Jonathan Spangenberg’s post
Federal Foreign Office
To Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Johann Wadephul
Dear Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Wadephul,
As the undersigned organizations, we are writing to you with an urgent human rights and international law concern in the context of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
We reaffirm our commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the South Caucasus and expressly welcome the meeting held on 8 August 2025 in Washington between President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and President Ilham Aliyev as an important step toward a non-violent resolution of the conflict. At the same time, we are deeply concerned that the peace declaration adopted in Washington contains significant gaps that jeopardize the prospects for a just and lasting settlement. True peace is not possible without safeguarding the rights and security of the forcibly deported Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh. We therefore call on the Federal Government, together with the European Union and its Member States, to assume an active and principled role in this decisive peace process.
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In a letter dated 12 November 2024, in response to a joint letter from H.E. Bishop Serovpé Isakhanyan and the Chairman of the Central Council of Armenians in Germany (ZAD) to the parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU, Mr. Friedrich Merz, your parliamentary colleague Mr. Michael Brand emphasized the human rights position of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group:
“The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the German Bundestag has repeatedly dealt with the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh following the months-long starvation blockade by Azerbaijan and its unjustified military attack, which resulted in significant violations of international law.”
Mr. Brand further underlined:
“The more than 100,000 Armenians who were expelled from their homeland in Nagorno-Karabakh in September of the previous year must be able to return unhindered and immediately in accordance with the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 17 November 2023.”
“An immediate end to the destruction of the religious, cultural, and historical heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh is urgently required.”
Regarding Germany’s position in the context of COP29, Mr. Brand stated:
“At its meeting on 13 November 2024, the Bundestag Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid will address the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in the context of the 29th UN Climate Conference. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group will clearly present its demands to the representatives of the Federal Foreign Office.”
“The Foreign Minister must, as part of the German government delegation, use every diplomatic opportunity at the highest level to advocate for the release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages.”
Dear Foreign Minister, building on this clear position of your parliamentary group, we urgently call on you to assume this responsibility with diplomatic determination. Specifically, we ask you to take three central measures:
1. Support for the Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh
The policy statement of the Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh, published in Bern on 26 May 2025, is of particular importance. In this statement, the Swiss Federal Council announced its intention to organize an international peace forum to enable open dialogue between Azerbaijan and the forcibly deported representatives of the Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh under international supervision.
The initiative directly corresponds to the demands of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 17 October 2023, which obligated Azerbaijan to:
“Take all necessary measures to ensure that persons who have fled from Nagorno-Karabakh can return unhindered and safely.”
With its neutrality and mediation experience, Switzerland offers ideal conditions to open a new peaceful perspective for this decades-long unresolved conflict. We therefore ask you to work toward ensuring that the Federal Government officially supports this important peace initiative.
Link to the initiative: www.swisspeacekarabakh.com
2. Diplomatic steps for the release of Armenian hostages and political prisoners in Azerbaijan
More than 23 Armenian civilians, prisoners of war, and former officials from Nagorno-Karabakh are still being held in Azerbaijan, and about 80 others are considered forcibly disappeared. In the above-mentioned letter of 12 November 2024, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the Bundestag emphasized the urgent necessity for German foreign policy to advocate for the release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages.
Resolution 2580 (2025) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also unambiguously calls for “the immediate, unconditional release of all detained Armenian officials, prisoners of war, and civilians by Azerbaijan.”
At the same time, political repression within Azerbaijan is intensifying. The work of non-governmental organizations is severely restricted, and about 200 people are imprisoned as political prisoners. At the end of 2024, Azerbaijan was one of the countries with the least press freedom worldwide, with 13 imprisoned journalists according to CPJ. On 20 June 2025, eight journalists, including the Prague-based political scientist Bahruz Samadov, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7 ½ to 15 years. Samadov, who advocated for a peaceful solution to the Karabakh issue, participated in international peace processes, and wrote for international media, was arrested on charges of alleged “high treason”; the prosecutor’s demand for punishment led him to attempt suicide and go on hunger strike. His case exemplifies the systematic criminalization of peace-oriented intellectuals.
At a side event during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, organized by Christian Solidarity International (CSI), reports of systematic abuse of these detainees were presented, including beatings, mock executions, and psychological violence. The situation further deteriorated after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was denied access to detainees.
In view of this serious situation, we appeal to you, dear Foreign Minister, to actively advocate – bilaterally, within the Council of Europe, and vis-à-vis the EU Commission – for the release of all political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including the Armenian hostages.
3. Legal assessment of the ongoing detentions in light of the Genocide Convention
The targeted detention of leading figures from Nagorno-Karabakh, the systematic displacement and prevention of a secure return of the displaced, as well as the psychological violence against the entire Armenian community from Nagorno-Karabakh, in the view of international jurists, constitute acts under the UN Genocide Convention, particularly Article 2 (b) and (c).
On 30 October 2023, the first UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez, declared:
“The decision to leave the land – caused by the attack, but also by nine months of deprivation – demonstrates the severe psychological harm inflicted on all ethnic Armenians through Azerbaijan’s official policy and practice. This corresponds to the definition of genocide under Article 2(b) of the Genocide Convention.”
According to the International Court of Justice, the obligation to prevent genocide arises at the moment a state becomes aware, or should have become aware, of the serious risk of such an act.
In this sense, we ask you to firmly advocate for commissioning an independent international legal assessment to evaluate Azerbaijan’s detention practices as well as the violent displacement of Armenians in light of the Genocide Convention – and, if necessary, to consider further steps toward initiating an international procedure.
Dear Foreign Minister, Germany bears a special responsibility toward the Armenian people – and through clear support and diplomatic determination can make a decisive contribution.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Reinke, Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV)
Dr. Tessa Hofmann, Working Group Recognition – Against Genocide, for International Understanding (AGA)
Jonathan Spangenberg, Central Council of Armenians in Germany (ZAD)
Valerio Krüger, International Society for Human Rights (IGFM)
Dr. John Eibner, Christian Solidarity International (CSI)
Stephanus Foundation for Persecuted Christians