The Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian Refugee Crisis
Situation
The offensive between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh province beginning on 24 September 2023 has resulted in the displacement of over 100,600 persons into Armenia. As displacement continues to rise, at an average of 15,000 persons per day according to the Armenian government, the state requires around $97 million in financial support to sustain the refugees and the 95,000 local Armenians hosting refugees (according to the Armenian Response Plan).
In efforts to further peace, the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations have held peace talks and condemned the incessant violence, urging normalisation in multilateral conversations.
Background
Present day confrontation in the region is rooted in the accommodation of the ethnic Armenian population with the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic since 1923. The 95% of the Armenian population residing in Azerbaijan intended to join the Republic of Armenia by passing a resolution in Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional legislature in 1988. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan achieved statehood as Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence. Yet, by 1993, war over the Nagorno-Karabakh province resulted in Armenia gaining control over 20% of its territory as Russia brokered a ceasefire, the Bishkek Protocol, in 1994.
In this geopolitical landscape, Nagorno-Karabakh, while attaining de-facto independence, remained heavily reliant upon Armenia in political, economic, and military spaces. Subsequently, wars in 2016, 2020, and 2022 have involved the deployment of military forces and the use of attack drones, shelling, and special operations in the region, creating myriads of refugees, civilian casualties, and wounded soldiers in battle.
The conclusion of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War on 9 November 2020, allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim most of the Armenian occupied territory and the establishment of the Lachin corridor enabling Russian peacekeepers to monitor the region.
Subsequently, in 2023, the failure of mediation, negotiation, and peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited a full-scale conflict, destabilising the region economically and politically and displacing over 100,600 persons.
Impact
Armenia is currently housing refugees in this conflict in major cities across the state. As 3% of the population comprises refugees, 38% in Yerevan, 16% in Syunik, 8% in Kotayk, and 7% in Ararat, among others, persons seeking refuge continue to rise. 52% of the refugees are women and girls, 31% children, and 18% older persons. Presently, these individuals are in the midst of physical and psychological displacement, enduring exhaustion and lack of necessities such as clothes, food, and medicine.
The UN has responded to the escalating persecution, finding that only about 50 to 1000 ethnic Armenians now remain in Nagorno-Karabakh. Persons residing in temporary Armenian shelters have conversed on this evolving situation; “They starved us, terrorised us, shelled us. They want to force us to take their citizenship, which we don’t want, because, honestly, given how they treat their own people, and our decades of war, who would want that”.
Further, access to medical care in Armenia has been insufficient with a lack of supplies and aid deliveries in the region.
Current Action
The involvement of western states in mediating this crisis in the past has not yielded desirable results for any of the parties involved. The UN’s inability to ‘visit’ all regions and support the refugees has made the necessity of NGOs and aid on ground higher than ever. Further, the journey from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia is indulged often in conditions of malnutrition and diseases. Systems of evacuation are operatively scant where the UN and national authorities aim to provide mental health support on arrival. The lack of availability of professionals makes this effort further unintelligible, especially in a landscape witnessing the inflow of 15,000 persons per day.
Additionally, shelter capacities in the country have fallen short, with only 2,000 hosting households available for over 40,000 persons displaced. The Government of Armenia has worked on its Refugee Response Plan, issued in October 2023, involving medium and long-term planning for accommodating the rising numbers of refugees arriving in the country and the requirements for fulfilling protection and survival needs. Local response in the country is led by national and municipal authorities, involving volunteers, NGOs, and civil society actors.
Further concerns on psychosocial and heightened protection such as gender-based violence, sexual violence, and labour exploitation are required to be addressed by the state and international authorities. The simultaneous recognition of the most vulnerable groups and immediate assistance for the refugees is required such that case management and integration can be enabled rather than deprivation aggravated. Shourshan Keshishian, CEO of Hub Artsakh, an NGO in Nagorno-Karabakh, stated in an interview with The New Humanitarian, “We first focused on providing an emergency response and humanitarian aid, but quickly realised that people were worried about employment and legal issues like passports, or registering a business here in Armenia”.
While re-integrating into Nagorno-Karabakh as full citizens remains irresolute, owing to fears of repeated attacks and enduring displacement again, the refugees require access as civil society members in Armenia. NGOs and agents of the UN in the region are advocating the recognition of rights and freedoms of the refugees along with immediate access to social services, including education for children and medical care. Further, the UNICEF is working to ensure family tracing for the displaced children and long-term response plans include appeals for funding to support persons within Armenia.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewHTML.asp?FileID=6823&lang=EN
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141662
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1141782
https://reliefweb.int/report/armenia/armenia-refugee-response-plan-october-2023-march-2024#:~:text=Following%20the%20recent%20escalation%20of,children%2C%20arrived%20in%20the%20country.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/28/nagorno-karabakh-live-breakaway-republic-to-be-dissolved-separatists
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66905581
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/nagorno-karabakh-conflict
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/fate-vulnerable-minority-looms-over-armenia-azerbaijan-peace?gclid=CjwKCAjw4P6oBhBsEiwAKYVkq6izvFIcRr1z5UNk9b6SRRp9S09lhzY9PVc7vqMGf564MM5oSC7aDhoCgaIQAvD_BwE
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2023/10/05/armenian-exodus-nagorno-karabakh
Situation
The offensive between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh province beginning on 24 September 2023 has resulted in the displacement of over 100,600 persons into Armenia. As displacement continues to rise, at an average of 15,000 persons per day according to the Armenian government, the state requires around $97 million in financial support to sustain the refugees and the 95,000 local Armenians hosting refugees (according to the Armenian Response Plan).
