Individuals Violating Armenia's Border Protected from Punishment; Government Proposes Stricter Laws

In the past three years, 673 foreigners have sought asylum from the Armenian authorities. Among them, 218 applied for asylum in 2018, 248 in 2019, and 207 in 2020. This was announced today by Armen Ghazaryan, head of the migration service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, during a session of the National Assembly's Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

“Out of them, in 2018, 43 individuals illegally crossed the Armenian state border, in 2019 - 14, and in 2020 - 8 persons. That is, about 17-18 percent of those seeking asylum in Armenia are violators of the border. Moreover, in all these cases, cases regarding extradition were initiated: in 2018 – 3 cases, in 2019 – 19 cases, and in 2020 – 3 cases,” said Ghazaryan.

According to the head of the migration service, the provided statistics indicate that after illegally crossing the Armenian state border and the revelation of this crime, border violators apply to the state authority for refugee status or asylum in Armenia and thus attempt to evade the liability stipulated for border violations.

“Another problematic situation arises concerning individuals wanted by foreign states who, after being arrested and detained within Armenia, obtain practical 'immunity from extradition' by applying for refugee status or asylum,” noted Ghazaryan.

To eliminate such situations, the migration service proposes amendments to the “Law on Refugees and Asylum” and the Administrative Procedure Code. The draft laws aim to tighten the deadlines set for asylum seekers' applications and eliminate the possibility of extending these deadlines. Additionally, it would prohibit submitting an application for a second time on the same grounds. The project establishes a 10-day deadline to appeal a denial of asylum to the administrative court, while the consideration period in the administrative court is set to one month.

The presented proposals received unanimous approval from the deputies after discussion in the committee.