Israel’s home games in the Women’s Nations League which were to be played in Tel Aviv in December have been moved to Armenia and Hungary, Europe’s football governing body UEFA said on Thursday.
Israel was to host Armenia and Estonia next month but due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the matches have been moved.
The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo, believes that countries are deliberately ignoring the risk of genocide to avoid the obligation to prevent it.
In an interview with Armenpress Brussels correspondent, Ocampo said that the forced displacement of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani attack constitutes genocide.
Mr. Ocampo, on August 7, you provided and then published your professional opinion to the President of the Republic of Artsakh, considering the blockade and complete siege of Artsakh as genocide. What process could have been started at that time to prevent the coming disaster?
Well, the report was important because we made a point in the public opinion. However, states are doing something fascinating, they are deliberately ignoring the risk of genocide to avoid the obligation to prevent genocide, that’s what we found. We found basically that states are trying to avoid the word genocide. Even because when the US Congress took the report and started activities, then US State Department, without mentioning genocide said they will protect Nagorno Karabakh internationally. But it was late too late. They said that and three days later Aliyev attacked.
How do you interpret what happened after September 19 in Nagorno Karabakh? It seems that when many say genocide, they only imagine a massacre. But in a few days, more than a hundred thousand people forcibly left their homeland, leaving behind everything.
That is a genocide as well, under Genocide Convention article 2B. There's a new report by Juan Mendes saying that the fact that 100,000 people left is showing the mental harm. The fact that they left everything. So that is another form genocide to be, not only killing. The killing was not massive, but there is a mental harm of all the community leaving their land.
What legal mechanisms are there for the rights of the people of Artsakh that can work and how realistic do you consider the restoration of the rights of these people according to international norms?
I think it's important now that France is pushing for that. That's an important state that is pushing the agenda and it's something we should fight for. We should fight for gaining respect of the right of the people, because the people, even if they are not there, they are still the owners of the land and the place, so their rights must be respected. And I think a different priority is to recover, to release the hostages. There are 53 people in jail in Azerbaijan. The problem is international law is not something like if someone steals your bike, you can go to the police and the courts. No, there's nothing like that. We have the International Court of Justice presumably for states, and there is the International Criminal Court for prosecuting individuals. The legal process for releasing these people is not clear, but we should develop the process politically. That is why this meeting is important.
https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2023/11/09/Luis-Moreno-Ocampo/2923751
The growth of IT has become a synonym for Armenia’s development in the last decades. Given that the country has had a rather strong position in the IT sector since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it appears to be natural to observe the industry flourishing. In the 2000s, the primary agents of change were the branches of multinational companies, such as Synopsys Armenia and others. In recent years, the focus has shifted towards establishing a vibrant and thriving start-up ecosystem. Not even the economic slowdown in 2014-2016, the political upheavals of 2018, the Covid-19 Pandemic, and the 2020 war in Nagorno Karabakh did stop the growth of the IT sector in Armenia.
The growing number of IT companies in Armenia has created an opportunity for the younger generation to have a more significant influence and earn higher salaries, considering that the current average net monthly salary in Armenia is around $400. Today, a coder with basic knowledge earns between $1200 and $2000 per month, while salaries for senior developers in the sector have started to reach $5000 a month. It is also essential to note that Armenia’s IT sector does not employ just coders. Designers, content writers, project managers, graphic designers, lawyers, marketers, and accountants work in IT companies. While their salaries are often lower than those of coders, they are still relatively high compared to other sectors.
However, not everything shines in the Armenian IT sector. The number one problem is the shortage of qualified professionals. At the same time, Armenia still faces brain drain, and the most successful start-ups usually leave the country and register themselves in the US to access Western Venture Capital. The latest example is Picsart, the first unicorn with Armenian roots. Some other famous IT companies are being named Armenian only because their founders are Armenians, although they were established outside the country and only have branches in Armenia, like ServiceTitan.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a significant exodus of Russians; some left Russia for political reasons, as they were against the war, and many did not want to compromise their lives. Armenia became one of the primary destinations for Russian migrants due to several reasons. Armenia and Russia enjoy a visa-free regime, and there are many daily flights to Yerevan from multiple Russian cities. Armenia and Russia are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, allowing tariff-free export and import. Perhaps, most importantly, many Armenians have favorable views on Russians. Despite the growing criticism of Russia in Armenia due to its actions or inaction during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijani incursions into Armenia in 2021 and 2022, and the military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan in September 2023, this has not turned into resentment against Russians, as it has focused on the Russian state.
