The Azerbaijani lobbyists often misleadingly praise Azerbaijan as “a beacon of religious tolerance.” That narrative requires much closer examination, as the reality on the ground tells a very different story.
In recent years, the dictatorial regime of Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev has committed genocide against the indigenous Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), as assessed by leading international experts, including the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo, and the first U.N. Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention Juan Mendez. Besides destroying numerous Armenian Christian monuments, the Azerbaijani genocidal policy culminated in the forced displacement of nearly 150,000 Armenians from our ancient homeland.
Azerbaijan—A Hell for Human Rights
For many years, Freedom House has categorized Azerbaijan as “not free,” with some of the worst scores for political rights and civil liberties worldwide based on both domestic violations and crimes against Armenians.
Following the first phase of the genocide in 2020, the Azerbaijani government imposed a blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh’s Christian Armenians in December 2022. As documented by Amnesty International, the blockade caused critical shortages of basic necessities, including food, medicine, and fuel, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis.
Despite orders from the U.N. International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Feb. 22 and July 6, 2023, demanding Azerbaijan to lift the blockade, the Aliyev regime not only maintained the blockade but also launched aggression in September, causing the forced displacement of the entire population. Subsequently, on Nov. 17, 2023, the ICJ issued a new order acknowledging the forced displacement and ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the safe and unimpeded return of the Nagorno-Karabakh people, the protection of cultural and religious heritage, and several other steps.
Additionally, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has expressed concern about the prevalence of hate speech targeting Armenians in Azerbaijan. The ECRI’s latest report highlighted ongoing issues of racism and intolerance. The U.N. Committee against Torture (CAT) has also expressed alarm over reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, and ill-treatment of Armenians during the conflict, highlighting that these acts are often driven by ethnic hatred.
Freedom House recently published a report on the Azerbaijani crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh, and found that “the documented actions of Azerbaijan meet the criteria for ethnic cleansing as understood in the context of the former Yugoslavia conflict, inflicting it through means of extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, restrictions on the access to food and life-saving medication, forcible removal, displacement and deportation of civilian population, deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civilian areas, and wanton destruction of property.”
Religious Freedom of Christian Armenians in the Fires of Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Hell
In its latest report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended the State Department to designate Azerbaijan as a Country of Particular Concern, along with Afghanistan, Nigeria, North Korea, and others. USCIRF documented a significant increase in the number of prisoners arrested on the basis of religion or belief, with authorities regularly accused of torturing detainees. Additionally, USCIRF highlighted the destruction of significant cultural and religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the systematic eradication of Armenian cultural heritage.
As a result of the aggressions since 2020, over 6,000 Armenian cultural monuments, including more than 400 churches built since the 4th century, have fallen under Azerbaijani occupation. Along with hundreds of documented vandalism cases, one of the latest and most painful examples is the complete destruction of the Saint John Baptist Church in occupied Shushi, where I got married in 2017. Another recent crime was the complete destruction of the Saint Ascension Church of Berdzor (Lachin).
In 2021, BBC investigated and documented the complete destruction of the Holy Mother of God Church of Mekhakavan (Jabrayil). During the 2020 aggression, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi was struck twice by the Azerbaijani forces, which Human Rights Watch documented.
On Dec. 7, 2021, the ICJ officially indicated that Azerbaijan “shall take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts.” After that ruling, the European Parliament called on Azerbaijan to fully implement the provisional decision of the ICJ, in particular by “refraining from suppressing the Armenian language, destroying Armenian cultural heritage or otherwise eliminating the existence of the historical Armenian cultural presence or inhibiting Armenians’ access and enjoyment thereof” and by “restoring or returning any Armenian cultural and religious buildings and sites, artefacts or objects.”
After being forcibly displaced from our homes in 2023, none of us are allowed to return or visit our churches and cemeteries. Moreover, with deep pain and anxiety, we often follow satellite and Azerbaijani imagery showing the destruction of our churches, cemeteries, homes, and other heritage in our occupied ancient land.
Despite these documented crimes, no international mission, including UNESCO, has access to Nagorno-Karabakh. Behind this criminal scene and tragedies, we record the profound immorality of the international community when, just after the genocide of my people, it was decided to hold the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29) in oil-rich, authoritarian, and genocidal Azerbaijan in 2024.
While some communities of faith may experience relative and demonstrative freedom in Azerbaijan, the overwhelming evidence of genocide, mass violations of human rights and freedoms of Armenian Christians, as well as domestic violations and restrictions create a strong case for why Azerbaijan should be designated as a country of particular concern and held accountable by the international community. Hence, the State Department should follow not only the recommendation of Freedom House on the ICC referral but also the USCIRF recommendation and introduce sanctions over the dictatorial and genocidal Aliyev regime of Azerbaijan, which is not “a beacon” but a hell of human rights.
Artak Beglaryan is the head of the “Artsakh Union” NGO and former human rights defender (ombudsman) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He is an alumnus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and University College London. He has been also forcibly displaced from his home in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan in 2023, and has sought refuge in Armenia.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
The post Azerbaijan Is a Top Violator of Religious Freedom. Accountability Is a Must appeared first on Newsweek.
