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 ANC UK Newsletter September 2025

1. Campaign to Free Armenian Hostages during the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
2. UK watchdog investigates Chapman Taylor over human rights violations in occupied Shushi, Artsakh
3. UK Government asks Azerbaijan to provide clarity on the rights of Artsakh Armenians who wish to return
4. Luis Moreno Ocampo met with the APPG for Armenia
5. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh
6. ANC statement on the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group
7. News about the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
8. News articles and recent developments
9. Anniversaries



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On 27 September 2020, Azerbaijan, with direct support from Turkey, launched a large-scale war against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). For 44 days, Armenians faced relentless bombings of homes, schools, hospitals and cultural sites. Thousands were killed, tens of thousands displaced, and historic lands were occupied.

Five years on, the wounds remain open. The genocidal ten-month blockade and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenians in 2023 show that this war did not end, but continues in different forms as part of the same extermination plan that began with the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

We remember the victims, we honour the defenders and we reaffirm: Artsakh is Armenian. We will return.

1.  Campaign to Free Armenian Hostages during the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

We call again to #FreeArmenianHostages during the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Armenian prisoners are being illegally held less than a kilometre from the Baku City Circuit where the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place on September 21. The prisoners are facing sham “trials” and inhumane treatment in violation of international law.

Last year, UK Parliamentarians and civil society organisations called on Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, to “stop enabling Azerbaijan to use sport to whitewash its crimes”.

Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime is responsible for the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of over 120,000 indigenous Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), after launching a war in 2020 and a genocidal blockade in 2023.

We urge fans, athletes, and human rights defenders to speak out. Share this message, raise awareness, and demand the release of Armenian hostages held in Azerbaijan and the safe return of the Armenian population of Artsakh to their homeland.

Video of the Campaign

2. UK watchdog investigates Chapman Taylor over human rights violations in occupied Shushi, Artsakh

The United Kingdom National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct, a corporate social responsibility watchdog, accepted a complaint submitted by Kerkonian Dajani LLP, on behalf of Avan Shushi Partnership, against Chapman Taylor’s redesign of the historic city of Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), currently under Azerbaijani occupation.

The complaint states that between September and November 2020, the government of Azerbaijan “engaged in a military campaign against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the forced displacement of nearly 40,000 Armenians, including from Shushi”. Avan Shushi claims Chapman Taylor’s redevelopment plan for Shushi “allegedly involves the conversion, demolition, and redesign of properties owned by displaced Armenians, violating their human rights to own and return to their properties”.

The decision of the UK NCP can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/avan-shushi-partnership-complaint-to-uk-ncp-about-chapman-taylor-llp/initial-assessment-avan-shushi-partnership-complaint-to-uk-ncp-about-chapman-taylor-llp

3. UK Government asks Azerbaijan to provide clarity on the rights of Artsakh Armenians who wish to return

Stephen Doughty, the UK Minister of State, said it is “essential” that Azerbaijan “provides clarity on the rights and security of ethnic Armenians who wish to return”.

His statement, published on 3 September, came in response to a question from Chris Law MP, who asked whether the Government “supports the right of return for Armenians ethnically cleansed from Nagorno-Karabakh”.

4. Luis Moreno Ocampo met with the APPG for Armenia

Luis Moreno Ocampo, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, met with the officers of the APPG for Armenia Chair and Vice Chair Jessica Morden MP and Chris Law MP, and Anoushka Kurkjian on September 9.

Moreno Ocampo discussed the right of return of Artsakh’s population to their homeland and the plight of the Armenian prisoners held illegally captive in Baku.

5. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh

 





6. ANC statement on the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group

Today, the OSCE Ministerial Council adopted a decision, through a silent procedure, to close the OSCE Minsk structures and their associated financial resources. This decision follows the joint appeal of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, dated 8 August 2025 and circulated on 11 August.

This “joint appeal” was not the product of free will. It was one of Azerbaijan’s preconditions for signing the so-called “Peace Agreement,” finalized in March 2025 and publicized on 11 August, but still unsigned due to Azerbaijan’s ever-expanding demands—including forcing Armenia to amend its Constitution. Armenia agreed to issue the “joint appeal” under the threat and use of force, making it an invalid instrument under international law.

The Armenian government’s policy of appeasing Azerbaijan—driven above all by the desire to cling to power—does not serve the interests of the Armenian state and nation and represents a serious blow to the right of self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2021, it came to office on the promise of a different path, presenting the National Assembly with a program that pledged the opposite of what it now enforces.

By endorsing the Azerbaijan-Armenia “joint appeal”, the OSCE is legitimizing the use of force as a method of dispute settlement. This follows Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh in September–October 2023, when 120,000 Armenians were expelled from their ancestral homeland through siege, blockade, and military assault on civilians. These acts, widely documented and corroborated, amount to crimes under international law.