According to different estimates, up to 100,000 Russians have entered Armenia since February 2022, with two big waves, one in March-April and one in late September-October 2022, immediately after mobilization was declared in Russia. As of October 2023, up to 60,000 Russians remain in Armenia, primarily located in the capital, Yerevan, though a few Russians also live in Gyumri, the second biggest city of Armenia. Most Russians who migrated to Armenia are specialists in the IT sphere. The robust growth of the IT sector in Armenia played a role in influencing their choice, as Armenia can offer them developed infrastructure, including IT business centers and IT parks.
In early March, when the first large wave of Russians arrived, the local tech community quickly organized events and online groups to integrate the newly arrived tech professionals moving to the country. One telegram group, set up to help those relocating, quickly reached tens of thousands of members.
Several Russian companies have also opened offices or expanded their current presence in the country. One notable example is Miro, an online whiteboard tool valued at $17.5 billion after closing its $400 million Series C round. Yandex, the Russian tech giant, also opened a new office in Armenia earlier this year. It can be assumed that most of the workforce of these offices are relocated Russians. However, their presence will create future employment opportunities for Armenian tech sector workers as well.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that not all newcomers started to work in Armenian companies. Some Russian specialists later found opportunities to immigrate to other countries in Europe and North America. Some are still in Armenia working remotely for global companies, and others are working for the Armenia branch of their employers.
In general, the influx of Russian IT specialists has played a positive role in the further development of the already booming IT sector in Armenia, and, in the long term, it will contribute to the overall economic recovery of Armenia.
The issue of war crimes committed by Azerbaijan continues to remain at the forefront of the international community’s attention and public scrutiny. Of particular concern are the incidents following Azerbaijan’s deadly attack on the Republic of Artsakh from September 19th to 21st, resulting in the deportation of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In light of these events, along with Armenia’s recent ratification of the Rome Statute, it is crucial to examine the brutal war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the recent past.
This examination is vital to properly assess the xenophobic policies of the Azerbaijani side and the potential dangers they pose.
The internet, the International Court, and the press have already discussed a series of crimes attributed to the Azerbaijani side. Prominent among these are well-known footages depicting killings in 2020, as well as the execution of Armenian soldiers during the military aggression against Armenia in September 2022.
However, there are lesser-known episodes that require attention to highlight the specific inhumane policies of Azerbaijan, their actual intentions, and the crimes of war.
https://x.com/araratpetrosian/status/1686322885915197441
https://x.com/araratpetrosian/status/1681414849518026768
Particular attention should be given to footage clearly showing signs of torture and executions. These instances might be of a mass scale and have not faced significant resistance from the international community and organisations.
With the hope that following the adoption of the Rome Statute by Armenia, not only can Armenia hold Azerbaijan accountable for many crimes but also potentially prevent a new Azerbaijani adventure, the presence of the International Criminal Court could play a concerning role.
Amidst numerous anti-Armenian statements by Ilham Aliyev, his regime’s fascist position, and the regime’s committed war crimes, the ratification of the Rome Statute serves as another means for Armenia to safeguard its sovereignty.
This move may not fully replace defunct security systems such as the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and agreements with Russia. However, it could open a new chapter of accountability for Azerbaijan and its leadership.
In the face of the collapse of the global security system and numerous major regional conflicts, controlling Azerbaijan’s reckless behaviour becomes increasingly challenging.
By Editor-in-Chief “Respublica Armenia” newspaper Ararat Petrosyan.
20:43, 8 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Paris to participate in the 42th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said on social media.
“On November 9, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Paris to participate in the 42th Session of the UNESCO General Conference,” she said.
There is a striking difference between the media response to Azerbaijan’s 2020-2023 aggression against Armenians of Artsakh, which ended in a genocide, and the media’s reaction to Israel’s retaliation in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7th invasion, massacre, and hostage-taking. Most international media ignored Azerbaijan’s bombings, in 2020, of hospitals, schools, kindergartens, homes, and other non-military targets in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). They have also ignored the beheadings and mutilations that Azeri soldiers have committed against Armenians.
