On September 27, 2020—disregarding the call of UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on March 23, 2020, declaring a global ceasefire in order to combat COVID-19, as well as a resolution of similar spirit adopted in June—Azerbaijan launched long-prepared, large-scale military operations against Artsakh. The outbreak of war was also a clear violation of Article 33 of the UN Charter, adopted in San Francisco in 1945.
In reality, however, this war had begun a century earlier, in 1920, when Caucasian Tatars, with the assistance of their ethnic allies—the Ottoman Turks, who had only recently carried out the Armenian Genocide—began new oppression against Armenians.
To justify its unlawful policy of war, Azerbaijan tried to qualify is a legitimate measure to “restore territorial integrity.” Yet in just 44 days, more than 5,000 Armenian soldiers were killed, along with over 200 civilians.
After the war, the “logical” continuation of this claim followed not long after: the so-called “settlement” of the conflict was now accompanied by claims denying the very existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as a region. Since 2021, the official speeches of the President of Azerbaijan have consistently included such denials—both of Nagorno-Karabakh as an entity and of the conflict itself.
From the very start of the hostilities, Azerbaijani forces deliberately targeted Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh, in violation of numerous international norms prohibiting attacks on cultural heritage during war. Over the course of 44 days, Azerbaijan used internationally banned cluster munitions, bombs, rockets, and other weaponry to bombard towns and villages—including Shushi, Martakert, Martuni, and Hadrut—striking residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Kindergartens, schools, monasteries, and churches were specifically targeted in an effort to demoralize the Armenian population and to erase their physical and cultural presence. Museums and valuable collections were damaged, along with countless khachkars (cross-stones), monuments, and cultural buildings. Among the sites hit were Shushi’s Amenaprkich (Holy Savior) Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the Tigranakert archaeological camp, Shushi’s House of Culture, the Stepanakert music school, and other cultural institutions.
The 2020 war also triggered the forcible displacement of Artsakh Armenians. As a result of Azerbaijan’s war crimes and the resulting socio-economic and humanitarian crisis, more than 40,000 people were displaced from Shushi, Hadrut, Shahumyan, Kashatagh, and from several villages in the Martakert and Askeran regions. Residents were also displaced from other settlements affected by the war, including Stepanakert, Askeran, and Martuni. In total, around 113 of Artsakh’s 228 communities were entirely depopulated.
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The war marked only the beginning of the atrocities faced by the Armenian people. It was followed by the 10-month blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which in 2023 led to the complete depopulation of Artsakh.
The Human Rights Union of Nagorno-Karabakh Refugees urges international organizations to remain consistent in documenting and condemning these grave crimes against humanity. Failure to do so only encourages new crimes, undermining stability in the region in an atmosphere of impunity.
Human Rights Union of Nagorno-Karabakh Refugees
