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The proposed addendum is intended to enable non-governmental organizations to exercise control over the activities of the temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers: The Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Armen Ghazaryan said this, presenting the draft law on Making Addendum to the Law on Refugees and Asylum.

The issue was debated in the first reading at the sitting of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs on April 2.

According to the key rapporteur, it is expected that such control will enable the Migration and Citizenship Service to highlight the problems in the temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers and organize the necessary steps for the protection of the rights of the people living there more effectively.

The deputy of the RA NA Armenia Faction Gegham Nazaryan inquired about the number of asylum seekers and which countries the asylum seekers are from, in response to which Armen Ghazaryan stated that the number of asylum seekers in 2020 was 206, in 2021 - 260, in 2022 - 968, which was mainly conditioned by the events taking place in Ukraine, in 2023 - 817 people. The applicants from the Middle East countries - Iraq, Syria, Egypt - are traditionally in the first places, the tendency has changed in 2022 and 2023: Mostly they applied from Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq. There were no asylum applications from the Indian citizens, 1-2 applications were received.

In her related report, Alkhas Ghazaryan positively assessed the draft, noting that it is aimed at protecting the rights of asylum seekers, as well as ensuring the transparency of the activities of the temporary accommodation center.

The Committee endorsed the draft.

The debate of the draft law providing for addendum to the RA Criminal Procedure Code, authored by MP Arpine Davoyan, has been postponed for up to two months.

The legislative package providing for addenda and amendments to the law on Public and Individual Notification via the Internet and the related laws has been removed from circulation.