Artsakh is an Armenian republic in the South Caucasus. Indigenous Armenians lived there for millennia until Azerbaijan bombed and invaded their territory on 19-20 September 2023, forcing around 120,000 Armenians to flee for their lives. Azerbaijan claims the region because, in the 1920s, Stalin granted Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan as an autonomous oblast as part of his “divide and rule” strategy. However, Artsakh has never been part of an independent Azerbaijan; instead, it has historically been an integral part of Armenia. In fact, in 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union saw the creation of two independent and legally equal republics: Azerbaijan and Artsakh.
Since then, Azerbaijan’s aggression has been unceasing. The September bombardments were Azerbaijan’s second military assault against Artsakh since 2020. An earlier assault took place between 27 September and 9 November, 2020, during which Azerbaijan indiscriminately bombed civilian areas, including hospitals and schools, for 44 days. On 28 October 2020, news website EVN reported:
Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, and the town of Shushi came under intensive shelling today by Azerbaijani forces. A maternity hospital in Stepanakert and other civilian infrastructure were heavily damaged. One civilian was killed and several others wounded including first responders of Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations.
The Associated Press then released video footage showing the shelling of the maternity hospital in Stepanakert by Azeri military forces. Artak Beglaryan, a former state minister of Artsakh and at the time the region’s human rights ombudsman, went to the site of the bombed hospital and posted a video on his X (formerly Twitter) page:
My video message and introduction on the Azerbaijan’s today’s deliberate strike on the Republican medical center of Stepanakert, including maternity and child hospital. Intl community bears responsibility for these #WarCrimes as doesn’t stop them. #DontBeBlind
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement:
This war crime, which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, customary law, clearly shows that Azerbaijan’s target in Artsakh is the people—infants, mothers, the elderly.
On 26 February 2021, Human Rights Watch issued a report entitled “Unlawful Attacks on Medical Facilities and Personnel in Nagorno-Karabakh: New Research on Three Incidents from 2020 Conflict,” in which they detailed events of the attacks:
Human Rights Watch documented multiple unlawful strikes on a public hospital in Martakert in September through November 2020, and an unlawful strike on a military hospital in the town’s outskirts in October …
Two doctors [of the Martakert Public Hospital] said that when the shelling began on September 27, staff moved all 39 patients, including children and mothers with newborn babies, to the basement. Those whose health allowed it were discharged that day, and the rest were promptly evacuated to Stepanakert…
On September 28, a group of five apparent Azerbaijani servicemen attacked an ambulance…, killing a military doctor, Sasha Rustamyan, 26, and injuring the driver and the accompanying Armenian army sergeant.
Despite these reports, few governments showed concern. Most mainstream media outlets did not even report on these unlawful military attacks against Armenian medical centers, patients, and medical professionals. Schools were also indiscriminately bombed by Azeri forces. The Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh issued a report on 9 November 2020, in which it documented Azeri attacks against Armenian children and schools:
Targetings of civilian objects have been deliberate and indiscriminate—strikes on communities have been recorded from the very first day of the offense. The attacks by the Azerbaijani armed forces on civilian households have put life and health of children, women, the elderly and the entire peaceful civilian population, as well as their property, schools and other civilian objects in real danger. Moreover, these assaults have not been tempered relative to other targets and have included the full use of air force, missiles, artillery, attack UAVs and even internationally prohibited weapons and methods …
Densely populated areas, including schools and kindergartens, have been indiscriminately targeted. The armed forces of Azerbaijan have been acting with clear intention to damage lives and health of the civilian population, including children. Based on preliminary data, 71 schools and 14 kindergartens … have suffered material damages from the shelling, rocket and air strikes by the Azerbaijani armed forces. As a result of the Azerbaijani attacks, all the 220 schools and 58 kindergartens were closed. Consequently, all the 23,978 children in Artsakh have been deprived of the Right to Education, the opportunity to attend school and 4,036 children of receiving preschool education.
