Freedom House Presents Evidence of Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh

At Warsaw Human Dimension Conference on Tuesday, October 9, the Freedom House presented evidence from its fact-finding mission about Nagorno-Karabakh, which concluded that the forced displacement of ethnic Armenians was intentionally coordinated and committed by the Azerbaijani government.

The Freedom House called the attention of the OSCE ODIHR and participating States to the treatment of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, whereby they were intentionally subjected to years of regular attacks, intimidation, deprivation of basic rights, and ultimately forced displacement by the Azerbaijani state in September 2023. The process was both gradual and methodical, and the Azerbaijani state intentionally created conditions for the ethnic Armenian population that made it impossible for them to stay and survive in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Freedom House said “these conclusions are the result of an intensive international fact-finding effort by Freedom House, International Partnership for Human Rights, Democracy Development Foundation, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, Law Development and Protections Foundation, and Truth Hounds.”

“This factfinding, which included hundreds of witness interviews and analysis of open-source data, concludes that the Azerbaijani state acted upon a comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population and historical and cultural presence. An analysis of the actions and rhetoric of Azerbaijani authorities in conjunction with the lived experiences of the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh provides reasonable grounds to conclude that their forced displacement was intentional.  Persistent defiance against international norms and continued violations, despite international condemnations, also indicate the premeditated intent of the Azerbaijani government to displace the ethnic Armenian population,” the organization said. 

The fact-finding effort concludes that the documented actions of the Azerbaijani state meet the criteria for ethnic cleansing as understood in the context of the UN Commission of Experts’ analysis on IHL violations in the former Yugoslavia. “We have documented extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, restrictions on the access to food and life-saving medication, forcible removal, displacement and deportation of civilian population, deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civilian areas, and wanton destruction of property. The fact-finding mission has determined that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that these practices constitute crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including Article 7 (crimes against humanity), and Article 8 (war crimes), and align with the definition of deportation or forcible transfer of population.”

According to the Freedom House, the evidence, coupled with the lack of prosecution on the national level in Azerbaijan, underscore the urgent need for additional international legal scrutiny and accountability. It recommends that the ICC ensure a thorough investigation and potential prosecution of those responsible for these egregious acts. In addition:

Freedom House calls on OSCE participating States to:

• Invoke the Moscow Mechanism to investigate violations committed against ethnic Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijani state.

• Advocate within the UN Human Rights Council for the establishment of a country mechanism and a Special Procedure on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan to investigate systemic human rights violations and report them to the Human Rights Council, General Assembly, and other UN bodies.

• Support international efforts to prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, including for states party to the Rome Statute to make a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate these violations, as well as implementing and supporting targeted sanctions.

• Call upon the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan to:

• Provide secure access to Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to visit their homes and collect their belongings, as well as to uphold the right to return for Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh under international observations.

• Provide access to international monitoring initiatives to investigate the state of cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories.

• Abstain from violence-inducing rhetoric against Armenians.

  
  

Freedom House calls on OSCE ODIHR to:

• Encourage and facilitate comprehensive documentation and reporting of human rights abuses committed by Azerbaijan, ensuring that all violations are systematically recorded and analyzed for future accountability efforts.

  
  

In conclusion, Freedom House’s presentation at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference sheds light on the systematic and deliberate actions of the Azerbaijani government to force the displacement of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The evidence gathered through extensive international fact-finding efforts paints a clear picture of a coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing. The organization’s findings call for urgent international legal scrutiny, with a strong recommendation for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Freedom House also urged OSCE participating States and the UN to take concrete actions, including invoking the Moscow Mechanism and establishing a country mechanism to address these violations. The call for justice and accountability is clear, as the world watches to see how these crimes will be addressed in the face of international law.