Azerbaijani peacekeepers to be assigned title of war veterans

The bill "On the status of peacekeepers" has been prepared in accordance with international legal regulations. The meeting widely discussed assignment of the war victim status to military men who died during peacekeeping operations.

"The meeting decided to assign the war victim status to the military who died in the name of territorial integrity. However, the bill also implies assigning war veteran title to our military personnel participating in peacekeeping organizations, as well as financial assistance," member of the parliamentary committee on security and defense Zahid Oruj said.

About 45 Azerbaijani peacekeepers served in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. The peacekeepers were engaged in patrol service in Kabul. In Oct, 2008, the parliament decided to double the number of peacekeepers and bring them up to 90 people.

In connection with the political situation emerged after the Kosovo's declaration about its independence, which broke away from Serbia on March 4, the Azerbaijani parliament decided to withdraw 34 Azerbaijani peacekeepers serving in the region.

The service term of 150 soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the multinational force in Iraq has ended.

Oruj said the bill had received positive feedback from the Ministries of Finance, Interior, Emergency Situations and Defense, as well as from the Presidential Administration.

"The project reflects an annual provision of information about the state of Azerbaijani peacekeepers to the parliament. We are mostly concerned on social protection of our peacekeepers," Oruj added.

"Azerbaijan has been participating in peacekeeping operations since 1999. This brought great benefit to Azerbaijan. The participation in peacekeeping operations also provides a guarantee of security of our country. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a certain law on the peacekeepers," Oruj said.

/Trend News/