Artsakh rights body urges diplomats not to legitimize consequences of ethnic cleansing.

(Horizon Media / YEREVAN) – The Committee for the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of the People of Artsakh has issued an open letter to diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan, warning that official visits to Artsakh risk legitimizing the consequences of the region’s depopulation.

The committee expressed concern over recent diplomatic tours of Shushi, Gandzasar, Stepanakert and other areas, arguing that such visits create an appearance of normalcy in a region from which its indigenous Armenian population was forcibly displaced following Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive.

“Diplomatic visits must not become a tool for normalizing ethnic cleansing,” the committee said, warning that participation in state-organized tours, accompanied by photographs and public statements that ignore the displacement of Armenians, risks providing Baku with international legitimacy for the new reality on the ground.

The letter also criticized visiting diplomats for failing to publicly address the fate of Armenian prisoners of war, civilians and political detainees held in Azerbaijan, as well as what it described as politically motivated trials against them.

The committee raised particular concern over the fate of Armenian cultural and religious heritage, citing the destruction of churches in Stepanakert, the desecration of the historic Armenian cemetery in Shushi and attempts to present the centuries-old Gandzasar Monastery as “Caucasian Albanian.”

It called on diplomats to refuse participation in official tours that could legitimize the consequences of forced displacement, reject narratives that distort the Armenian identity of historic sites, and demand independent access for UNESCO, international experts and monitors.

The committee also urged diplomats to publicly condemn the destruction or alteration of Armenian heritage and to support the right of displaced Armenians to a safe, dignified and voluntary return to Artsakh in accordance with international law.

“Diplomacy requires independent judgment, historical responsibility and moral courage,” the letter said. “The international diplomatic corps cannot assist Azerbaijan in erasing the history, identity and heritage of the people of Artsakh.”