WASHINGTON, DC – A broad-based global coalition of faith-based and civil society organizations are endorsing a public call to establish an international negotiating platform to facilitate, under an international mandate, “the universally recognized right of indigenous Artsakh Armenian refugees to a collective, protected, and dignified return home.”
The joint statement calls for “an international negotiating platform for Artsakh, Azerbaijan, and other regional and global stakeholders to realize, under an international mandate, the universally recognized right of indigenous Artsakh Armenian refugees to a collective, protected, and dignified return home.”
The ‘right of return’ is a universally acknowledged principle of international law that guarantees the right of every person to voluntarily return to their country of origin – regardless of citizenship or status. The right is established in several treaties and conventions, including the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 1948 Fourth Geneva Convention.
A survey of international governments, organizations, and human rights groups who have affirmed the Artsakh people’s right of return can be found in the ANC-International’s “Legal Basis of the Right of Return: Recent Positions on the Right of Return of Artsakh Citizens.”
On December 2, 2023, the Artsakh Parliament established the Committee for the Defense of the Fundamental Rights of the People of Artsakh to advocate for the safe, dignified, and collective return of the people of Artsakh. This Committee is among the signatories to the joint statement, the full list of which is on the ANCA website.