The very question that led to the creation of the OSCE Minsk Group in 1992—the rights and security of the Armenians of Artsakh—remains unresolved. Azerbaijan’s wars of 2020 and 2023, and continued genocidal steps, forced over 150,000 Armenians into exile, but have not erased this issue. On the contrary, the people of Artsakh continue to be denied their most basic rights.

Disengagement by the OSCE and the international community would be a grave mistake. Lasting peace requires principles: international law, justice, and diplomacy—not coercion. Central to this is the secure and dignified right of return for the displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its 17 November 2023 order. Equally urgent are the immediate release of Armenian hostages still held in Azerbaijan and the protection of cultural heritage.

The OSCE Minsk Group may no longer function, but the principle it embodied—genuine multilateralism and international mediation—remains indispensable. To abandon it now sends a dangerous message: that power, not law, decides disputes. Such a precedent would only entrench cycles of violence and undermine the foundations of peace and security.

“Closing the chapter of enmity,” as proclaimed in the Washington declaration of 8 August, cannot be achieved through imposed silence. It requires truth, justice, and reconciliation. Victims must be heard, suffering must be acknowledged, and justice must be pursued.

We therefore call upon the OSCE and the broader international community to remain engaged, to uphold their human rights and humanitarian mandates, and to work actively for the protection of the rights of displaced Armenians, the release of hostages, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Only sustained, impartial, and principled engagement can secure the dignity and rights of the people of Artsakh and make possible a real, lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

7. News about the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On September 24, 20 of Israel’s leading academics, jurists, cultural figures, and public officials issued an unprecedented statement in solidarity with the Armenian community of Jerusalem. They condemned the secretive Xana Gardens land deal and warned that turning the historic Cows’ Garden into a commercial site threatens the survival of the 1,500-year-old Armenian Quarter. The signatories, including deputy mayors of Jerusalem and professors from Hebrew University, called for transparency, respect for Armenian communal property, and protection of the community from violence and hate.
On September 24, the General Assembly of the Brotherhood of Sts. James, led by His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, convened at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Assembly unanimously reaffirmed that the 2021 lease of the Cows’ Garden is illegal, uncanonical and void, and rejected the proposed settlement with “Xana Gardens” Ltd. A clerical committee was established to pursue the cancellation lawsuit. This decision reasserts the Brotherhood’s exclusive authority over Patriarchate property and the Armenian community’s commitment to protecting its heritage in Jerusalem.
The Armenian National Committee (ANC)-International welcomes the resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the Brotherhood of Sts. James on September 24, 2025. In its decision, the Assembly declared the 2021 lease agreement concerning the “Cows’ Garden (Armenian Garden)” to be illegal, uncanonical and null and void, and further rejected both the Addendum and the Settlement Agreement obtained through mediation. The Assembly also resolved to pursue legal action in “continuing the cancellation lawsuit against ‘Xana Gardens’ Ltd.”.

Through this decision, the Brotherhood of Sts. James reaffirms its commitment and legal responsibility to safeguard and administer Armenian-owned lands in Jerusalem for the benefit of the Armenian community.

We emphasize once again that the resolution of this matter must rest solely on the foundations of local and international law — without recourse to force or the threat of force. The safeguarding of Armenian rights in Jerusalem concerns the entire Armenian nation. Any attempt to infringe upon these rights will necessarily be met with a proportionate and unified response by the Armenian people worldwide.

The ANC-International, in close cooperation with the global ANC network, remains steadfast in its support of the Armenian community of Jerusalem and the Armenian Patriarchate in the defense of their historic and inalienable rights.

8. News articles and recent developments

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has issued a statement on August 31 rejecting the “peace deal” between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“The current media and diplomatic reception of the joint declaration brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump is a premature celebration of peace while Azerbaijan’s recent mass atrocity crimes and consistent belligerence remain unaddressed. In fact, the deal being announced could easily lead to more war and destruction and could lay the groundwork for further genocidal actions by Azerbaijan towards Armenians”, said the Lemkin Institute. “Azerbaijan is a genocidal state that committed genocide against Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) between 2020 and 2023, using killing, life force atrocities, blockade, starvation, forced displacement, and cultural destruction”.

“Any deal with Azerbaijan that does not address these pronounced genocidal threats will end up enabling them”, explained the organisation. “The joint declaration directly undermines efforts to address past human rights violations by forcing Armenia to withdraw its current cases against Azerbaijan at international courts”.

The EU has confirmed that the Azerbaijani state-owned STAR Refinery in Turkey is now subject to sanctions for processing Russian crude oil. Under the EU’s 18th sanctions package, imports of refined products made from Russian oil in third countries are banned as part of anti-circumvention measures.

STAR, jointly owned by SOCAR and the Azerbaijani government, has long faced accusations of rebranding Russian oil for European markets. Reports show that the majority of crude processed there originates from Russia.