During and after the war, many Armenians, both civilians and soldiers alike, were beheaded or mutilated. Many videos of the beheadings and mutilations were posted on social media by Azeri accounts. According to a report by Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman, some examples include:
Yuri Asriyan, a resident of Azokh village, Hadrut region, could not leave his place of residence due to health problems. He was captured on October 21 by Azerbaijani troops who invaded the village. Later, in December 2020, a video was spread on the Internet, which contained the scene of Asriyan being beheaded. He repeatedly asked not to be beheaded in the name of ‘Allah’, but a soldier in the uniform of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces beheaded him. Asryan’s body was found on 21.01.2021.
Gennady Petrosyan, a resident of Madatashen village of Askeran region, returned to the village after evacuation on 27.10.2020 to pick up his remaining possesions. During the same period, Azeri soldiers in the village captured him and later in November posted a video on the Internet, which clearly shows Petrosyan being beheaded, and his body and amputated head placed next to the body of a pig.
Alvard Tovmasyan was born in 1963, lived in the village of Karin Tak in the Shushi region, and suffered from mental illness. Her body was found on 13.01.2021 as a result of search operations in the same village. Examination of her body revealed obvious signs of torture; her left ear and tongue were cut off. The corpse was identified by relatives and comparative examination of DNA samples.
The war was halted with an agreement signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, and brokered by Russia, on November 9, 2020. Yet, the Azeri aggression never stopped. During Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade that lasted from December 2022 to late September 2023, Armenians were besieged in their own land for nine months. They survived with very little food, medicine, or fuel. Then, on 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan again bombed Artsakh, invaded forcibly displaced the Armenian population, and arrested its political and military leaders. On October 19, Anahit Manasyan, the human rights ombudsman of Armenia, said, “Numerous bodies, including those of children and women, bearing signs of torture and mutilation, have been taken to Armenia from Artsakh.”
Many people regularly follow the news and international developments, but are unaware of the true scale of the 2020-23 Armenian genocide committed by Azerbaijan and its ally, Turkey. Azerbaijan’s two brutal wars, carpet bombings, siege starvation, beheadings, and mutilations of Armenians, and its violent targeting of hospitals and schools in Artsakh, should have made headlines in the West.
Despite the many crimes Azerbaijan has committed against Artsakh’s indigenous and peace-loving Armenians, there has been very little factual media coverage. The Western mainstream media has been mostly silent—perhaps even complicit with Azerbaijan. Their silence has helped Azerbaijan drive Armenians out of their ancestral homeland. Tens of thousands of Armenian families have lost their homes, left everything behind, and are now refugees struggling with economic, medical, and psychological problems.
The question demands an answer: Why have most Western media outlets been so blind and apathetic in response to the past three years of the Artsakh Genocide?
21:36, 8 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The conference entitled " The rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh Armenians and the European Union" was held in the European Parliament, which was organized and hosted by MEP Costas Mavrides (Cyprus, S&D) in cooperation with The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) and the "Europeans for Artsakh" platform.
Armenpress Brussels correspondent Lilit Gasparyan informs the conference was aimed at elaborating on the developments in Artsakh since 2020 war from the perspective of international law, human rights as well the response of the international community, the main players involved in mediation, with a particular focus on the role of the EU.
Costas Mavrides stated in his opening speech that the main goal of the conference was not only to not forget the ethnic cleansing carried out by the regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, but also to establish justice.
"Criminals must be punished for committing crimes against humanity, with the ultimate goal of preventing their recurrence in the future.
That is why I have been advocating for years the need to make the EU's acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court mandatory for the third countries.
It is equally important to ensure the safe return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh and guarantee respect for their rights by Azerbaijan. The European Parliament has always been on the side of the Armenians because we defend respect for human rights and international law, and we will intensively continue our efforts in this direction,” Mavrides said.
Armenia's Ambassador to Belgium and Head of the Mission of Armenia to the EU, Tigran Balayan in his speech stated that he was present at the conference not only in his official capacity, but also as a person whose family had been subjected to ethnic cleansing and left their homeland after the aggression carried out by Aliyev in front of the eyes of the world and the international community.
