OSCE Office presents findings on return migration to Armenia

YEREVAN, 15 January 2009 - A comprehensive study on returnee flows and reintegration challenges in Armenia was presented today at the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The publication on return migration to Armenia covers the period 2002 to 2008, and is the third in a series of studies conducted by the Office following reports on labour migration conducted in 2005 and 2007.

"The study provides a well-grounded picture of the return and reintegration process in Armenia and aims to help revise and reform Armenia's migration policies and legislation," said Sven Holdar, Democratization Programme Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The analysis, based on in-depth interviews with returnees, revealed that in the period between 2002 and 2007, most external migration involved labour migrants leaving mainly for Russia. The majority returned to Armenia at least once, but such returns were predominantly temporary.

The employment statistics in Armenia show that some 30% of migrants would be unemployed if they chose to stay in Armenia. The findings also showed that many of the problems connected with the reintegration of returnees in Armenia stemmed from the mismatch between their expectations and the reality they found back in Armenia.

The study was prepared by the local non-governmental organization Advanced Social Technologies, with OSCE Office support and the active participation of the Migration Agency of the Ministry of Territorial Administration.

Hard copies of the survey are available in Armenian and English. Electronic versions in both languages are also available on the OSCE Office website, //www.osce.org/yerevan.