UN to open refugee office in Almaty
ALMATY. February 10. KAZINFORM. Kazakhstan will open an office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) in Almaty, Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Sarybai announced at a plenary session of the Kazakh parliament on Wednesday.
Almaty was chosen because that is where the bulk of refugees in Kazakhstan are located and because of Almaty's regional status, Sarbayi said.
The announcement of the office opening came after Parliament ratified the agreement between the government of Kazakhstan and the UNHCR, Trend reported on Wednesday. The parliamentary ratification builds on an earlier agreement signed in 2007, the Central Asia Newswire says.
"The document contains the basic conditions under which the Office of the UN High Commissioner (UNHCR) cooperates with the government, opens an office in the country and performs its function of providing international protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees and other persons subject to its jurisdiction," Trend reported Sarybai as saying as he presented the bill to the Kazakh legislature.
Established in 1950, the UNHCR is mandated with protecting refugees on a global scale and resolving problems facing refugee populations.
To read more see: www.centralasianewswire.com .