"Since 2020, every step taken by the government of Azerbaijan has fully complied with the 14 factors of atrocity crimes defined by the United Nations. Our task is to use all possible legal means from our arsenal to hold the Aliyev regime accountable for ethnic cleansing and serious war crimes,” Balayan said, adding that the Aliyev regime must pay for everything and individual sanctions must be imposed. According to the ambassador, if crimes remain unpunished, they are doomed to be repeated. Balayan is confident that the European Parliament, within its powers, can apply individual sanctions against key members of the regime.
The Chairman of Hay Dat Committee of Europe Gaspar Karapetyan, in his speech said that the European Parliament, as a body elected by the people, fulfills its task with honor. Gaspar Karapetyan noted that the European Parliament had repeatedly condemned Azerbaijan and demanded that the executive bodies of the EU take clear steps and impose sanctions against Azerbaijan. “Despite this, the EU executive body wittingly or unwittingly, served the interests of Azerbaijan. But we will continue to mobilize both civil society and political forces in Europe, to demand that EU executive bodies take responsibility for their policy both politically and legally. Human rights cannot be a tool for promoting geopolitical interests,” Karapetyan said.
One of the key-note speakers of the conference, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, mentioned in his speech that genocide is not just mass murder, and what happened to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh is a type of genocide. "Blocking the Lachin Corridor meant creating conditions for the extermination of the people," said Moreno Ocampo and emphasized that the Council of Europe can play an important role and call the EU member states to account, so that they also investigate and come to the conclusion that what happened is genocide.
Co-Founder of the Lemkin Institute and Director of Legal Affairs Irene Victoria Massimino in her speech drew attention to the issue of the integration, which is often exploited by the EU. “How can some government officials ask people who have been discriminated, stigmatized, persecuted in prison, killed and tortured to integrate into a society that discriminates, stigmatizes, persecutes in prison, kills and tortures? Integration is, at a minimum, a naive option,” Massimino said, noting that during the genocidal blockade of the Lachin corridor, the international community had refused to adequately resolve the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh with regard to the right to self-determination. In her opinion, the principle of “separation for salvation” could also be applied.
According to the speaker, diplomatic action could be taken to find a fair solution to the problem based on the demand for autonomy that has lasted for more than three decades. “Now the entire region of Nagorno-Karabakh is left without indigenous Armenians and under the definite and concrete risk that every trace of Armenian identity will be deliberately destroyed forever on this land,” added the Lemkin Institute co-founder.
In her opinion, today there are three important points that the EU should talk about. First, the EU must demand the immediate release of all Armenians illegally detained in Baku. It is necessary to help the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh register their property that they were forced to leave, and immediately create an independent fact-finding mission that will collect all the atrocities committed.
International human rights activist Karnig Kerkonian emphasized in his speech that calling crimes by their names is a legal obligation. According to the speaker, ethnic cleansing is part of a process that leads to crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. According to the human rights activist, the international community, including the EU, had failed to protect the rights of Artsakh Armenians. ''They are now obliged to act towards the urgent restoration of these rights,'' he said.
Kerkorian noted that thinking about the past is necessary for accountability, because there can be no peace without justice.
"The law should be a tool for peace. In case of failure to prevent genocide and other mass crimes, accountability mechanisms should be put in place to determine individual and state responsibility. Responsibility cannot act as an option, but as an absolute necessity or a necessary step for restorative justice," said Kerkorian, emphasizing that even the territorial integrity cannot be a license for crimes and genocide.
During the conference an exchange of ideas took place, the main goal of which was to understand how the European Parliament and MEPs could be useful to the Armenians of Artsakh. Those present noted the Republic of Armenia is also in danger, and inaction could lead to serious consequences.
In an effort to strengthen its defense capabilities, Armenia has recently acquired the cutting-edge Indrajaal anti-drone system from India. This move comes on the heels of previous imports of rocket launchers and missiles from the country, signaling Armenia’s commitment to bolster its military arsenal.
The Indrajaal system, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), represents India’s first foray into the realm of AI-powered anti-drone technology. Designed to counter the increasing threat of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, the Indrajaal system provides Armenia with an advanced and comprehensive defense solution.
Unlike traditional anti-drone systems, the Indrajaal system employs a multi-layered, multi-sensor architecture known as Zen Anti-Drone System (ZADS). This innovative system leverages passive surveillance, camera sensors, and jamming techniques to detect, classify, and track drones, effectively neutralizing any potential threat they pose.
