Why Documents of Artsakh Residents Are Not Accepted at Certain Embassies

Several European countries' embassies are rejecting applications from individuals with passports coded '070' and are not processing their documents. This issue has been raised by former human rights defenders of Artsakh.

In conversations with journalists, they reported that particularly discriminatory treatment has been observed at the embassies of Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Spain.

Former human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan stated, "They explain officially that based on the Armenian government's announcement, we cannot verify that passports with the '070' code confirm Armenian citizenship, and therefore we cannot process your application as an Armenian citizen."

By not accepting citizens' applications at all, the embassies are also committing administrative violations. Former human rights defender Artak Beglaryan insists that they are obliged to accept applications, even if they will be denied later.

“It is unacceptable from the standpoint that discrimination is being shown based on origin. Even if they do not provide assistance, they must accept the documents and justify why they are not granting them. For example, they could say that the documents are insufficient, you haven’t proven that you will return, and so on. But they essentially think that if the passport has the '070' code, then the person will go and 'surrender',” he said.

Artak Baglaryan also points out that in this situation, a problem arises as Artsakh residents cannot even appeal to the court because they do not have any documents regarding the denial.

According to Artak Beglaryan, the issue has not been resolved for a long time, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry has not publicly expressed a position on it.

“Their work is not sufficient. The fact that they have informed the media that the issue is under discussion and they are addressing it indicates that they acknowledge the problem exists and they are obligated to address it. As long as this issue remains unresolved, the Foreign Ministry's efforts are not sufficient and effective,” he emphasized.

According to the defenders, the Foreign Ministry should have already sent a circular to diplomatic representations in Armenia, stating that passports with the '070' code are valid identity documents for these individuals and should not be subject to discrimination.