Breaking - Genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh: Thousands of Ethnic Armenians Forcibly Deported from Ancient Homeland
More than 30,000 displaced Artsakh Armenians have evacuated to Armenia, days after the majority ethnic Armenian enclave was seized by Azerbaijan
US, EU Fully Warned that Azerbaijan was about to Attack
Aliyev Humiliates Blinken by Defying U.S. Demands Against Military Force
Putin/Aliyev/Erdogan Seek Authoritarian Block in S. Caucasus
Due to Azerbaijan’s aggression, the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh initially reported 200 casualties, including 7 civilians (5 of whom were children), and 400 individuals injured, among whom 13 were children. However, the situation has since deteriorated, with an additional five people killed (including three children), 15 more individuals wounded, and four captured by Azerbaijani forces.
Azerbaijani Attacks Forcibly Displace Tens of Thousands of Armenians from Homeland






Global ARM strongly supports S. 2900, H.R. 5683 (Rep. Pallone) and H.R. 5686 (Rep. Chris Smith). We expect these bipartisan bill will get swift passage in light of genocide occurring now in Nagorno-Karabakh.
We also strongly support imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions on Azeri leaders as called for in a strong bicameral, bipartisan letter.
The failure to act by global leaders emboldened Azerbaijani Dictator Ilham Aliyev to violate international agreements, numerous cease-fire agreements and two orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Aliyev ignored all calls by the U.S. and other global leaders to refrain from using military force against Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. We are now witnessing ethnic cleansing in real time.
The imposition of the so-called “cease-fire” agreement and bogus “integration” of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians under the rule of Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev is illegitimate, counter to international law and a rebuke to U.S. statements calling for a negotiated settlement. Aliyev has deliberately humiliated the United States. This cannot be acceptable.
Condemnations not to use brute force against the subjugated and starving people of Nagorno Karabakh did not stop the Aliyev regime, in alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, from continuing their campaign of genocide against Nagorno-Karabakh. This military campaign leaves the vulnerable Armenian population with no alternative but to be forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, millennia aged monasteries and cemeteries. Aliyev was never interested in heeding calls to guarantee any rights and security for Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
Credible reports indicate that large scale atrocities akin to the Bucha massacre have occurred, involving the deaths of an estimated 1,000 civilians. These reports include horrific instances of children being beheaded in front of their parents. In a horrifying display, captures from Azerbaijani social media have been found to offer bounties for decapitated heads and ears of Armenian children in a number of settlements in Nagorno Karabakh-areas where no local or international actor has access. These grave acts contribute to an acute humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting from aggressive military actions by Azerbaijan.
Disturbingly, there are reports that Azerbaijani has a “kill list,” comprising 400 to 1,000 leaders and media figures, including U.S. and EU citizens in Nagorno-Karabakh. This brutal military campaign has resulted in the gut-wrenching separation of thousands of families who are unable to contact their loved ones.
Nagorno Karabakh has become a black box with almost no communication or connection with the outside world.
Azerbaijan’s Intent to Eliminate Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh
Over a century of evidence has documented harassment, discrimination, ethnic cleansing, violence, cultural and religious desecration and genocide by Azerbaijan against Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Founding International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has repeatedly called Azerbaijan’s actions Genocide.
In her September 14 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ambassador Yuri Kim said “the United States will not countenance any action or effort-short-term or long-term—to ethnically cleanse or commit other atrocities against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh”.
On Sept. 21, EU High Representative Joseph Borrell declared: “Azerbaijan bears the responsibility to ensure the rights and security of the Karabakh Armenians, including their right to live in their homes without intimidation and discrimination. Forced displacement of the civilian population through military or other means will be met with a strong response by the EU.”
Under no circumstances can the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh live safely and freely under the rule of Azerbaijan.
The violence undertaken by Azerbaijan threatens to engulf the entire South Caucasus region in conflict. Aliyev, Putin and Turkish President Erdogan continue threatening the Republic of Armenia with more violence and destabilization. Armenia’s existence as a democratic, pluralistic society is at risk without decisive action by international leaders.
Under Article I of the Genocide convention, there is a duty to prevent this genocide. Azerbaijan is also violative of Article II c) of the Convention by “inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.” Any acceptance of or inaction against Azerbaijan’s and Russia’s actions will make states complicit.
We urge the following actions be undertaken immediately:
- Cosponsor S. 2900.H.R. 5683 (Rep. Pallone) and H.R. 5686 (Rep. Chris Smith)
- Impose Global Magnitsky Sanctions on Azerbaijani Government leaders
- Deploy USAID personnel from Yerevan and Tbilisi to Nagorno-Karabakh to Nagorno-Karabakh immediately to conduct as assessment
- Publicly denounce Azerbaijani attacks as acts of ethnic cleansing and Genocide
- Public statements that the attacks causing ethnic cleansing do not provide any basis for a legitimate and permanent solution on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
- Support independent international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh for the safeguarding of human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh
- Ensuring freedom of movement through the Lachin Corridor in accordance with the ICJ Orders
- Unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani security forces and military installations from the Republic of Armenia
- Unconditional and immediate release of all Armenian POWs and civilians from Azerbaijani custody
- Declaring the unacceptability of any military incursion into the Syunik region or any other part of the Republic of Armenia
Bicameral, Bipartisan Letter Calls for Magnitsky Sanctions for Azeri Officials

Nagorno-Karabakh. Fuel Depot Explosion Kills 125 As Armenians Flee Enclave


UN Secretary-General’s Genocide Prevention Special Adviser Alarmed by Azerbaijani Aggression Against Nagorno-Karabakh
The Statement By Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide

