Petition for Intervention of Switzerland in the Nagorno Karabach Conflict

Justification

It is important to act quickly. The goal is to prevent ethnic cleansing or genocide. Since Dec. 12, 2022, the semi-autonomous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has been cut off from all supply routes. This blockade affected all access routes via roads, but also via air. Meanwhile, there were reports of the first deaths from starvation. A humanitarian catastrophe is looming for some 120,000 inhabitants. In response to the blockade, the International Court of Justice called for the opening of a supply corridor for goods and people as early as Feb. 22, 2023. However, the blockade has continued. Since Sept. 9, Azerbaijan has granted an aid transport for the Russian Red Cross and also allowed a convoy of aid and medical supplies to pass on Sept. 18. However, this is only barely enough to supply 120,000 inhabitants. A day later, Nagorno-Karabakh, in particular the town of Stepanakert, was bombed. There were deaths and injuries. Now, on September 20, 2023, a ceasefire occurred after the Armenian army agreed to disarm in the enclave. The pedition is submitted because of the still unknown and uncertain developments.

Sources:

•  «Ein Völkermord am Rande Europas – und niemand greift ein?»; NZZ vom 8.9.202«Droht ein Genozid am Rande Europas?», Deutschlandfunk 17.8.202
• «Schweigen tötet», Gastbeitrag des Tages-Anzeiger vom 7.9.2023
• «Totenstille», die Zeit Online, 8.9.2023
• ·Entscheid des Internationalen Gerichtshof vom 22.2.2023
•  «Konflikt zwischen Aserbaidschan und Armenien: Feuerpause in Nagorni Karabach vereinbart», NZZ vom 20.9.2023
• «Der aserbaidschanische Präsident Ilham Alijew erklärt den Militäreinsatz in Nagorni Karabach für beendet – die Bevölkerung steht vor einer ungewissen Zukunft», NZZ vom 20.9.2023

Securing peacemaking measures: In the South Caucasus, the situation is unstable despite the cease-fire. Azerbaijan has massed troops in the region in recent weeks. There have already been several military incursions into Armenian territory and numerous deaths on both sides. In widely available press reports in Azerbaijan and Turkey, Azerbaijan has made other territorial claims on Armenia in addition to the enclave.

For the first time, Switzerland, as a member of the Security Council, has the opportunity to raise the issue of the threat posed to Armenia by Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus. In particular, the Federal Council should advocate in the Security Council that potential sanctions be communicated before further acts of war. The signatories consider early communication as a way of preventing war. The world does not need another war.

Sources:

•  «Aserbaidschan erhöht den Druck auf Armenien – es droht ein neuer Krieg», NZZ vom 7.9.2023
•  «Drohender Angriff auf Arzach (Berg-Karabach)», Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, 7.9.2023
•  «Drohende Eskalation im Südkaukasus - Warum Armenien nicht von Russland loskommt», Der Spiegel, 13.9.2023
•  «Kriegsgefahr zwischen Armenien und Aserbaidschan», IPG Journal, 11.9.2023

Background interview:

• Nadja Douglas, research associate at the Center for Eastern European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin: "Aserbaidschan will im Schatten des Ukraine-Krieges Tatsachen schaffen", NTV Sept. 1, 2023