The blockade and humanitarian access ban by Azerbaijan have specifically affected the socially vulnerable groups, such as the internally displaced people (IDPs), who are still struggling with the devastating consequences of the 2020 war. Today, out of total 40,000 IDPs, they are nearly 15,000 living under blockade in Artsakh.
As they have lost literally everything during the war, they naturally face more deprivations and challenges of finding food and essential goods under the blockade.
The construction of nearly 4000 apartments for the IDPs has been suspended during the blockade, as the necessary building materials are not being supplied to Artsakh for more than 7 months now. This situation only exacerbates their state of uncertainty.
As the state budget is currently in an unprecedented decline due to the blockade, the state assistance provided for IDPs is being delayed, which further aggravates their social and financial standing, and their living conditions in general.
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Many of them have also lost their jobs during the blockade, after having struggled to finally find one after their displacement. As they have being mainly employed in the private sector, which has suffered the most in this period, they have become deprived of their main source of income.
In scope of our ongoing fact-finding missions, we have visited one of the displaced families, which lives in a basement in Stepanakert for 3 years now. The living conditions are very dire. There is no proper bath and kitchen, no separate bedrooms, no air conditioning, no heating system, no hot water. These people struggle to find something to eat every day.
The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan
