Category: 2023

On 21 February, the Artbox Entrepreneur accelerator programme was officially launched in Armenia, with 24 newly-selected participants.

During the eight-week career acceleration programme, a new generation of creative entrepreneurs will meet and work with leading mentors to develop their creative careers.

“Culture, creativity, and enterprise are interconnected and essential components of a thriving society that fosters innovation, economic growth, and social progress. The EU wishes all creators good luck and inspiration on their new journey,” says the EU Delegation to Armenia in a Facebook post.

Artbox is developed by Creative Armenia, funded by the European Union in Armenia and launched in partnership with AGBU Armenia within the framework of the KATAPULT Creative Accelerator Programme. 

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Press release

The UN's top court has ordered Azerbaijan to allow free passage through the Lachin Corridor, which extends between Armenia and Karabakh.

The corridor is a part of Azerbaijan clawed back from Armenians in 2020 in a six-week intensification of a decades-old conflict between the post-Soviet foes.

It has been picketed since mid-December by Azerbaijan's environmental activists demanding Armenia stop mining gold and copper-molybdenum deposits in Karabakh, which officials in Baku claim Armenians are exporting illegally.

Armenia accuses the activists of acting with official Azerbaijani support. Baku officials deny they are behind the campaign.

In its Wednesday ruling, the International Court of Justice cited "shortages of food, medicines, and other life-saving medical supplies" that effectively deprived ethnic Armenians in the area of crucial care. 

Baku must "take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions," the court said.

The court, however, rejected Armenia’s request for an order for Baku not to block gas supplies to Karabakh. According to the court, Yerevan lawyers did not provide enough evidence to back their claim that Azerbaijan was disrupting those supplies.

The court also declined a request by Baku for an order to stop or prevent Armenia from laying landmines and booby traps in areas of the region to which Azerbaijani citizens are to return.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders said after a meeting at the Munich Security Conference on February 18 that some progress had been made toward peace between their two Caucasus nations, but they made clear that much work still needed to be done.

Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it has been populated only by ethnic Armenians since 1988 when they seceded, triggering a war which forced up to one million Azerbaijanis to flee their homes.

In 2020, the second Karabakh broke out, killing more than 6,500 people during a six-week conflict. The war ended with a Russian-brokered deal that saw Yerevan cede swathes of the Azerbaijani territory that it had been occupying for several decades.

Can you imagine that women in Armenia play an important role in science? We are Hasmik and Shoghik, young scientists from Armenia and we believe that women are the engines of science in our country. We study and work in an environment where women are involved in scientific initiatives on an equal footing with men, holding senior positions. Democracy increases gender equality in various fields, making Armenia one of the few countries where the involvement of women in science is significant. In this article, we speak about our professional path as young biologists, and how EU-funded programmes have contributed to our professional development.

Shoghik

I am from the cultural capital of Armenia, Gyumri. Although I am inspired by art and music, I chose to follow the path of science. Now I am a 4th-year student at Yerevan State University, in the faculty of Biology. My every experiment is something new that I create, as artists do. As a biologist, my current fields of interest are bioinformatics, genomics, entomology and ecology of species. In my third year of studies, I had the opportunity to participate in an Erasmus+ credit mobility exchange programme at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. In the process of learning new methods in entomology and genetics, and doing fieldwork, I found what I really wanted to do in science after returning home to Armenia. The cooperation with European scientists had an enormous impact on my path as a professional, and more importantly, even after the programme, this cooperation continues. Currently, I am working on my diploma studies, which are mainly focused on the investigation of invasive ladybird species, what impact they have on the ecosystem and how the dynamics will change. At the same time, I am working in bioinformatics, and I am proud to have the opportunity to work in a field that is in the developing stage in my country.

Hasmik

I was born in Yerevan. My love for science began at a young age when I watched various programmes on TV about scientists and their unique research. As I grew up, my interests expanded to various professional fields, ranging from urbanism to political science, but my dream of doing science and contributing to this field was unchanged. I believe that science is also a part of art since the planning and implementation of experiments are very creative processes. Studying the diversity of life and organisms makes me enthusiastic about the world, and studying the environment and identifying its problems reveals the role of balance in the world. Currently, I am in the process of creating maps, and analysing the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem change due to climate change. The identification and investigation of scientific methods of environmental protection and study have allowed me to use resources and products more consciously in daily life and activities to propagate these ideas among family and friends.

I am studying in the 4th year of my bachelor’s degree, and in the summer semester of the 3rd year, I participated in the Erasmus+ credit mobility, I was a student at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where I studied global climate change and its impact on ecosystems and biodiversity. After returning to Armenia, I continued to work in the same direction, but this time paying attention to the change and loss of local flora and fauna. Currently, I am engaged in the study of endemic endangered species, mapping their habitats and the dynamics of their ranges.

The EU and the EU-funded programmes in which we participated had an important role in the development of our professional path. The main driving force was the Erasmus+ mobility programme, which played a crucial role in narrowing our professional orientation. The programmes and grants implemented with the support of the EU are an incentive for the development of science in Armenia and, in particular, for the active involvement of women in STEM, since regular international conferences create active ties between local and foreign partners. The involvement of various EU structures in local scientific processes provides an opportunity for young women scientists, like us, to actively develop in their field and already have small achievements. 

For centuries it was thought that science was a field only for men, but now we feel confident in an environment where women are involved in scientific processes and where there are no stereotypes that science is not for women. The best examples of that are our women scientific heads, who are an enormous inspiration for us.

ISTANBUL

Azerbaijan has said that it will not hold talks with those who present themselves as representatives of the Armenian population living in Karabakh but are, in fact, from outside the region.

“The Azerbaijani side declared that it is ready to hold a dialogue with the representatives who have the right to represent the Armenian residents, and not with those who come to the Karabakh region from outside and present themselves as representatives of the Armenian residents,” a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry read on Wednesday.

The statement was released in response to comments made during a joint press conference between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Luxembourgian counterpart Jan Asselborn.

It added that Yerevan should not interfere in Baku’s internal affairs and act in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, as well as the Prague and Sochi agreements.

The statement also criticized Asselborn’s comments as “biased”, “ignorant” and “completely contrary to the relevant principles of international law,” noting that “the rights and security of residents of Armenian origin living in the (Karabakh) region will be ensured in accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its legislative acts.”

“With its statement, the Armenian side demonstrates once again that it is not interested in peace in the region,” the statement said.

It further added that Yerevan’s rejection of Baku’s proposal to establish a border checkpoint to stop the misuse of the Lachin road, connecting Armenia to the Karabakh region, shows the country’s intent to repeat its claims that the protests have created a "blockade" and a "tense humanitarian situation" in the region.

It said the evaluation of Azerbaijan's proposal to establish a border checkpoint by Armenia as “an application of force” demonstrates that Yerevan is “not interested in providing transparency on the Lachin road.”

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, during 44 days of heavy fighting, Azerbaijan liberated a significant part of Karabakh, and a Russian-brokered peace agreement was subsequently signed.

The peace agreement has not, however, ended conflict along the border and other disputes between the two countries.

An international court has ordered Azerbaijan to “ensure unimpeded movement” on the highway connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been virtually closed for more than two months as a result of government-backed protests blocking the road.

But the ruling appears to have little immediate prospect of lifting the blockade, as Azerbaijan argues that it is not in fact blocking the road and so is not obliged to do anything it isn’t already doing.

The International Court of Justice, the top court of the United Nations, ruled on February 23 that “Azerbaijan shall … take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

Armenia had asked the court in January to impose provisional measures against Azerbaijan for the blockade. Following the decision, Yerevan declared victory. “[I]n accordance with the Court’s orders, Azerbaijan's blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and other actions must now come to an immediate end,” Armenia’s foreign ministry said in a statement following the ruling. “Armenia will closely monitor the situation and inform the Court of any violations as Armenia’s case against Azerbaijan proceeds.”

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry sidestepped the main thrust of the ruling – that the court demanded it ensure free movement on the road – but pointed out that the court “took note” of Baku’s argument that it “has and undertakes to continue to take all steps within its power and at its disposal to guarantee safe movement along the Lachin Road.”

The ruling “will have little effect on the situation on the ground until peace [is] reached [between] the two countries as every [document] interpreted differently by the parties,” tweeted Farid Shafiyev, the head of the Azerbaijan state-run think tank Center for Analysis of International Relations.

Indeed, international law has traditionally had little effect on the ground throughout the history of this conflict.

In December 2021, in another provisional ruling in the same case, the ICJ demanded that Azerbaijan act to protect Armenian cultural sites on its territory. Months later, though, researchers used satellite imagery to detect the destruction of an Armenian church in what they called a “serious violation” of the ICJ ruling.

If Azerbaijan also disregards this ICJ ruling, the UN Security Council can take up the issue. Armenian officials have already called on the body to do so.

But enforcement of UNSC resolutions requires political will by some state willing to undertake the effort. 

In 1993, the UN Security Council issued four resolutions demanding that Armenian forces withdraw from Azerbaijani territory surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Those remained unimplemented until 2020, when Azerbaijan took them back by force in the Second Karabakh War.

