State actors and CSOs meet to discuss Humanitarian Coordination in Syunik province

On February 2nd, 2024, Action Against Hunger  in cooperation with Partnership and Teaching NGO organized a round table discussion in Goris in Armenia’s Syunik province within the scope of the project “Providing Urgent Humanitarian Assistance to support Displaced Families from Nagorno Karabakh” funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The round table brought together more than 40 representatives of State and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) who have been actively engaged in supporting the humanitarian response to the displacement of people from Nagorno Karabakh, many thousands of whom are currently residing in Syunik province.

The main aim of the discussion was to create a space and opportunity for community and provincial authorities, local CSOs and international NGOs to share information on the support they are providing and to discuss ways on how to maximise this assistance to better serve the needs of refugees from Nagorno Karabakh. Participants also discussed their plans for assisting the future social and economic inclusion of refugees in the province.

The information sharing was carried out through a series of panel discussions, whereby community & provincial authorities and state duty bearers performed a leading role as the driving force in the humanitarian response as well as development initiatives.

The discussion was divided into four sections. During the first section, Action Against Hunger presented its interventions and projects in the Syunik province, and then, in the second, a panel composed of community authorities from Goris, Tegh, Tatev and Sisian, as well as a representative from the Syunik Governor’s office, gave a presentation on their experiences of providing emergency and humanitarian interventions since the first days of the arrival of refugees to Armenia in September 2023.

The third section was dedicated to long-term plans and visions to support the refugees build their resilience and ensure their integration within Syunik province.

Lastly, all participants were given the opportunity to exchange their information, so as to support future cooperation and partnerships.

Action Against Hunger South Caucasus wishes to thank all of those who took part in the round table for their active engagement and inputs.