Nagorno-Karabakh: Mounting Cases of Azerbaijani Human Rights Violations

In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a brutal war in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway autonomous region predominantly inhabited by indigenous Armenians dating back to ancient times. During the 44-day war, Azerbaijan committed numerous human rights violations and war crimes against Armenians, as documented and reported by international NGOs and the media. In this AGBU WebTalk, international human rights lawyer Sheila Paylan cites and explains, in accessible language, the specific international laws, conventions, rules, and agreements that Azerbaijan has broken—during the war and since the brokered ceasefire agreement of November 9, 2020, including the unlawful blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Despite the international community's inconsistent performance in enforcing these rules, Paylan emphasizes the absolute necessity to continue to leverage all available legal and reporting tools to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes.

Originally published September 2023.

About the speaker

Sheila Paylan

Sheila Paylan is an international human rights lawyer who has served more than 15 years as legal advisor for the United Nations. Now based in Yerevan, she consults for a variety of international organizations, NGO’s, think tanks and governments, and has published extensively on the subjects of international justice, self-determination, and the responsibility to protect.

Sheila Paylan