Read the investigation by Rasmus Canbäck in OC Media here: https://oc-media.org/eu-sanctions-quietly-extend-to-azerbaijani-refinery-for-processing-russian-petrol/

Read it here
British journalist Gabriel Gavin has released “Ashes of Our Fathers: Inside the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh”, in Armenia, a book about the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

“Through the stories of ordinary Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Gabriel Gavin chronicles how Nagorno-Karabakh went from an ancient home shared by both peoples to a battle-scarred land of empty houses and untended graves. Ashes of Our Fathers reveals a simmering ethnic conflict inside the Kremlin’s self-declared sphere of influence; the lives and loyalties of the people caught up in the chaos; and the decisions, from Yerevan and Baku to Moscow and Washington to Tel Aviv and Tehran, that enabled one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the 2020s”.

More information here: https://gabrielgavin.com/

Vicken Euljekjian, a 46-year-old Armenian–Lebanese citizen kidnapped by Azerbaijani troops in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020, has entered the fourth week of a hunger strike.

According to Christian Solidarity International, “Euljekjian is serving a 20-year sentence after a sham trial. His wife Linda, who last spoke to him on 2 September, said he sounded extremely weak. Throughout five years of captivity, he has endured torture, abuse and denial of proper medical care”.

With the International Committee of the Red Cross forced to end operations in Azerbaijan, the last lifeline for the 23 Armenian hostages illegally held in Baku is being cut.

The complete statement by CSI: https://www.csi-int.org/news/armenian-hostage-vicken-euljekjian-enters-fourth-week-of-hunger-strike/

Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan has revealed on September 3 that Armenian prisoners/hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan have attempted suicide in recent weeks. Families learned of these attempts during rare phone calls, highlighting the severe psychological suffering and despair caused by months of isolation.

Since Azerbaijan blocked the Red Cross from visiting, the captives have been left without international oversight, medical checks, or basic safeguards. Their condition remains unknown. “After the cessation of Red Cross visits, such attempts have occurred, have been repeated, which indicates a direct connection with the cessation of the activities of the Red Cross [in Azerbaijan], isolation, and human suffering”, explained Sahakyan.

Seven years ago, OCCRP and partners uncovered the Azerbaijani Laundromat, a $2.9bn slush fund used by Azerbaijan’s ruling elite to launder money and buy influence in Europe.

Since then, the revelations have sparked global investigations and consequences:
– Closure of Danske Bank’s Estonian branch (2019)
– Fines for Deutsche Bank in Germany and the US (2020)
– Jail sentences and corruption cases against European lawmakers (2021–2025)
– Millions seized by UK and US authorities from Azerbaijani elites

The Laundromat scandal showed how oil-rich Azerbaijan used Western banks, shell companies, and corrupt politicians to whitewash its image.

9. Anniversaries

On September 2, 1991, the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was declared, as Armenians of Artsakh exercised their right to self-determination after decades of persecution and violence.

Despite a legitimate struggle for freedom, Azerbaijan launched a war of annihilation in 2020, followed by a genocidal blockade and ethnic cleansing in 2023, forcing the displacement of the indigenous Armenian population from its ancestral homeland.

On this day, we reaffirm the Artsakh’s people right to return with security guarantees, the protection of their cultural heritage and the release of all Armenian prisoners and hostages illegally imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military assault following a ten-month genocidal blockade and a brutal war in 2020, forcing over 120,000 indigenous Armenians to flee Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Entire families were uprooted from their ancestral homeland under bombardment, starvation, and terror. The ethnic cleansing went unpunished, as Azerbaijan failed to comply with the binding resolutions of the International Court of Justice.

Adopted during an extraordinary session of the Artsakh Republic National Assembly, September 19 will be marked as the Day of Forced Displacement and Demand for Rights of the people of the Republic of Artsakh.

We will return.

The Armenian National Committee of the United Kingdom extends its best wishes on the 34th anniversary of Armenian Independence Day.

We carry the ideals of a free, independent and united Armenia.

Armenia is the home for all Armenians, representing their historic demands and wishes for a secure and just future for all; this includes the fundamental rights of the Armenians of Artsakh to return to their ancestral home.

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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.

Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Britain and affiliated organisations around the world, ANC-UK actively advances the concerns of the British-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.

The work achieved by ANC-UK is currently on a volunteer basis. However, we are hopeful that in the coming years through the financial support of our community, the ANC-UK chapter will have the necessary funds to open a full-time office employing an Executive Director and a part-time Administrative Assistant.

Setting up an ANC-UK office will allow for our organisation’s goals to be achieved as they have been throughout the diaspora in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and Europe.

As a grassroots organisation, we rely upon you, our community and friends for financial assistance to advance our cause. Your donations support our goal of having a full-time office, to advocate on issues important to all British-Armenians and the Armenian cause.

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