At the core of the ZADS is its Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS) called RF Based Drone detector (RFDD). This component utilizes radio frequency (RF) sensors to passively monitor frequencies ranging from 70 MHz to 6 GHz, enabling it to detect and monitor the communication link between the drone and its pilot.
The procurement of the Indrajaal anti-drone system is a significant step forward for Armenia in safeguarding its national security. With the integration of this state-of-the-art technology, Armenia is poised to effectively counter emerging threats from UAVs, ensuring the protection of its airspace and critical infrastructure.
FAQ:
Q: What is the Indrajaal anti-drone system?
A: The Indrajaal system is an AI-powered anti-drone technology acquired by Armenia to counter the increasing threat from unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).
Q: How does the Zen Anti-Drone System (ZADS) work?
A: ZADS utilizes a multi-layered, multi-sensor architecture that combines passive surveillance, camera sensors, and jamming techniques to detect, classify, and track drones.
Q: What is the RF Based Drone detector (RFDD)?
A: The RFDD is a component of the ZADS that employs radio frequency sensors to passively monitor the communication link between the drone and its pilot.
Q: How will the Indrajaal anti-drone system benefit Armenia?
A: The Indrajaal system will enhance Armenia’s defense capabilities by providing advanced protection against UAVs, safeguarding its airspace and critical infrastructure.
8th November 2023, LONDON - BP and its project partners have transferred $35 billion-worth of oil and gas production to Azerbaijan’s government since 2020, the year that war broke out in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The sum is more than four times Azerbaijan’s military spending during this period, as new analysis by Global Witness highlights the ‘dictatorship’s’ economic reliance on the British company’s fossil fuel operations.
BP – Azerbaijan’s largest foreign investor – operates and holds the biggest share of two giant oil and gas extraction projects in the country, which it started developing in the 1990s. BP’s current project partners include Exxon, Equinor and Lukoil.
BP’s contracts with the government require it to transfer a proportion of the projects’ oil and gas production to the state, whose share from January 2020 to December 2022 was valued at $34.9 billion, according to BP’s financial disclosures.
Azerbaijan’s defence budget was $7.9 billion over the same period, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In 2022, Azerbaijan was the world’s eighth biggest military spender as a share of GDP.
On 19th September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, a contested region with Armenia. The attack forced over 100,000 people to flee the territory – almost the entire ethnic Armenian population – and prompted the European Parliament to state this amounted to ethnic cleansing. [3]
On 20th September, one day after Azerbaijan began pounding Nagorno-Karabakh with heavy artillery fire, BP sent a senior delegation – including chair of the board Helge Lund and former CEO Lord Browne – to Baku to celebrate the 100th anniversary of former President Heydar Aliyev’s birth, and to reaffirm BP’s “commitment to a long-term partnership” with Azerbaijan.
The decades-long conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up in September 2020. Thousands of combatants were killed on both sides before a ceasefire was agreed six weeks later. [4] Skirmishes continued and in December 2022, Azerbaijan blocked the only road from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, choking supplies of food, fuel and medicines and creating a humanitarian crisis in the region.
BP pays a share of its projects’ oil and gas production to the government as a condition of operating in Azerbaijan. In 2022 alone, the government’s share of production was $19.3 billion, more than the country’s entire public spending budget of $17.6 billion that year, according to UNICEF.
While BP’s oil and gas fields are hundreds of kilometres from Nagorno-Karabakh, the company seems to have few qualms about entering Azerbaijan’s disputed territories. In June 2021, BP signed an agreement with the government to build a 240-megawatt solar farm in Jabrayil, a district within the 2020 war zone which Azerbaijan captured in October that year.
Speaking in Shush in June 2022, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh that was also seized by Azerbaijan in 2020, BP’s regional president said that Azerbaijan’s “liberated territories” have “some of the country’s best solar and geothermal resources”, which makes them a “perfect opportunity for a fully net zero system.”
UN guidelines give companies operating in conflict-affected regions a heightened responsibility to demonstrate their commitment to human rights. Yet in September 2023, BP turned down a request to sign a joint letter from global business leaders to Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, urging him to protect human rights for all people in the conflict zone.
