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Artsakh residents appeal to ECHR on property, right of return, justice
In October 2024, a number of human rights defenders in Armenia founded the Artsakh International Legal Initiative, aimed at telling the story of Artsakh residents’ losses and violated rights through the language of international law. Since its establishment, the International and Comparative Law Center (ICLaw), in cooperation with the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights (ALC) and others, has carried out extensive legal work to protect the rights of persons forcibly displaced fro
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I hope many more Artsakh refugees apply to the ECHR against Azerbaijan. Even though the proceedings of the ECHR take years, its decisions are binding for all members of the Council of Europe, to which Azerbaijan belongs (as does the equally undemocratic Turkey). A court ruling against Azerbaijan would oblige this country to pay compensation to the dispossessed Atrsakh refugees. According to the Statute of the Council of Europe, a refusal means – at least on paper – first a suspension and later expulsion from the Council of Europe, which would last for years and for which there is no guarantee, since the expulsion of members requires a majority vote of all member states of the Council of Europe. If the ECHR rules in favor of the Artsakh refugees, which there is a high chance, Azerbaijan will face the choice of either paying them compensation or leaving the Council of Europe (whose membership this country and its big brother Turkey do not deserve anyway due to their gross human rights violations). A court ruling against Azerbaijan would be a moral indictment of this dictatorship, which the Artsakh refugees urgently need and deserve.