International Association of Genocide Scholars issues statement condemning the Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)

The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) Executive and Advisory Boards strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the ongoing aggression against the indigenous Armenian population of the region and warns of the risk of genocide against the Armenian population of that entity. We reaffirm the IAGS Executive Board October 24, 2022 “Statement on Azerbaijani Aggression Against the Republic of Armenia and the Indigenous Armenians of the South Caucasus” and call for the immediate lifting of the blockade.

On December 12, 2022 the government of Azerbaijan imposed a blockade on the enclave of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) creating an ongoing humanitarian crisis for its 120,000 Armenian inhabitants, including 30,000 children and 20,000 elderly. Azerbaijani operatives, masquerading as so-called “eco-activists,” blocked the only land route, the Lachin Corridor, from the Republic of Armenia to Artsakh thereby preventing food, medicine, gas and other vital goods from transiting into the region. Food and gas are now rationed and electricity supplies interrupted. Schools are closed, families separated, hospital patients endangered and normal life brought to a standstill.