ONLY IN CASE OF JOINT DISCUSSIONS

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[07:01 pm] 27 November, 2008

NGOs ask for more transparency in the Karabakh Peace Process and
for more contact between governments and non state actors working on
this issue

The Consortium Initiative, a platform of non governmental organisations
working in support of the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace process, has written
to the three co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Process, – Assistant Deputy
Secretary of State Matt Bryza of the United States, Ambassador Yuri
Merzlyakov of Russia and Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France with
recommendations for the establishment of a mechanism for dialogue
and exchange of views between the Nagorno Karabakh Peace process
led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair and non state actors working in
support of the peace process, and on increasing the transparency of
the peace process.

The Consortium Initiative is of the opinion that the Nagorno-Karabakh
Peace Process led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair will benefit from
closer interaction with the processes and debates going on within
the countries and communities concerned. This interaction will help
address the lack of an overall proper contextual setting which the
Consortium has identified as one of the obstacles for moving the
peace process to the next step and will make an agreement within
reach of the parties. The Consortium Initiative has in the second
half of 2008 held a process of consultation that involved meetings
with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
senior officials from both countries, as well as the three OSCE Minsk
process co-Chair. The Consortium Initiative intensified dialogue in
this period with civil society in the conflict region. On the basis
of these discussions and consultations the Consortium has presented
to the co-Chair specific recommendations that it feels will help the
peace process to be better understood and supported amongst Armenians
and Azerbaijanis in the conflict region and beyond.

In its letter the Consortium Initiative also applauds the work done
by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and their governments,
over the years, in order to narrow the differences between them
and help find a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. The
Consortium Initiative similarly appreciates the efforts exerted by
the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair in facilitating these negotiations. The
Moscow Declaration on the Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
signed on 2nd November 2008 by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Russia has given a new impetus to the peace negotiations. The
Consortium members think that this declaration forms a good basis
on which future action for the resolution of the conflict can be
based. The Consortium thinks that now is the best time to move
the peace process forward and that success can only be achieved if
the governments concerned, their respective civil society and the
international community work together in harmony for this purpose.

The Consortium Initiative members (International Alert, Conciliation
Resources and LINKS) have since 2003 accompanied the peace process
by engaging with non state actors in both Armenia and Azerbaijan,
including with Armenians who currently live in Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijanis who have fled due to the conflict, as well as with wider
IDP communities, refugees and other war affected groups. The activities
of the Consortium Initiative have targeted a spectrum of different
constituencies from grass roots organisations, to media, to political
organisations and Members of Parliament. The Consortium has in tandem
analysed the peace process and its various dynamics and compared it to
similar situations in other world theatres in order to learn lessons.

A spokesperson for the Consortium Initiative speaking in London said
that the Consortium partners declare their readiness to continue
accompanying the peace process and to remain engaged with all the
parties in order to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the
conflict.

Background Notes

Fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the period immediately
before and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union left more than
30,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands as refugees. A fragile
cease-fire has been in place since 1994 but the process to find a
peaceful solution to the conflict has so far led to few results. After
the August war in Georgia there is now an increased sense of
urgency to try to move the peace process forward. International
Alert, Conciliation Resources and LINKS are three London based non-
governmental organisations with extensive experience of conflict
resolution work in the Caucasus Region.