UN Security Council Condemned Azerbaijan for Targeting Peaceful Population In Nagorno-Karabakh
On September 21, at the request of France, a session of the UN Security Council took place, where many UN members criticized Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno Karabakh and demanded measures to protect the security and rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia called for a UN mission to be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Written Remarks by the US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN SC Briefing
NAGORNO-KARABAKH UNDER SIEGE

Nagorno-Karabakh Experiences Widespread Fear While Azerbaijan Dismisses Concerns of Ethnic Cleansing
What happens next to the men, women and children in this corner of the South Caucasus is a source of increasing anxiety.
U.S. Senator Leads Delegation to Armenian-Azerbaijan Border, Calls For International Monitors In Karabakh
U.S. Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, called on September 23 for international monitors to be sent to observe conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh Experiences BBC: Karabakh Humanitarian Fears Grow with Thousands Sleeping On Stepanakert Streets

NY Times: Refugees Flee To Armenia As Breakaway Enclave Comes Under Azerbaijan’s Control

Nagorno-Karabakh Exodus Grows as Armenia Warns of Ethnic Cleansing
At a Red Cross emergency aid point, one elderly man asked the camera crews and journalists why they had only taken an interest once the situation reached crisis point.

Lemkin Institute For Genocide Prevention Issues Second SOS Alert For Armenians Of Nagorno-Karabakh
‘At this moment in time, conditions on the ground are unclear. Azerbaijan has cut all electricity, natural gas, and telecommunication services in Artsakh. There are unconfirmed reports of atrocities and massacres; as well as numerous death threats being made towards missing Armenian women and children.’

Genocide Watch: Genocide Alert In Nagorno-Karabakh
The United States is deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and calls on Azerbaijan to cease these actions immediately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in a statement.
Genocide Watch recommends that the US, EU, Russia and the UN
should:
- Enforce the ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan.
- Airlift massive emergency humanitarian aid directly into Artsakh.
- Enforce the ICJ’s rulings to open the Lachin Corridor, imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan.
- Enforce, not waive, Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and stop all US aid to Azerbaijan.
- Reject forced integration of Artsakh into Azerbaijan because it will lead to deportation and genocide.
- UNESCO should expand its list of cultural heritage sites in Artsakh and appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate damage to Armenian heritage sites in Azerbaijan.

ECHR Fully Satisfies Armenian Government’s Request and Applied Interim Measures Against Azerbaijan
SECURITY

The US Proposes International Mission Monitor Situation In Nagorno-Karabakh
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced that the USA proposes creating an international mission to monitor the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also noted that Russia ‘has shown that it is not a security partner that can be relied on.’
ABC News: What Is Nakhchivan? And After Nagorno-Karabakh, Is This The Next Crisis For Azerbaijan And Armenia
Like Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Armenian population felt cut off from the country of Armenia, Nakhchivan is territorially separated from the rest of Azerbaijan..Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev and Turkish President Erdogan were meeting Monday in Nakhchivan and were expected to push for a land connection between Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan.
The position of the regional heavyweights, Turkey and Russia, may also play a role. Turkey is in favor of a land corridor that would provide it a connection with the rest of the Turkic world. Russia, which has had peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020 and negotiated peace deals there, has in principle said such a corridor would be feasible.

OPINION


Azerbaijan Waited For Its Opening On Nagorno-Karabakh. This Week It Found It
By David Ignatius
For Armenians, who live in the long shadow of the 1915 Ottoman genocide, the plight of an estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Karabakh has been haunting. Lacking the military power to rival Azerbaijan—and without protection from Russia, the United States or even Armenia itself—the Karabakh Armenians were forced to surrender in two days. The United States also hopes that a lasting accord between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be possible now that the Karabakh issue has been resolved at gunpoint. But that overlooks the deep mistrust and anxiety felt by Armenians, which will only increase after this week’s armed takeover.



How Western Inaction Enabled Azerbaijan and Russia
By Thomas de Waal
There is talk of an amnesty, but many Karabakh Armenians fear that Azerbaijani forces could arbitrarily detain any Armenian servicemen, current or former, who fought in two wars against them. Yet Azerbaijan seems intent on keeping any international presence out of Karabakh, even if that involves doing a deal with Moscow. At the UN, Russia insisted that its peacekeepers were the only international presence needed.

An Armenian Exodus Raises The Specter Of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’
By Ishaan Tharoor
Aliyev floated the idea once more of creating a land corridor between Azerbaijan proper and Turkey, a geographic scenario that’s probably only possible through the seizure of more Armenian territory.


Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis Forces Western Rethink On Azerbaijan
By Pjotr Sauer
Baku has drawn the ire of the EU and US after years of promoting itself as a reliable security partner and vital transport hub.

Dispatches From Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian Christians Flee Another Genocide
By Lela Gilbert
These tragic stories of persecution are heartbreaking. The situation for Armenian Christians is worsening. As the events of the past week highlight, the world needs to take notice.
Why Are Armenians Fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh?
By Michael Rubin
Make no mistake: Today, tens of thousands of Armenians flee an ancestral homeland in which they have lived for thousands of years. Their flight before Azerbaijani forces resembles the 2014 Yezidi flight from Sinjar under the Islamic State’s assault or the Kurds fleeing Saddam’s advancing armies in 1991.The difference is in 1991 and 2014, the United States sided with freedom. In 2023, we betrayed it.

Another Modern Betrayal—History Will Judge Those Who Ignored The Armenians
By Nuri Kino
The least President Biden and other world leaders could do is take swift action to prevent further violence and provide essential aid to refugees in dire need. This might spare the history books from recording yet another painful chapter of betrayal.
