Lilit Galstyan urges OSCE assembly to address Armenia’s democratic decline and Azerbaijani violations

(Horizon Media / THE HAGUE) — Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member and Armenia Alliance MP Lilit Galstyan addressed the 33rd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on July 5, calling for closer international scrutiny of democratic backsliding in Armenia and immediate action against Azerbaijan’s continuing violations against Armenians.

Galstyan criticized the international community’s failure to respond adequately to the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage and the detention of at least 19 Armenians in Azerbaijan. She noted that former Artsakh leaders remain imprisoned and face inhumane treatment, while the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to them.

The opposition lawmaker also raised concerns over the concentration of power in Armenia, the weakening of democratic institutions, political prosecutions and attacks against the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Galstyan urged the Assembly to closely monitor Armenia’s democratic decline, demand the immediate release of all Armenian detainees, protect Artsakh’s cultural heritage and reaffirm the displaced population’s right of return.

“This is not simply a moral imperative, but a legal obligation,” she said, calling on the OSCE to uphold the principles and standards at the foundation of the organization.