BP began its partnership with Azerbaijan’s government – one of the world’s most repressive and corrupt regimes – in the 1990s, with an agreement to develop one of Azerbaijan’s largest oil fields, a deal dubbed ‘contract of the century’.
Responding to a request from Global Witness to comment on its operations in Azerbaijan, BP stated that it supports a peaceful settlement to the conflict, and that it remains committed to operating a safe, reliable, and resilient energy business in the region. BP also said that it has a policy to conduct environmental and social impact assessments, including human rights aspects, for projects in conflict-affected regions.
Azerbaijan, its government, nor BP or any of the other entities with which BP is engaged in the oil trade there are subject to sanctions over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Dominic Eagleton, senior campaigner at Global Witness, said:
“BP’s long-standing partnership with the Aliyev ‘dictatorship’ has funded Azerbaijan’s militarization and aggression against Armenia. BP has been happy to keep drilling, having learned nothing from the historic mistake it made in Russia. Funding violent dictators is always a bad strategy.”
Notes to editors:
BP is the operator and holds a 30.37% share of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater-Gunashli oilfield in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The remaining participating interests are: SOCAR (25%), Molgroup (9.57%), INPEX (9.31%), Equinor (7.27%), ExxonMobil (6.79%), TP (5.73%), ITOCHU (3.65%), and ONGC Videsh (2.31%).
BP is the operator and has a 29.99% share of the Shah Deniz gas-condensate field, also in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The remaining participating interests are: Southern Gas Corridor (21.02%), Lukoil (19.99%), TP (19%), and NYCO (10%).
BP’s Payments to Governments reports are available here, under ‘Regulatory information’: https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/sustainability/reporting-centre-and-archive/. The figure for Azerbaijan’s military expenditure is taken from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI’s) Military Expenditure Database: https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex. SIPRI research shows Azerbaijan was the world’s eighth largest military spender as a share of GDP (page 10): https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf
European Parliament resolution, 5 October 2023: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0356_EN.html
The first Nagorno-Karabakh war took place from 1988 to 1994. While it remained internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, the conflict left Nagorno-Karabakh de facto independent, but with close ties to and heavily reliant on Armenia. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from the region as a result of the war, which also displaced large numbers of Armenians living in Azerbaijan. A fragile truce ensued, albeit with intermittent clashes. The unresolved conflict escalated into a full-scale war in September 2020, leading to a reported 7,000 soldiers and 170 civilians being killed, with many more wounded. Azerbaijan regained many of its territories before Russia brokered a ceasefire in November 2020, which brought 44 days of fighting to an end.
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/oil-firms-bankroll-azerbaijans-warring-regime-with-billions-in-fossil-fuel-money/
Tens of thousands of refugees are sheltered in centres across Armenia and face economic and psychological hurdles.
STEPANAKERT-BASED JOURNALIST
When 86-year-old Julieta Shahbazyan looks around the room she now shares with 23 members of her family, she is overwhelmed by memories. Her new home is a former kindergarten in Artashat, western Armenia; she had previously never left her native village of Aygestan in the Nagorny Karabakh region.
On September 19, Baku launched a 24-hour military offensive in which it regained control of the region. Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but since the mid-1990s large areas had been controlled by ethnic Armenians.
When Shahbazyan fled the fighting, she did not expect that her displacement would be permanent.
“I left the doors of the house open and went out, thinking of returning soon. What I regret the most is leaving the graves of my relatives behind.”
Shahbazyan arrived in Armenia on September 28, after a nearly 72 hour-long journey along the Lachin corridor, the serpentine mountain road connecting Karabakh to Armenia. It normally takes about two-and-a-half hours to cover its 90 kilometres, but the large-scale evacuation jammed the only route out with over 100,00 people leaving in just a few days.
The operation came on the heels of a nine-month blockade that had left Karabakh’s some 120,000 Armenians exhausted, with no access to essential supplies, including food, medication, gas, and electricity.
Artashat’s kindergarten number 6 shelters Shahbazyan and 73 other Armenians from Karabakh. For many, it is the first time war does not loom over them.
