— Human Rights Organizations Warn Artsakh Ethnic Cleansing, Israeli Military Partnership Make Azerbaijan Unsuitable for Peacekeeping
WASHINGTON, DC – A New Policy and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and have rallied a coalition of 18 U.S. organizations to oppose the potential inclusion of Azerbaijan in the International Security Force (ISF) planned for Gaza under President Trump’s 20-Point Plan. The coalition released a statement urging the United States and international partners to reject any Azerbaijani military presence in the force, citing its ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenian population in 2023 and deep military partnership with Israel as disqualifying factors.
The coalition statement – first reported in Politico’s National Security Daily – warns that international security forces must bring both impartiality and a demonstrated track record of respect for human rights – standards that Azerbaijan fails to meet on both counts.
According to media reports, Azerbaijan is being considered as a potential contributor to the ISF despite its well-documented pattern of human rights abuses and its extensive military and economic ties to Israel. The coalition argues these connections fundamentally undermine any claim to impartiality in a Gaza peacekeeping mission.
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“The Armenian and Palestinian people both have a long history of oppression, and in many instances a shared history of oppression”, stated Executive Director of A New Policy, Josh Paul. “At a time when those who are responsible for that oppression are finding shared interest in their collaboration, it is incumbent upon those of us on the side of freedom and justice to respond with unity. The notion that two of the world’s most odious military forces should operate alongside each other in Gaza is as absurd as it is shocking.”
The coalition’s statement details how Azerbaijan’s military relationship with Israel creates an inherent conflict of interest. “Israel is a major supplier to Azerbaijan’s military, accounting for up to 70% of Azerbaijan’s arms imports – including of key munitions such as the Barak-8 Extended Range air-defense system and advanced unmanned aerial systems including the Heron and Searcher, and loitering weapons such as the Harop,” the statement notes. “Israel’s role as a key supplier to Azerbaijan, particularly of cutting-edge and AI-enabled military technology, as well as the two nation’s strong intelligence and security cooperation ties, bring considerable doubt as to whether Azerbaijan would be willing to call balls and strikes when it comes to ceasefire violations, or will instead act essentially as a proxy of the Israeli Defense Forces.”
Beyond military ties, the statement points to energy dependency as another factor compromising Azerbaijan’s neutrality. “Additionally, up to 40% of Israel’s oil imports come from Azerbaijan – further casting doubt on Azerbaijan’s capacity and willingness to play an impartial role in the proposed International Security Force in Gaza.”
Azerbaijan’s human rights record presents an equally disqualifying concern. The coalition statement chronicles Baku’s campaign against the Armenian population of Artsakh, noting that “in 2023, Azerbaijan imposed a humanitarian blockade against the Armenian population of Artsakh, depriving the region’s 150,000 civilians access to food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods for 10 months – before launching a military assault that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the Artsakh’s entire Armenian population.”
The pattern of abuse extends beyond the blockade and forced displacement. Azerbaijan continues to unlawfully detain and abuse Armenian civilians and political leaders from Artsakh, engages in widespread destruction and desecration of Armenian Christian cultural heritage, and maintains its occupation of sovereign Armenian territory following 2022 border incursions that included war crimes such as the summary execution of unarmed Armenian soldiers.
“Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh – a crime openly aided and abetted by Israel – disqualifies it as a peacekeeping presence in Gaza or anywhere else for that matter,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The same Azerbaijan that’s buying billions of dollars’ worth of Israeli arms – that ships tens of millions of barrels of oil to Israel on an annual basis – cannot credibly be expected to protect Palestinian civilians. Just the opposite, in fact. We are proud to stand in solidarity with A New Policy and all our coalition partners in opposing any role for Azerbaijan in Gaza, rejecting outright this reckless attempt to whitewash Azerbaijan’s genocidal violence at the expense of Palestinians lives and land.”
