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 ANC UK Newsletter October 2024

1. “Artsakh and Armenia” event in London
2. Arman Tatoyan and Karnig Kerkonian at the Parliament

3. Inaugural General Meeting of the APPG for Armenia
4. European Parliament urges Azerbaijan to “allow the safe return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh”
5. ANC-UK talk during the European Youth Conference in London
6.
UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh

7. News articles and recent developments



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1. “Artsakh and Armenia” event in London

As part of the Human Rights Tour of Europe including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg and Berlin, the Armenian National Committee of the UK (ANC-UK) hosted a landmark event titled “Artsakh and Armenia” at the Navasartian Centre in Northfields, London, on October 13. This significant gathering brought together prominent experts and members of the Armenian diaspora to address the pressing challenges facing Artsakh and Armenia and to explore future strategies for advocacy and the protection of human rights.

The panel featured four distinguished speakers: Arman Tatoyan (Former Human Rights Defender of Armenia), Karnig Kerkonian (International Law Expert), Artak Beglaryan (Former State Minister of Artsakh, participating remotely) and Siranush Sahakyan (Human Rights Lawyer, participating remotely). Annette Moskofian, Chairperson of the ANC-UK, was the host of the panel.

The gathering served as a platform for in-depth discussions about the evolving situation in Artsakh and Armenia, emphasizing the need for continued international advocacy and the vital role of the diaspora in supporting efforts toward the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, peace and justice.

The ANC-UK expresses heartfelt gratitude to His Grace Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Rev Fr Nshan Alaverdyan, community leaders and everyone who attended and contributed to the success of this historic event for the Armenian community in London.

2. Arman Tatoyan and Karnig Kerkonian at the Parliament

Baroness Cox, member of the House of Lords, hosted a meeting on October 15 with Arman Tatoyan (Former Human Rights Defender of Armenia), Karnig Kerkonian (International Law Expert), Bishop Hovakim Manukyan (Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland), Annette Moskofian (Chairperson of the ANC-UK), and other religious leaders invited by Bishop Manukyan at the House of Lords.

The speakers addressed several critical issues, including the illegal detention of Armenian prisoners in Baku, war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, the right of return for Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) under international protection, Azerbaijan’s genocidal policies, the destruction and appropriation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh, and Azerbaijan’s incursions into the sovereign territory of Armenia.

Arman Tatoyan and Karnig Kerkonian met with MPs, Peers, and representatives of various NGOs at the House of Commons during the APPG for Armenia meeting. Azerbaijan’s war crimes, genocidal acts, ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, and the effects of Azerbaijan’s aggression on Armenia’s border towns and villages were presented factually by our speakers, along with a discussion on #COP29. The parliamentarians, who were highly engaged, had the opportunity to ask questions. Special thanks to Jessica Morden MP for organizing this meeting.

2. Inaugural General Meeting of the APPG for Armenia

The Inaugural General Meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Armenia took place on October 15.

The elected officers are:

Jessica Morden, Labour MP, as Chairperson of the APPG
John Whittingdale, Conservative MP, Chris Law, SNP MP, and Lord McInnes, member of the House of Lords, as Vice Chairs
Baroness Cox, member of the House of Lords, now serves as the Honorary Vice Chair of the APPG
Annette Moskofian, Chairperson of the ANC-UK, remains as the Secretariat

During the meeting, Ambassador Varuzhan Nersesyan congratulated the newly elected APPG officers and conveyed his message of encouragement, expressing hope for deeper relations between Armenia and the United Kingdom.

On October 22, Annette Moskofian met with Jessica Morden and Chris Law, elected officers of the APPG for Armenia.

3. European Parliament urges Azerbaijan to “allow the safe return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh”

On October 24, the European Parliament voted 453 to 31, with 89 abstentions, to adopt a resolution on the situation in Azerbaijan, violations of human rights and international law, and relations with Armenia. In the resolution, the European Parliament urged Azerbaijan to “allow the safe return of the Armenian population to Nagorno-Karabakh,” “release all 23 Armenian prisoners of war,” and preserve the “cultural, religious, and historical heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh following the massive exodus of its Armenian population.”

“The Resolution strongly condemns the domestic and extraterritorial repression by the Azerbaijani regime against activists, journalists, opposition leaders and others, including EU nationals, which has noticeably intensified ahead of COP29”, said the European Parliament. “The European Parliament considers that Azerbaijan’s ongoing human rights abuses are incompatible with its hosting of COP29”.

4. ANC-UK talk during the European Youth Conference in London

It was a pleasure to give a talk and engage in a dynamic exchange of ideas during the European Youth Conference in London, organised by AYF London, with over 60 Armenian youth from 7 European countries. The youth are our present and the future!

5. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh



















6. News articles and recent developments

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a debate on the “deteriorating situation of human rights, rule of law and democracy in Azerbaijan” on October 1st.

Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) opened the debate, saying: “On 24 January, our Assembly resolved not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation. The Assembly was among other things worried about the lack of cooperation in monitoring procedure and lack of invitation to observe the early presidential election of 7 February. It also cited the human rights situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, recent developments point in the wrong direction. The overall human rights situation remains dire”.

The Financial Times published an article on October 8 reporting that “the bosses of Bank of America, BlackRock, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank are among prominent financiers who are expected to skip the UN COP29 summit this year, as business expectations are lowered for the world’s most important climate negotiations”. “Many leading banking, asset management and insurance executives will be absent from the event”, said FT.
Read it here
“Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29 next month means the climate conference is being held for the third year running in an authoritarian state with a dubious human rights record, and for the second year in a petrostate”, said the Financial Times in an article on October 13th. “Azerbaijan — where the autocratic Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father as president in 2003 — also seems to hope hosting the event can greenwash its reputation”.

“Azerbaijan, which has pledged a ‘COP of peace’, should live up to that spirit by signing a peace deal with Armenia before it begins”.

Read it here
According to The Guardian, “Azerbaijan, the host of the Cop29 global climate summit, will see a large expansion of fossil gas production in the next decade, a new report has revealed”.

“The report also highlighted accusations of human rights abuses and corruption in Azerbaijan. The European court of human rights found the country had violated the European convention on human rights 263 times since 2001, including three instances of torture and 30 cases of inhuman and degrading treatment”.

Read it here
An investigation by Global Witness published in The Guardian revealed that “fake social media accounts are boosting Azerbaijan’s hosting of the Cop29 climate summit”.

“The accounts were mostly set up after July, at which time seven of the top 10 most engaged posts using the hashtags #COP29 and #COP29Azerbaijan were critical of Azerbaijan’s role in the conflict with Armenia, using hashtags such as #stopgreenwashgenocide. By September this had changed, with all of the top 10 most engaged posts coming from the official Cop29 Azerbaijan account”, said The Guardian.

According to Global Witness, “artificially inflating the reach of government posts was drowning out independent criticism of the country’s record on the climate crisis and repression of human rights”.

Read it here

A report published by Human Rights Watch and Freedom Now on October 8 denounced Azerbaijan’s increased crackdown on critics and civil society ahead of the the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP29.

The 74-page report, “‘We Try to Stay Invisible’: Azerbaijan’s Escalating Crackdown on Critics and Civil Society,” documents the government’s concerted efforts to decimate civil society and silence its critics after interviewing more than 40 Azerbaijani lawyers, detainees’ relatives, and staff and leaders of nongovernmental organizations.

“Azerbaijan has had a poor human rights record for many years, with the government regularly targeting those who play important watchdog roles in society, including human rights defenders, journalists, and independent civic activists. The government’s vicious crackdown on critics and dissenting voices intensified over the last two years. Among the methods the government uses to target these individuals are arrests and prosecutions on politically motivated, bogus criminal charges, as well as the arbitrary enforcement of highly restrictive laws regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs)”.

Freedom House presented its fact-finding mission in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on October 8 at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference and concluded that the forced displacement of ethnic Armenians “was intentionally coordinated and committed by the Azerbaijani government”.

According to Freedom House, ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh “were intentionally subjected to years of regular attacks, intimidation, deprivation of basic rights, and ultimately forced displacement by the Azerbaijani state in September 2023”. “The process was both gradual and methodical, and the Azerbaijani state intentionally created conditions for the ethnic Armenian population that made it impossible for them to stay and survive in Nagorno-Karabakh”.

“Our fact-finding effort concludes that the documented actions of the Azerbaijani state meet the criteria for ethnic cleansing”.

According to the report of Freedom House “Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online” published on October 23, Azerbaijan arrested people who called for peace on social media during the offensive against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in September 2023.

“During the Azerbaijani military’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, authorities in Baku detained several people for a month, including former diplomat Eman Ibrahimov, because of social media posts that criticized the operation or called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict”, said Freedom House.

“In authoritarian countries, progovernment commentators mobilized to depict sham elections as free and fair. Azerbaijan’s regime enlisted content creators from around the world—compensated with free travel and accommodation in Baku—to acclaim the integrity of the February 2024 elections, which were heavily manipulated to favor incumbent president Ilham Aliyev. The efforts built on Azerbaijani officials’ long-running attempts to legitimize their rigged elections, including the funding of ersatz election-observation missions”.

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The Armenian National Committee of the United Kingdom (ANC-UK) is the largest and most influential British-Armenian political grassroots organisation.

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