“Children are particularly struck by the absence of gunfire,” Karine Harutyunyan, the director of the kindergarten, told IWPR. “Yet, despite our efforts to provide them with the best possible conditions, they still want to return to their homes. [There is] one child, who cries non-stop, saying, 'I want to go back to our home’.”
Collective centres have been set up across the country to accommodate the refugees. Addressing the European Parliament on October 17, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlighted that the government was providing asylum, shelter and support to Karabakh Armenians. Yerevan has funded Karabakh’s state budget since the end of the First Karabakh War in the mid-1990s.
However, refugees and aid workers warn that the state aid programme and the support of international organisations is not even close to addressing the needs of such a large number of people. Centres are in need of everything to support families, many of whom left in a rush, leaving behind their lives, memories and, in many cases, even documents.
Single parent Hermine Hayrapetyan, 35, is also living in the kindergarten with her daughter, her three sisters and her brother’s families. She is worried about being able to find a permanent home as the 40,000 drams (about 100 US dollars) that the state pledged as a monthly allowance for households are not enough to cover rent costs.
“Rents are high and landlords often demand several months' rent upfront,” she said.
Madlena Ghahiryan, who shares a room with 16 members of her family, echoed Hayrapetyan’s worries.
“After Azerbaijan invaded Artsakh [as Armenians call Karabakh] in 2020, we didn't live peacefully, but despite the challenges, we managed to repair our house, to have a livelihood, and, during the blockade we braced ourselves for the winter…I prepared pickles, dried beans and greens and ground wheat to create a winter reserve,” explained the 62-year-old nurse, from Khramort village.
“During the military invasion, I lost contact with my two soldier sons, who were besieged. The important thing is they were eventually found,” she said.
Many refugees lost their homes for the second time after Azerbaijan regained control of large swathes of territory in the 2020 war.
Hayrapetyan was among them: she and her family had to leave their village in Hadrut region after it fell under Baku’s control in November 2020. She and family first moved to Armenia for safety and returned to Karabakh after the November 9 ceasefire, settling in Stepanakert, the main city, which Azerbaijanis call Khankendi.
The 35-year-old is frustrated over what she described as the international lack of interest towards the fate of Karabakh Armenians.
“For nine months [during the blockade] we had nothing, children were starving… European organisations, human rights defenders, NGOs, no one cared to see what was happening, to see how we were surviving. Now they [come in] and fill some forms. I don’t care about their paperwork.”
Hayrapetyan yearns to return to her home, but cannot imagine living with Azerbaijanis.
“We didn't want to leave. But it will be impossible to live under Turkish [Azerbaijani] rule. No matter how often they say to the world ‘we are civilised’ they will massacre us, poison us…” she told IWPR.
Fear and distrust are common among Armenians from Karabakh and are what drove nearly all of them away from their homes.
‘’We were hungry and there was no food,” Shahbazyan told IWPR, recalling the journey to Armenia. “At one point, Azerbaijani and Russian soldiers approached us and offered sweets to the children. I took the first one and ate it to make sure it wasn't poisoned.”
Hayrapetyan's 14-year-old niece, Marianna, is still grappling with the loss.
“After the 2020 war, we kept hoping that we would go back to Tumi, my native village [in Hadrut region]. We did not; then we lost all of Artsakh,” she told IWPR.
“When the shelling started, my mother was making sweets with mulberry jam,” she continued. “The next day was my brother's birthday. I made cards because I couldn't find any other gift for him during the blockade. All that was interrupted by my mother's panicked voice, ‘Let's go down to the basement quickly.’”
Her father had served in Karabakh’s army, Marianna explained, adding, “We couldn’t sleep for two nights until we received the news that my father was alive. He was surrounded in the forest, but he couldn't get out. When they said that they should evacuate us, I told my mother that I wouldn’t leave until my father’s return.”
Alvard Dadayan’s husband also served in the army; he was killed during the first Karabakh war, in the 1990s. The 54-year-old from Stepanakert cannot hold back tears when she recalled that she no longer possessed a photo of husband in military uniform.
“I had it with me but on the way we were told that they [Azerbaijanis] would check all cars,” she said. “I did not want to put my sons in danger, so I hid his photo under a stone along the way.”
All photos by Siranush Sargsyan; see at the link below