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The displaced Artsakh Armenians are in no rush to apply for Armenian citizenship for objective and subjective reasons, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan says.

At parliamentary debates on Friday, Stepanyan claimed the citizenship issue was closely linked to the prospect of the Artsakh people’s return to their homes.

“After daily contacts with the people, I assume that the possible loss of the right to repatriation is one of the main concerns that has not been properly addressed,” he said.

Citing experts, the ombudsman stated that refugees who acquire new citizenship do not necessarily lose their right to return to the countries they left.

He claimed the Artsakh Armenians’ concerns stemmed from the Armenian leadership’s failure to advocate for their return to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“At the same time, making Armenian citizenship mandatory in many social programs raises concerns that every effort is being made to close the issue of repatriation, causing backlash. So, the people are sticking to the only document related to Artsakh – their special passports with a code number 070,” Stepanyan explained.