SC Secretary’s Speech at the 10th Annual International Meeting of High Representatives Coordinating Security Issues

19 / 06 / 2019

Today, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Armen Grigoryan delivered a speech in the Russian city of Ufa at the “10th Annual International Meeting of Representatives Coordinating Security Issues”.
The speech was devoted to the topic of “International cooperation in the field of emergency humanitarian response and its development perspectives in the context of maintaining strategic stability.”

The full English version of the speech is presented below.

“Dear colleagues,

Today, it is the second day of our joint work, and in the framework of my speech I would like to share my considerations and information with you on the second issue of the agenda.

The modern world has become more interconnected, globalized and technologically equipped. At the same time, new challenges have emerged. Despite the efforts undertaken by the international community, recently we have been witnessing escalation of tension in inter-state relations, expansion of conflict zones, emergence of domestic crises on ethnic and religious grounds. The number of natural and man-made disasters is steadily growing, and the scale of their impact on the population, territories, facilities and infrastructures is increasing. Nowadays, large groups of people are left without shelter and means of survival because of natural and man-made disasters, and of armed conflicts, starving and in strong need for medical care.

The described situation requires urgent need to deepen international cooperation in the field of emergency humanitarian response. It is obvious, that these tasks cannot be solved due to the capabilities of individual states and the consolidation of efforts at international level is needed.

Armenia, being a country that experienced the devastating earthquake of Spitak in 1988, is strongly aware of the importance of timely aid. We gratefully remember all the countries and nations who gave us a helping hand, we thank all the rescuers, doctors and people of other professions, everyone who immediately arrived to Armenia for the Armenian people on those hard and difficult days, and made invaluable contribution to saving human lives and restoring the disaster zone.

Importance of international humanitarian operations is also great in terms of maintaining strategic stability at regional and global levels. After all, failure of timely implementation of necessary measures and, as a result, the outbreak of consequences of any emergency situation includes the threat of being transformed into a humanitarian crisis which may involve neighbouring countries and populations.

Upgrading rescue units with modern equipment and their continuous professional development and qualification play an important role in raising humanitarian response capacity. The Republic of Armenia pays serious attention to these issues, and the international cooperation plays an important role in this matter. As an example, I can mention the following; lately, on May 6, 2019, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) transferred 14 fire engines and other necessary equipment to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia in the framework of regular assistance to Armenia. From 15-16th of April of the current year the Search and Rescue team of the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations consisting of 50 people spent 36 hours in the "Organization of Search and Rescue Operations" training in the framework of International Search and Rescue Advisory Group certification process - a global network that unites more than 90 countries and international organizations under the auspices of the United Nations.

I must note that the units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia have solid experience in conducting search and rescue operations, as well as extinguishing forest fires abroad. In particular, the Armenian firefighters took part in extinguishing forest fires in Russia in 2010. In its turn, in 2017, during a strong fire in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve, Russia sent a special firefighting aircraft IL-76 to Armenia. The last example clearly shows that the key principles of the emergency humanitarian response are the willingness always to aid and mutual assistance. For this very reason the role of international cooperation in the field of emergency humanitarian response is increasing.
A model of successful international cooperation in this area is the Russian-Armenian Center for Humanitarian Response in Armenia established in the framework of the Agreement between the governments of Armenia and Russia on May 19, 2015. The activities of the center are aimed at facilitating the implementation of the tasks of emergency humanitarian response. The center's objectives are, first, the support of search and rescue operations, particularly elimination of consequences of special emergency situations in mountainous regions that are conditioned by earthquakes, landslides, floods, as well as of extinguishing fires, delivering humanitarian aid, and implementing other demands in the region aimed at protection of population and territories.

Over the past years, the Republic of Armenia has made its modest contribution to the process of providing international humanitarian assistance. In particular,
- in 2005, Armenia provided humanitarian assistance to the population of Sri Lanka, affected by the tsunami;
- in September 2005, the Government of Armenia assisted the victims of hurricane “Katrina” in the United States;
- in 2011, Armenia sent humanitarian aid to Turkey with regard to the earthquake in Van;
- in the same 2011 year, the humanitarian aid was provided to Japan, affected by the earthquake and tsunami;
- on April 8, 2019, humanitarian aid was sent from Armenia to the Islamic Republic of Iran for the flood-affected population of this country, and the list can be continued.

When the humanitarian situation deteriorated in Syria as a result of military actions, Armenia sent humanitarian aid to that country several times, which was gradually delivered by the Russian military aircrafts.

Meanwhile, during the Syrian crisis, Armenia has received about 22,000 ethnic Armenians from Syria. I also want to note that in 2014, when the Iraqi Yezidis suffered from the actions of extremists as a result of aggravation of the situation in the Middle East, the Armenian government provided assistance to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The aim of humanitarian response is not only to provide emergency assistance in affected territories, but also to contribute to establishing a normal rhythm of life in those territories. Based on this logic, on February 8, 2019, a group of Armenian experts, consisting of 83 people, arrived in the Syrian city of Aleppo to provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. Let me note that the decision to conduct a National Humanitarian Mission in Syria was made by the leadership of Armenia in accordance with the Syrian government's official request, taking into consideration the request of the Armenian community of Aleppo as well.

The group includes humanitarian demining specialists, medical personnel, as well as staff ensuring their safety. The activities of the Armenian mission are implemented in cooperation with and technical support of the Russian side. Only from February 19 to May 10 of the current year, the Armenian sappers have demined 25,860 square meters of area. These are territories in rural areas, where, after the military actions many mines and other unexploded ordnance remained posing danger to the civilians who are not able to carry out their agricultural work and breed the cattle. During this period, doctors of the Armenian Humanitarian Mission provided surgical assistance to 241 patients, 534 citizens received therapeutic aid, 959 clinical and laboratory studies were carried out. Two weeks ago, on June 4, there was a rotation of the specialists of the Armenian Humanitarian Mission, and at present its activities in Syria continue.

Dear colleagues,
In responding to emergencies, information exchange and coordination in the first phase of major emergency disaster play an important role in international cooperation. In the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia there is a National Crisis Management Center which cooperates with international organizations and similar centers abroad in informing and early warning of emergency situations, including through the global network of GDACS.

In conclusion, I would like to confirm that the Republic of Armenia will continue to contribute to the development and deepening of international cooperation in the field of emergency humanitarian response. We are ready to work together and interact with all interested states, international organizations and structures in this direction.

Thank you for your attention.”