On September 2, 2024, about 50 civil society organizations of the Republic of Artsakh sent an Appeal to the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Dr. Ian BORG.
The document, in particular, states:
“As you know, following the large-scale military aggression of Azerbaijan against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh) and its people, from September 27, 2020 to October 4, 2023, under the threat of physical annihilation, some 150,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to leave their historical homeland, where the history of the Armenian cultural heritage counts several millennia. As a result, the entire territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has been captured by Azerbaijan, which employed coercive tactics, such as a 10-month-long complete blockade, military aggression, an ethnic cleansing and other genocidal actions.
The fact-finding mission, jointly conducted by the Freedom House, the International Partnership for Human Rights, the Democracy Development Foundation, the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, the Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, the Law Development and Protection Foundation and the Truth Hounds, confirmed that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the actions undertaken by the Azerbaijani authorities and its military, as well as other acts mentioned in the mission’s report, published under the title “Why Are There No Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh?”, constitute crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including Article 7 (crimes against humanity) and Article 8 (war crimes), and meet the definition of deportation or forcible transfer of population.
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After committing the above-mentioned criminal acts and in order to consolidate the results, the leadership of Azerbaijan has been attempting to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, the only international body mandated with achieving a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. To legitimize its illegal intentions, Azerbaijan now cynically demands Armenia to jointly appeal to the OSCE requesting to liquidate the Minsk Group and the related structures. At the same time, the legitimate rights and expectations of the most interested party to the conflict – the people of Nagorno-Karabakh – are being ignored. For the fourth year, the President of Azerbaijan has been trying to convince the international community that Azerbaijan has “unilaterally resolved the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by military-diplomatic means”, and that even a concept of Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists.
Over the past two decades, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries have repeatedly stressed the inadmissibility of the use of force as an instrument of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Hence, to agree with false narratives and the fait accompli policy of Azerbaijani would mean to completely reject the UN Charter, the principles of the CSCE/OSCE Helsinki Final Act and to legitimize Azerbaijan’s deliberate mass violation of international conventions, genocidal actions and unlawful use of force.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries and other involved actors have also repeatedly stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved and, therefore, the military occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh is illegal and the OSCE Minsk Group must continue to function in accordance with its mandate.
In the Appeal of the political and civil society representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh / Artsakh to the international community, dated December 9, 2023, we presented our assessment of the situation and put forward five indisputable conditions for the peaceful, safe and dignified return and life of our people in their homeland. Today, we confirm that we do not intend to compromise our principles, convictions and rights related to our own Motherland, either in the face of force, threat of destruction, or in exile, under any other physical and political circumstances.
According to OSCE decisions, the mission of the Minsk Group is to provide a framework for conflict resolution, i.e. determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and eliminating the basis for conflict. In 1992, the international community recorded an existing disagreement over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognizing the disputed nature of the territory. Armenia and Azerbaijan then became participant-countries of the CSCE/OSCE on the condition that they recognized the fact of disagreement over the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh and agreed that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh would be determined at a peace conference under the auspices of the CSCE/OSCE. Both states assumed an international obligation to resolve the issue exclusively by peaceful means.
Also in 1992, all CSCE/OSCE member states recognized the right of elected representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh to participate in the OSCE international conference mandated to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Subsequently, Nagorno-Karabakh along with Azerbaijan and Armenia, was recognized as a party to the conflict.
However, having become a member of CSCE/OSCE, Azerbaijan immediately violated its international commitment to resolve disputes peacefully. The official Baku illegally used force against Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory, in order to prevent the international conference on determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
From the very beginning of the Minsk process, all MG member states ignored a key circumstance – Azerbaijan’s violation of its commitment to resolve the conflict exclusively by peaceful means. This approach nurtured Azerbaijan’s intention to opt for a “military solution”, while using the negotiation process to cover-up its military buildup and to offset the international efforts to determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The people of Nagorno-Karabakh, being the victims of a meticulously planned and implemented military aggression by Azerbaijan, appeal to the OSCE demanding to fulfill its obligations under its international mandate and not to placate Azerbaijan, a country where the policy of hatred and Armenophobia is cultivated and practiced at the highest state level.
Azerbaijan initially recognized the disputed status of Nagorno-Karabakh and agreed to determine this status at an international conference. Therefore, its attempts to ignore the existence of the problem of determining the Nagorno-Karabakh status have no basis.
The OSCE and its Minsk Group are obliged to continue focusing on the issue of determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and to protect the entire range of rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh. Any forcible transformation in the conflict zone cannot be considered legitimate and cannot change the initial functions of the OSCE, defined on March 24, 1992 at the Helsinki Additional Meeting of the CSCE Council, in particular, to determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of an international peace conference. The status of this territory remains unresolved, which preserves the root cause of the conflict. No legal changes have taken place in the functions of the Minsk Group. The reluctance of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to collaborate due to the war in Ukraine cannot serve as a justification for freezing the functioning of the Minsk Group. Preparing and holding the international conference on determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains the task of the OSCE and continues to be relevant.
If Azerbaijan obstructs the process of determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and, moreover, continues to exert force on the parties to the conflict, it is then necessary to apply other measures from the arsenal of international politics, including international sanctions.
The international organization responsible for the collective security and cooperation in Europe cannot be held hostage by participating states which openly violate their commitments to the OSCE and which ignore the basic principles of international law.
The civil society of Nagorno-Karabakh is well aware of the right of its elected representatives to participate in the international conference on Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of the OSCE and, hence, also conveys its demands, concerns and proposals to the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia.
Mr Chairperson-in-Office,
We are asking you to display a responsible attitude and respect to the OSCE decisions on Nagorno-Karabakh and to create conditions for holding a conference on Nagorno-Karabakh in the nearest future. It is absolutely clear that now only an international conference on Nagorno-Karabakh can make the political decisions necessary to restore the violated human rights in this region. We understand that the heads of states, whose hands are covered in blood up to their elbows, will hinder the OSCE from implementing its own decisions, true to their criminal practice of forcible denial of the fundamental human rights, but – at the same time – we believe that this international organization headed by you has sufficient political will to overcome this obstacle.
We emphasize once again: Nagorno-Karabakh is the most interested party in the conflict settlement process. Azerbaijan grossly violated its international obligations and, using its military advantage, was also able to achieve the refusal of the Armenian authorities to defend the interests of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Thus, the protection of the entire spectrum of rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the right to self-determination, is the task of the international community, the OSCE primarily.
On behalf of tens of thousands of our compatriots, whose fundamental rights continue to be grossly violated but whose hopes are now pinned on the international community, we are kindly asking you to heed to these calls.
Please distribute this Appeal as an official document of the OSCE Permanent Council”.