In efforts to further peace, the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations have held peace talks and condemned the incessant violence, urging normalisation in multilateral conversations.
Background
Present day confrontation in the region is rooted in the accommodation of the ethnic Armenian population with the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic since 1923. The 95% of the Armenian population residing in Azerbaijan intended to join the Republic of Armenia by passing a resolution in Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional legislature in 1988. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan achieved statehood as Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence. Yet, by 1993, war over the Nagorno-Karabakh province resulted in Armenia gaining control over 20% of its territory as Russia brokered a ceasefire, the Bishkek Protocol, in 1994.
In this geopolitical landscape, Nagorno-Karabakh, while attaining de-facto independence, remained heavily reliant upon Armenia in political, economic, and military spaces. Subsequently, wars in 2016, 2020, and 2022 have involved the deployment of military forces and the use of attack drones, shelling, and special operations in the region, creating myriads of refugees, civilian casualties, and wounded soldiers in battle.
The conclusion of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War on 9 November 2020, allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim most of the Armenian occupied territory and the establishment of the Lachin corridor enabling Russian peacekeepers to monitor the region.
Subsequently, in 2023, the failure of mediation, negotiation, and peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan has reignited a full-scale conflict, destabilising the region economically and politically and displacing over 100,600 persons.
Impact
Armenia is currently housing refugees in this conflict in major cities across the state. As 3% of the population comprises refugees, 38% in Yerevan, 16% in Syunik, 8% in Kotayk, and 7% in Ararat, among others, persons seeking refuge continue to rise. 52% of the refugees are women and girls, 31% children, and 18% older persons. Presently, these individuals are in the midst of physical and psychological displacement, enduring exhaustion and lack of necessities such as clothes, food, and medicine.
The UN has responded to the escalating persecution, finding that only about 50 to 1000 ethnic Armenians now remain in Nagorno-Karabakh. Persons residing in temporary Armenian shelters have conversed on this evolving situation; “They starved us, terrorised us, shelled us. They want to force us to take their citizenship, which we don’t want, because, honestly, given how they treat their own people, and our decades of war, who would want that”.
Further, access to medical care in Armenia has been insufficient with a lack of supplies and aid deliveries in the region.
Current Action
The involvement of western states in mediating this crisis in the past has not yielded desirable results for any of the parties involved. The UN’s inability to ‘visit’ all regions and support the refugees has made the necessity of NGOs and aid on ground higher than ever. Further, the journey from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia is indulged often in conditions of malnutrition and diseases. Systems of evacuation are operatively scant where the UN and national authorities aim to provide mental health support on arrival. The lack of availability of professionals makes this effort further unintelligible, especially in a landscape witnessing the inflow of 15,000 persons per day.
Additionally, shelter capacities in the country have fallen short, with only 2,000 hosting households available for over 40,000 persons displaced. The Government of Armenia has worked on its Refugee Response Plan, issued in October 2023, involving medium and long-term planning for accommodating the rising numbers of refugees arriving in the country and the requirements for fulfilling protection and survival needs. Local response in the country is led by national and municipal authorities, involving volunteers, NGOs, and civil society actors.
Further concerns on psychosocial and heightened protection such as gender-based violence, sexual violence, and labour exploitation are required to be addressed by the state and international authorities. The simultaneous recognition of the most vulnerable groups and immediate assistance for the refugees is required such that case management and integration can be enabled rather than deprivation aggravated. Shourshan Keshishian, CEO of Hub Artsakh, an NGO in Nagorno-Karabakh, stated in an interview with The New Humanitarian, “We first focused on providing an emergency response and humanitarian aid, but quickly realised that people were worried about employment and legal issues like passports, or registering a business here in Armenia”.
While re-integrating into Nagorno-Karabakh as full citizens remains irresolute, owing to fears of repeated attacks and enduring displacement again, the refugees require access as civil society members in Armenia. NGOs and agents of the UN in the region are advocating the recognition of rights and freedoms of the refugees along with immediate access to social services, including education for children and medical care. Further, the UNICEF is working to ensure family tracing for the displaced children and long-term response plans include appeals for funding to support persons within Armenia.
Vrinda Sahai
References
https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewHTML.asp?FileID=6823&lang=EN
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1141662
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1141782
https://reliefweb.int/report/armenia/armenia-refugee-response-plan-october-2023-march-2024#:~:text=Following%20the%20recent%20escalation%20of,children%2C%20arrived%20in%20the%20country.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/28/nagorno-karabakh-live-breakaway-republic-to-be-dissolved-separatists
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66905581
https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/nagorno-karabakh-conflict
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/fate-vulnerable-minority-looms-over-armenia-azerbaijan-peace?gclid=CjwKCAjw4P6oBhBsEiwAKYVkq6izvFIcRr1z5UNk9b6SRRp9S09lhzY9PVc7vqMGf564MM5oSC7aDhoCgaIQAvD_BwE
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2023/10/05/armenian-exodus-nagorno-karabakh