the large movements of migrants and refugees requires addressing root causes of this phenomenon, such as terrorism and identity based crimes. Armenia was among the first in the OSCE to raise these issues and strongly advocate for the strengthening of the OSCE commitments in this regard. The condemnation of persecutions of individuals and communities, including on the basis of their religion or belief, bringing to justice those who participate in perpetrating terrorist acts, preventing cross-border movement of foreign fighters, weapons, funds connected to the terrorist activities are important parts of the OSCE commitments enshrined in the Hamburg ministerial declaration on terrorism. We are convinced in the continuation of the OSCE efforts in this regard.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to inform you on the upcoming OSCE conference on “Countering and preventing hate crimes against Christians and members of other religious groups,” to be held in Yerevan on November 22. The participation and contribution of our Mediterranean partners will be welcome.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Historically the Mediterranean has been not a natural barrier dividing Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but rather a bridge linking so many civilizations, Armenians among them, thriving on its hospitable shores. We strongly believe that these traditions should be further strengthened.

Thank you.