ICC urges the international humanitarian and religious freedom community to further investigate this situation. Awareness, assistance, and advocacy are the three greatest needs. ICC makes the following humanitarian observations:
- International, third-party access is a crucial ongoing need, in large part because the conflict continues despite the November 9th ceasefire statement.
- International recognition of the religious freedom components of this war is an immediate necessity.
- Peacekeepers are not police. They inherently cannot and are not those responsible for responding to kidnappings, shootings into Artsakh from conquered territories, and other types of criminal activity. These activities remain ongoing.
- Artsakh’s residents remain under threat to their physical integrity, which has created an absence of safety and stabilization that ensures that the consequences of the war are ongoing.
- Humanitarian needs are immediate and ever-growing. Current solutions are not long-term, and require the presence of multiple humanitarian groups working in coordination to address key assistance issues.
- Azerbaijan and Turkey’s seizure and presumed destruction of personal properties includes that of personal identification papers for displaced persons, further isolating them from humanitarian solutions.
- Relocation to permanent housing and livelihood development are essential humanitarian needs. This includes vocational training, as several IDPs come from a “white collar” background that is not likely to be reestablished quickly.
