This year the UN Climate Conference — COP29 — will be hosted by the government of Azerbaijan, “a corrupt and authoritarian petro-state. While the host nation of COP29 should ideally unite states in combating the climate crisis, Azerbaijan’s economy is dependent on fossil fuels, and the country suffers from severe environmental degradation and a human rights crisis.” As COP29 delegates prepare to attend talks in Baku, the international community must use the opportunity to shine a spotlight on Azerbaijan’s human rights record, particularly in light of the blockade and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population last year, and amid the government’s escalating crackdown on freedom of speech, assembly and the press. At COP29 and beyond, we reiterate our call that there can be no climate justice without human rights, and there can be no human rights without climate justice.
The large-scale destruction of Stepanakert by Azerbaijan continues
The large-scale destruction of Stepanakert by Azerbaijan continues in broad daylight. Entire neighbourhoods are wiped off the map just ahead of COP29 – @UN‘s Climate Change Conference. We call on the international community to boycott @COP29_AZ and Azerbaijan’s Armenophobic dictatorship, which continues the genocide of Artsakh in real mode.
â—ï¸â—ï¸â—ï¸The large-scale destruction of Stepanakert by Azerbaijan continues in broad daylight. Entire neighbourhoods are wiped off the map just ahead of COP29 – @UN's Climate Change Conference. We call on the international community to boycott @COP29_AZ and Azerbaijan's Armenophobic… pic.twitter.com/9BFLDglpkf
— Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Ombudsman (@ArtsakhOmbuds) October 29, 2024
New footage has emerged of mass destruction in Stepanakert. Only in October 2024, Azerbaijan subjected the entire historical center of Stepanakert to total demolition. Thus, at least 6.5 hectares of residential buildings have been razed to the ground, including historical residential buildings of pre-Soviet and Soviet-era, as well as multiple public buildings. The publication of these videos is aimed at demoralizing the forcibly displaced people of Artsakh, depriving them of their will and hope for return.
Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Ombudsman
Why Does COP29 Matter ?
Bernard Kouchner
Former Foreign Minister of France
“How can […] such a crucial event [be hosted] in a country that deviates from international law, depends heavily on hydrocarbons and flouts human rights by holding twenty-three Armenian hostages without valid reason who are dying in its jails? A year has not passed since the ethnic cleansing of the 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan has already been awarded the right to host an event as prestigious as COP29. This choice raises questions on both humanitarian and ecological levels.â€
Human Rights Violations:
Azerbaijan has a well-documented history of human rights abuses, including the repression of journalists, activists, and political opponents. International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have highlighted the country’s authoritarian regime and its aggressive tactics to silence dissent, especially to environmental protests. In the lead-up to COP29, Azerbaijan’s government should be pressed to respect its human rights obligations, including by immediately and unconditionally releasing arbitrarily detained activists, human rights defenders and especially Armenian hostages and POWs held illegally.
Azerbaijan’s involvement in regional conflicts, particularly with Armenia, and its actions in New Caledonia, raise serious ethical and political concerns. In a February 2024 resolution the European Parliament calls for guaranteeing “the integrity of Armenian sovereign territory, the rights and security of the Armenian population residing in Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflict-afflicted areas and the prompt and safe return of all refugees and internally displaced people to their homes; calls on the international community to remain seized of this conflict, which concerns the stability and security of the whole region.”
Public Perception and Backlash:
Various organizations and individuals have already called for a boycott of COP29 due to Azerbaijan’s troubling track record. Attendees risk facing backlash from human rights organizations, environmental activists, and the general public. Participating governments should not allow Azerbaijan to use #COP29 “greenwash” genocide and legitimize capturing territories by force. “Just by being there, your company will be conferring credibility on a process that has comprehensively squandered whatever credibility it might once have had. ‘By your presence/ absence shall your company be judged’ – as it were!” “Drug dealers don’t fix drug addictions, and petrostates won’t fix the climate crisis.”
Destruction of Armenian Heritage
Following Azerbaijan’s complete occupation and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2023, Azerbaijan’s authorities have undertaken a systematic campaign to erase the Armenian identity from the region. The European Parliament has expressed “serious concern about the failure to safeguard the cultural, religious and historical heritage of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of the ICJ Order of 7 December 2021; condemns all cases of the destruction, vandalism and desecration of all sites recalling the centuries-long Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to preserve, protect and promote the rich and diverse heritage of the region.”
Genocidal Ethnic Cleansing
Through starvation, bombing, and instilling fear, Azerbaijan has pursued a genocidal campaign against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh in 2023. Through #COP29 Azerbaijan is attempting to “greenwash” its crimes against humanity. Based on an international fact-finding effort that included hundreds of witness interviews and open-source data, Freedom House published a report to answer why there are no ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh as of May 2024. The evidence demonstrates that the Azerbaijani state acted upon a comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population and historical and cultural presence.
“It is not enough to simply discuss the principles of international law; they must be actively enforced”
To me, the link between climate change and genocide is stark and undeniable. Both are governed by international conventions that, unfortunately, have seen inadequate enforcement. Since the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the Genocide Convention in 1948, the world has witnessed rising global temperatures and persistent threats of genocide. In 2023 alone, the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide identified ongoing risks in six instances, including Nagorno-Karabakh. The UN Climate Convention aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions, primarily driven by fossil fuels. With over 75% of these emissions linked to fossil energy, the industry’s influence over climate policy is a critical concern. Azerbaijan, where fossil energy comprises about 90% of its export revenues, epitomizes this conflict as it prepares to host COP29. The genocide committed by Azerbaijan against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh in 2023 exemplifies the ongoing threat. Through starvation, bombing, and instilling fear, Azerbaijan has pursued a genocidal campaign. President Aliyev’s chilling statement— “If the ethnic Armenians do not leave our lands of their own free will, we will chase them away like dogs, and we are doing thatâ€â€”reflects this brutal reality. The continuous incarceration of 23 Nagorno-Karabakh people in Baku jails serves as a stark warning to those who might attempt to return. Azerbaijan’s proposal for a truce during COP29 rings hollow unless Armenian hostages and other political prisoners are released unconditionally. It is not enough to simply discuss the principles of international law; they must be actively enforced. (excerpts)
Human rights issues are interconnected with the climate crisis. The region is not complicated. It’s time for the climate movement to speak up about South Caucasus and Central Asia.
