10 GeoFroggy

Disputes International

the dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability; residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan; Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valley; in 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered; local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders; ethnic Armenian groups in the Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian Government

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

Refugees country of origin: 91,766 (Armenia), 14,741 (Syria - ethnic Armenians) (2020)

Stateless persons: 1,000 (2020)

Trafficking in Persons

Current situation: Armenians may be exploited domestically or abroad, and foreigners may be subjected to sex trafficking or forced labor in Armenia; Armenian women and children are exploited in sex and labor trafficking domestically, as well as sex trafficking in the UAE and Turkey; Armenian migrants experience forced labor in Russia, the UAE, and Turkey; Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian women working as dancers are vulnerable to sex trafficking, while Indian employment seekers are subjected to forced labor in Armenia

Tier rating:

Illicit Drugs

a transit country for illicit drugs with its location between source countries Afghanistan and Iran and the markets of Europe and Russia