As the United Nations celebrates its 17 sustainable development goals worldwide, there remains a small unrecognized state where the international community has failed to take action to address the tragic decline in regards to these goals.

This diminutive democratic state, known as the Republic of Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh, has been under a complete blockade by the oil-rich dictatorship of Azerbaijan for over 7 months now, and the situation has worsened into a severe siege this July. Prior to Azerbaijan’s brutal war against Artsakh in 2020, over 400 tonnes of cargo used to enter the territory from the Republic of Armenia daily. Since December 12, 2022, these convoys have stopped, and only small portions of supplies have been delivered through the Red Cross and Russian Peacekeeping units. This has resulted in shortages of local resources, with reserves almost depleted since Azerbaijan halted all humanitarian supplies from entering Artsakh this July. Presently, more than 120,000 Armenians residing in the blockaded region are deprived of their freedom of movement, and no food or humanitarian supplies can enter the Republic, not even with the assistance of the ICRC, which is the sole international organization permitted to access the otherwise inaccessible gray zone of Artsakh. The Russian peacekeepers, responsible for overseeing the humanitarian corridor connecting Artsakh with the Republic of Armenia and the rest of the world, have been unable to take any action to end this genocidal blockade.

The corridor is obstructed by hostile Azerbaijani troops and an illegal checkpoint, flouting the statements and orders of the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice. The UN continues to study the situation from afar, as Azerbaijan places political obstacles to hinder the intended UN monitoring mission from entering Artsakh and assessing the situation on the ground.

To help the UN understand the full picture, we must evaluate the situation concerning its Sustainable Development Goals in Artsakh.