The coalition includes organizations focused on human rights, genocide prevention, Middle East peace, and justice advocacy. Joining ANCA and A New Policy in the statement are: American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action), Churches for Middle East Peace, CODEPINK, DAWN, Disability Justice for Palestine, International Association of Genocide Scholars, Just Foreign Policy, Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention & Human Security, Migrant Roots Media, National Iranian American Council, Palestinian Christians for Justice, Progressive Democrats of America – Greater Middle East Alliances, US Campaign For Palestinian Rights (USCPR Action), Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section (WILPF US), and YUSRA Action.
The coalition statement concludes with a direct appeal: “We urge the international community including the United States to reject any role for the Azerbaijani military in the conceived International Security Force for Gaza. Azerbaijan’s egregious human rights record and recent ethnic cleansing of Artsakh – in addition to its growing dependence on Israeli military technology and Israel’s reliance on Azerbaijani energy – make it uniquely unsuited for any peacekeeping or stabilizing role in the Palestinian territories.”
The full coalition statement is available on A New Policy’s website and below.
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Statement by U.S. Organizations concerning the potential inclusion of Azerbaijan in the planned International Security Force for Gaza
We, the below-listed U.S. nongovernmental organizations are deeply concerned by media reports that the International Security Force (ISF) planned for Gaza under President Trump’s 20-Point Plan may include a military contingent from Azerbaijan, and urge the United States and other partners to reject such a presence.
International third party security or peacekeeping forces can be an important element of post conflict stabilization, but as the performance of certain militaries operating under the MONUSCO mission in Congo and the MINUSTAH mission in Haiti demonstrate, it is vital that such forces bring both impartiality and a track record of respect for human rights.
The potential inclusion of an Azerbaijani military component in Gaza is alarming in both respects:
Israel and Azerbaijan’s military ties have deepened significantly in the last decade, undermining confidence in Azerbaijan’s capacity to play an impartial stabilizing role.Israel is a major supplier to Azerbaijan’s military, accounting for up to 70% of Azerbaijan’s arms imports – including of key munitions such as the Barak-8 Extended Range air-defense system and advanced unmanned aerial systems including the Heron and Searcher, and loitering weapons such as the Harop. Israel’s role as a key supplier to Azerbaijan, particularly of cutting-edge and AI-enabled military technology, as well as the two nation’s strong intelligence and security cooperation ties, bring considerable doubt as to whether Azerbaijan would be willing to call balls and strikes when it comes to ceasefire violations, or will instead act essentially as a proxy of the Israeli Defense Forces. Additionally, up to 40% of Israel’s oil imports come from Azerbaijan – further casting doubt on Azerbaijan’s capacity and willingness to play an impartial role in the proposed International Security Force in Gaza.
Azerbaijan’s human rights record also calls into question its credibility as a stabilizing force. In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a military assault against the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), engaging in a pattern of serious human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings of civilians and prisoners of war, the arbitrary detention and abuse of prisoners of war and civilian captives, and unlawful attacks on civilian property including homes, schools, medical facilities and religious sites, including the use of prohibited weapons. And in 2023, Azerbaijan imposed a humanitarian blockade against the Armenian population of Artsakh, depriving the region’s 150,000 civilians access to food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods for 10 months – before launching a military assault that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the Artsakh’s entire Armenian population. To this day, Azerbaijan continues to unlawfully detain and abuse Armenian civilians and political leaders from Artsakh, engages in the widespread destruction and desecration of Armenian cultural heritage and civilian property, and continues to occupy sovereign Armenian territory following border incursions in 2022 during which Azerbaijani forces perpetrated war crimes including the summary execution of unarmed Armenian soldiers.
As such, we urge the international community including the United States to reject any role for the Azerbaijani military in the conceived International Security Force for Gaza. Azerbaijan’s egregious human rights record and recent ethnic cleansing of Artsakh – in addition to its growing dependence on Israeli military technology and Israel’s reliance on Azerbaijani energy – make it uniquely unsuited for any peacekeeping or stabilizing role in the Palestinian territories
Armenian National Committee of America