The Memorandum Argues That the Armenian People of Nagorno-Karabakh Have at Least the Right to Internal Self-Determination: Oskenyan

The memorandum regarding negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan argues that the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh have at least the right to internal self-determination, and that ongoing negotiations should ensure meaningful and effective protection of that right. This was stated by former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskenyan on his Facebook page.

The renowned Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), based in Washington, specializes in providing legal assistance to parties involved in peace negotiations and has experience in providing legal support to over two dozen peace negotiations around the world. Last week, it published a memorandum regarding negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, focusing on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

The memorandum argues that the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh have at least the right to internal self-determination, and that ongoing negotiations should ensure meaningful and effective protection of that right. As such, the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh during the Soviet era should serve as a benchmark in discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the future fate and status of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The memorandum concludes that Azerbaijan's refusal to include the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh during the Soviet era in the current negotiations agenda is a clear signal that the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to be denied, which opens the door for external self-determination through the principle of secession for salvation.

Attached is the full memorandum in English and the Armenian translation of the memorandum's Executive Summary.

Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to present the argument that the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh have at least the right to internal self-determination, and that ongoing negotiations should ensure meaningful and effective protection of that right. As such, the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh during the Soviet era should serve as a benchmark in discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the future fate and status of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is important to note that this memorandum should not be interpreted as advocacy for a specific outcome of the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Determining that is the prerogative of the negotiating parties and primarily the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Executive Summary
Currently, negotiations are underway to resolve the conflict between Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan, hosted by the European Union and the USA on one side and Russia on the other. The agenda includes: 1) border delineation, 2) unblocking transportation and economic links, 3) ending the Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, 4) releasing detained persons and prisoners of war and addressing the issue of missing persons, 5) ensuring the safety and rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh population.

To establish a lasting peace in line with international human rights principles, the agenda must include the right to self-determination for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Discussions focused solely on security and rights, outside the context and framework of self-determination as provided in the current agenda, hold no value and are illusory. Substantive discussions on these existential issues can only take place in the context of the realization of the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The principle of self-determination is clearly enshrined in the United Nations Charter, numerous resolutions of the UN General Assembly, and international treaties and is reaffirmed in various decisions of the International Court of Justice as well as regional and domestic courts. Self-determination can be exercised internally through autonomy within a larger state or externally through the creation of a new state. While there are different opinions on whether external self-determination includes the principle of secession for salvation, there is no dispute that internal self-determination is relevant to all peoples.

For a group to have the right to collectively decide its political fate, it must have a center of identity that is sufficient to distinguish it as a people. In the case of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, there are objective and subjective factors necessary for the realization of the right to self-determination. The Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh have maintained a complete identity connected to the land of Nagorno-Karabakh for centuries. Occasionally subjected to political encroachments, this territory had the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast during the Soviet Union and has exercised effective and legitimate governance since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

In November 1991, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a decision on the "Dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast." Following that, on November 23, 1991, the President of Azerbaijan, Ayaz Mutalibov, signed the law on the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Most recently, the current President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, publicly declared that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh would be granted "zero status." Azerbaijan has a long history of denying the right to self-determination of the Armenians, and everything indicates that without a comprehensive and effective mechanism for negotiation under the auspices of the international community, not only will this right be denied, but the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh will continue to suffer gross violations of human rights, including ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.

Azerbaijan's refusal to include the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh during the Soviet period in the current negotiations agenda as a benchmark for discussions regarding the self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their future fate and status with Armenia and Azerbaijan is a clear signal that the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to be denied, thereby opening the door for external self-determination through the principle of secession for salvation," he wrote.