Open Letter of Artsakh's Civil Society to the International Community: Gegham Stepanyan

Gegham Stepanyan, the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, has published an open letter from the civil society of Artsakh to the international community regarding the ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide policies implemented by Azerbaijan.

“The people of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who are facing the threat of genocide, appeal to all countries and peoples of the world, as well as to the international organizations tasked with ensuring proper adherence to international law. On June 15, 2023, with another provocation near the bridge in Hakari, Azerbaijan has deepened the blockade of Artsakh, which has been ongoing for nearly 7 months since December 12, 2022. Azerbaijan has blocked humanitarian transfers conducted by the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping forces, including the transfer of patients to medical facilities in the Republic of Armenia, and the supply of food, medicines, essential goods, and fuel, thereby sharply exacerbating the existing humanitarian crisis in the country.

A week later, on June 22, 2023, Azerbaijani forces installed concrete barriers on the bridge where an illegal checkpoint was established on April 23, 2023, literally cutting off the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the outside world. As of June 25, 2023, the transfer of patients to medical facilities in Armenia was resumed with the accompaniment of the ICRC, but, being well aware of Azerbaijan's destructive behavior which uses humanitarian issues as leverage to exert pressure on Artsakh, there are no guarantees that these transfers will not be interrupted again.

These actions by Azerbaijan should not be interpreted as isolated manifestations of aggression but rather as components of a consistent and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing against Artsakh and its indigenous Armenian population.

On the night of June 27-28, 2023, Azerbaijan launched another military aggression against Artsakh using artillery and drones, resulting in the deaths of four servicemen who were defending their homeland and the civilian population. Ignoring the resolutions of the European Parliament dated January 19, 2023, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) dated June 22, 2023, as well as the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) dated December 21, 2022, and the International Court of Justice dated February 22, 2023, Azerbaijan seems to mock the authority of these organizations, persistently continuing its policy of genocide and dispossession against the people of Artsakh, demonstrating criminal arbitrariness and opposing the civilized world.

Moreover, the President of Azerbaijan openly threatens members of the international community who do not share his approach to resolving the Artsakh issue, declaring that international law is entirely on Azerbaijan's side.

Official Baku, refusing to meet the demands for guarantees of security for the people of Artsakh, constantly insists that this is Azerbaijan's internal matter, which it intends to resolve at its discretion. Within the context of the terrifying anti-Armenian sentiments embedded in the state policy of authoritarian Azerbaijan, evidenced by numerous proofs, it is not hard to imagine what such a decision might entail if the people of Artsakh were suddenly subjected to the authority of Baku.

We welcome the growing international understanding that the people of Artsakh need robust guarantees of international protection. We express our gratitude to the congresspersons who spoke in this vein on June 21, 2023, in the U.S. Congress, calling things by their names and providing an objective assessment of Azerbaijan's policy. We also thank all other international actors who are demonstrating determination in highlighting the existential threats posed by Azerbaijan to the people of Artsakh.

We hope that more people around the world will come to understand the real causes of the conflict and will realize why the people of Nagorno-Karabakh appealed for the right to secede from the Azerbaijan SSR and join Armenia back in 1988, a request that consequently triggered Azerbaijan's aggression and the outbreak of brutal wars during which Armenians were compelled to self-defend.

Now, when calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through the forcible integration of Artsakh into Azerbaijan are unreasonably echoing from various international platforms, we propose to recall the history of World War II and try to imagine whether it would have been possible to urge the Jewish people to live under the Nazi regime of Hitler.

Modern Azerbaijan is also a country with Nazi-like attitudes towards Armenians, and it is not difficult to be convinced of this if one looks at the issue with an objective perspective, excluding the one-sided demands of the Azerbaijani propaganda machine.

Having gone through three wars, massacres, forced displacements, psychological terror, and the calamities of human and material losses, the people of Artsakh, continuing to live under the impending existential threats, call for all international mechanisms to be activated to stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide policies being conducted by Azerbaijan.

In light of the current situation, we demand the presence of representatives from all relevant organizations in Artsakh. Considering the violations of commitments enshrined in point 6 of the trilateral statement dated November 9, 2020, which mandates that free and safe movement through the Lachin corridor be ensured, we urge international organizations, particularly the UN, to send an international mission to the Republic of Artsakh to prevent a humanitarian disaster and to strengthen and improve the work of peacekeeping institutions.

Due to Azerbaijan's blatant non-compliance with the decisions of the ECHR and the International Court of Justice during the blockade, we call upon the international community to impose sanctions against this country.

On behalf of Artsakh's civil society, we appeal to international human rights organizations and civil society to convey the voice of Artsakh to the broader international community and demand practical steps from their governments to prevent the next crimes against humanity committed by Azerbaijan.

Expressing gratitude for the concern shown about the fate of the people of Artsakh, we emphasize that the only reliable guarantee for securing our rights and safety is the recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh based on the international right to self-determination and free expression of will.

Artsakh is not a territory granted to anyone by right of the strong; it is our homeland, where we have a full and inviolable right to live safely. Artsakh is not just a small population of 120,000 (not including about 30,000 displaced persons who were forced from their homes due to Azerbaijan’s military aggression in 2020). Today, Artsakh is yet another litmus test and a benchmark of the values proclaimed by the democratic world. Depending on which choice is made—on one hand, the forces of lies, discrimination, violence, terrorism, and dictatorship; and on the other, freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights—the essential value of the transforming world order will be clarified.