Azerbaijan closes the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia: essential goods and services blocked for tens of thousands of people

BERLIN – The only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia has been blocked since December 12, 2022, cutting off access to essential goods and services for tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians living there. The news was released today by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The blocked road also prevents residents of Nagorno-Karabakh from leaving the region. Over a thousand people are stranded on one side or the other, unable to reach their homes. Among them are dozens of children who had traveled to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on a school trip, and now cannot return to their parents and homes.

The risk of serious humanitarian consequences. “The prolonged blockade of the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world,” said Hugh Williamson, director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch – could lead to dire humanitarian consequences. Regardless of who is blocking the road, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Russian peacekeeping force deployed there should ensure that access remains open, to allow freedom of movement and ensure people have access to essential goods and services. The longer the disruption to essential goods and services, the greater the risk to civilians.”.

The protests of the Azeris. Since the morning of December 12, several dozen Azeris have demonstrated on Lachin Road, demanding access to mining sites in areas under the control of de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-populated separatist enclave in Azerbaijan. They claim that the authorities de facto they are illegally exploiting the gold and copper molybdenum deposits and using the Lachin road to transport those minerals to Armenia. Protesters erected tents along the road and continued their actions throughout the day. Over the course of the past week, they have voiced other grievances, including calls to set up official Azerbaijan customs checkpoints along the Lachin Corridor.

The role of the Russian peacekeepers. Russian peacekeepers, who have guarded the road since the end of the 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, have also barricaded the road to prevent further escalation of the situation should the gathered people advance on mines in the areas controlled by Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies being responsible for the road closure. According to Gegham Stepanyan, the region’s ombudsman who imports about 400 tons of essential goods per day from Armenia, such as food, hygiene products, medicines, household items and other items that are vital for the humanitarian needs of civilians . The road is also used to import fuel, diesel and petrol.

“Leave free passage to humanitarian goods”. While the road remains closed for the general public and the transport of goods, according to some media reports, several Russian peacekeeping trucks allegedly containing humanitarian goods have been allowed through, although it is unclear who they are intended for. the goods. Stepanyan told Human Rights Watch that the assets were not intended for the public in Nagorn-Karabakh. At least one seriously ill patient was transferred to Yerevan with the mediation of International Committee of the Red Cross. Those in control of the road and the surrounding area – that is, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Russian peacekeepers – should ensure that vehicles with humanitarian goods are allowed to pass and that freedom of movement is not impeded, Human Rights said watch.

The Nagorno-Karabach gas outage. Whether protesters have genuine environmental concerns or other grievances, Azerbaijan should facilitate the right to peaceful protest by engaging with protesters to ensure that the road remains open and that the protest does not deny Nagorno-Karabakh residents their rights access to essential services and goods and freedom of movement. The humanitarian situation was further exacerbated by a disruption of natural gas being supplied to Nagorno-Karabakh via a pipeline running from Armenia through Azerbaijan-controlled areas. The outage, which began on December 13, prompted de facto authorities to announce the closure of schools due to winter weather conditions. The Azerbaijani state gas company said Azerbaijan bears no responsibility for the outage. The gas supply was restored on 16 December.