Governments involved in bokering talks between Azerbaijan
and Armenia should secure solid commitments from the Azerbaijani president on
respecting, protecting, and implementing the right to return of ethnic
Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Human
Rights Watch wrote this, stating that over 100,000 ethnic Armenians, i.e.
almost the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh have fled in recent days.
The organization noted that Azerbaijan’s partners should
insist on an international monitoring mission to report publicly on the living
conditions of the ethnic Armenians who have remained in Nagorno-Karabakh and to
reveal human rights violations, particularly those that would undermine the
right of ethnic Armenians to return to their homes.
Partner governments should call on the Azerbaijani
authorities to take substantive steps to facilitate the right to return, either
for short-term visits or for long-term ones.
“Azerbaijan’s partners should send an unambiguous message to
the country’s leadership that when it comes to the right to return, they will
not accept hollow rhetoric and half measures,” Europe and Central Asia director
at Human Rights Watch Hugh Williamson said this.
Human Rights Watcհ noted that those who prefer not to return
at all, should be given compensation for their property and should be able to
take any belongings that they have left behind. They should also be able to
access any bank accounts or benefits, such as pensions.
“For those who return, Azerbaijan should ensure access to
education in the Armenian language and provide concrete guarantees protecting
people’s ability to exercise civil, political, religious, and cultural rights
without discrimination. The past few weeks have been a horrific period for
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population. Azerbaijan’s partners should now
ensure that Azerbaijani authorities do not turn this trauma and loss into
long-term injustice,” Williamson said.
