APPEAL
from the Displaced People of Nagorno-Karabakh to the OSCE Participating States
On behalf of the 150,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh—men, women, and children who have been forcibly displaced from their ancestral homeland—we address you with deep urgency and grave concern regarding the recent unilateral request by Armenia and Azerbaijan to terminate the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group.
For decades, the Minsk Group has stood as the only internationally mandated platform for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. To dissolve this mechanism without consulting the elected representatives of the people for whom it was established is to disregard our voice and deny our role in the process.
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We respectfully urge all OSCE participating States to exercise their authority, including veto powers where necessary, to prevent the dismantling of this framework until robust guarantees are in place to ensure the safe and dignified return of the displaced Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. This right is enshrined in Article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice ruling of November 17, 2023.
Any alternative arrangement must secure these fundamental principles:
• The right of return in safety and dignity for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh;
• The restoration of dialogue and negotiation channels, such as those facilitated by the Minsk Group;
• Full inclusion of our representatives in any discussions determining our future.
The conflict cannot be deemed resolved while an entire population remains uprooted, deprived of its inalienable rights. Our displacement was neither voluntary nor incidental—it resulted from siege, starvation, and military assault, actions that remain unaddressed by the international community.
Despite these hardships, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a peaceful, negotiated settlement that ensures security, self-determination, and coexistence. To remove the final vestige of international engagement without a credible and inclusive alternative would entrench injustice and make peace more elusive.
Legitimizing the ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and considering the conflict resolved would leave an indelible and bloody stain on the history, authority, and principles of the OSCE.
We appeal to you to act in accordance with the founding principles of the OSCE and the obligations of international law. We remain ready to engage constructively with the OSCE and its participating States to advance a just and lasting resolution and to secure the safe, peaceful, and dignified return of our people to their homeland. Our future—and our very survival—depends on your actions today.
Ashot Danielyan
President of the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh
On behalf of all factions and members of the National Assembly
EREVAN
20.08.2025y.
