The World Has a Unique Opportunity to Hold Azerbaijan Accountable: The National Interest

One year ago, Azerbaijani forces launched a brutal military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, forcibly expelling 120,000 ethnic Armenians, for whom this region has been home for millennia. Aside from a few surface-level statements, the international community has done nothing to hold Azerbaijan accountable. Now it has a unique opportunity to rectify the situation. This was noted by the American publication The National Interest.

The source reminds that from November 11-22, Azerbaijan will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), which Baku will attempt to use to ' polish' its reputation and present itself as a regional leader. However, as noted by the article's author, Thomas Becker (Director of Legal and Political Affairs at the Human Rights University Network, lecturer on human rights at Columbia Law School and Wesleyan University), the human rights community sees the summit as an opportunity to finally focus attention on Azerbaijan's egregious regime, which continues to plan aggression against Armenia and perpetrate abuses against its own people.

'COP29 could serve as a platform for state-level participants to pressure Azerbaijan to stop the abuses and propose specific pathways for the many people displaced from their homeland,' writes The National Interest.

Author Thomas Becker then addresses the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, presenting the situation created after the 2020 war and last year's massive attack by Baku on the Republic of Artsakh, resulting in its complete transition under Azerbaijani occupation.

'The occupation of the territory was relentless. Azerbaijani forces destroyed villages, tortured prisoners, and beheaded those too ill or elderly to escape. While a ceasefire has been established, Azerbaijan's brutality has not abated. Over the past four years, we at the Human Rights University Network (UNHR) have been investigating these and other abuses that led to last year's ethnic cleansing. Our team from Harvard, Oxford, UCLA, Wesleyan, and Yale has conducted seven fact-finding missions in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the latest of which took place last month. Recently, we released a 200-page report on the atrocities we studied, including horrific torture, murders, disappearances, mutilation of corpses, and the destruction of churches and cemeteries. These abuses are part of a broader campaign by Azerbaijan to destroy the indigenous population of Nagorno-Karabakh. This policy is openly propagated by the Azerbaijani leadership. Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev refers to Armenians as 'rats,' 'dogs,' and 'barbarians,' infected with a 'virus' that 'needs to be cured,'

the human rights advocate notes. Becker reminded that in the weeks leading up to last year's ethnic cleansing, he met with U.S. officials to warn them of the impending displacement. The UN published reports about the risk of genocide in the region. Other genocide experts also raised alarms: the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Genocide Watch, and the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide all issued separate warnings regarding the genocidal nature of Azerbaijan's actions.

'Sadly, our warnings were ignored, and on September 19 of last year, Azerbaijan launched attacks... Although Aliyev denies the condemnations from organizations like Freedom House or UNHR, he is concerned about his reputation among global leaders, especially in Europe, which is Azerbaijan’s primary buyer of fossil fuels. Oil and gas production accounts for 92.5 percent of Azerbaijan's export revenue, so Aliyev's political survival depends on his reputation in forums like COP29... The summit may be the last opportunity for the international community to condemn Azerbaijan and prevent the complete eradication of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Those who have fled must be given the opportunity to return or receive significant compensation. The international community has a rare opportunity to fulfill its duty: How will it respond?' the author concludes.