The current blockade was launched on December 12, when a group of activists backed by the government set up a protest on the road near Shusha. Since then the only traffic that has been able to pass has been vehicles of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and occasional transfers of ill people accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It has resulted in widespread shortages of goods in the territory, and ordinary people stuck on either side of the roadblock have been stranded.

Azerbaijan has denied that it is blockading the road. Officials have offered a variety of explanations for the situation, including that it is the Russian peacekeepers who are blocking traffic or that the Armenian residents of Karabakh simply refuse to travel on the road.

At the same time, however, Azerbaijan has begun to advance formal demands that it exert oversight on the road. It recently offered a proposal to Armenia, in the ongoing negotiations over a comprehensive resolution to the conflict, to set up checkpoints on the Lachin Corridor. In exchange, it would allow Armenia to operate its own checkpoints on the proposed route that Baku calls the “Zangezur Corridor.”

In its ruling, the court declined an Armenian request to force Azerbaijan to “cease its orchestration and support of the alleged ‘protests’ blocking uninterrupted free movement along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.” The court argued that the measure was “not warranted,” without offering further explanation.

The court also declined an Armenian request to direct Azerbaijan to restore regular natural gas supply to the territory, which has been repeatedly interrupted during the blockade. The court said it did not have evidence that Azerbaijan was disrupting the supply.

It also rejected Azerbaijan’s request that the court demand new measures related to allegations that Armenia has continued to plant land mines on Azerbaijani territory.

The European Union has officially launched a monitoring mission in Armenia to ensure stability in areas bordering Azerbaijan. It has a staff of 100, with 50 unarmed observers on the ground.

Armenia's strategic ally Russia, whose relations with the West are at a nadir due to its invasion of Ukraine, resents what it calls a “clear geopolitical move.”

The objectives of the mission are “to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict-affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalization efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.”

EU monitoring was first proposed after the escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in mid-September, which led to more than 300 deaths on both sides.

A previous, limited, iteration of the EU mission consisted of 40 monitors and operated for a term of two months, from October 20 to December 19, 2022.

The longer-term mission was announced on January 23. It drew an angry reaction from Russia, which went so far as to allude to a possible confrontation between the unarmed EU observers in Armenia and Russia’s peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The EU mission’s operational headquarters will be in Yeghegnadzor, in south-eastern Armenia, near the resort town of Jermuk, which was attacked by Azerbaijani drones and missiles during the escalation in September.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed hope that the mission would help strengthen peace and stability at a February 21 meeting with Civilian Operations Commander Stefano Tomat and Head of Mission Markus Ritter.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell welcomed the news in a tweet on the same day. “We launched the EU Mission in Armenia #EUMA, which is now operational and conducted its first patrol today. #EUMA will contribute to human security, build confidence on the ground and support EU efforts in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Borrell wrote.

Despite EU and Armenian assurances that the mission is not directed “against” anyone, the news of the official launch drew further angry reaction from Moscow. “This is not the first time we have seen the European Union and the West as a whole seeking to gain a foothold in our ally Armenia by whatever means. We see in these attempts an exclusively geopolitical background, far from the interests of a real normalization of relations in the Transcaucasus,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on February 20.

Later, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar by phone that Moscow views the mission as a bid to “squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security.”

Another of Russia’s objections is that it “ignores” Baku’s negative position towards the mission’s deployment.

Arsen Kharatyan, a former advisor to Prime Minister Pashinyan, said the mission was a great opportunity for Armenia. “Official Yerevan must make every effort to ensure the successful work of the mission. This is a serious opportunity to improve the security situation in our country, it would be unforgivable to miss it,” Kharatyan wrote on his Facebook page.

 by Peoples Dispatch

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a judgment on Wednesday, February 22, asked Azerbaijan to guarantee free passage of goods and people through the Lachin Corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.    

Disposing of complaints filed by Armenia against Azerbaijan and vice-versa earlier this year, the court in a 13-2 majority verdict asked Azerbaijan to “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions,” AP reported.  

In December, hundreds of Azerbaijani protesters began camping at the Lachin Corridor to oppose what they claimed was illegal mining of gold and other mineral resources in Nagorno Karabakh by Armenia. The protesters claimed that Armenian mining was harming the region’s environment.  

The court agreed with the Armenian claim that the road blockade hampered the movement of people, particularly medical patients, from Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia, as well as the movement of goods including medicines and food supplies. 

However, the court rejected Armenia’s plea that Azerbaijan end its support to all the protests in the region and resume supplies of natural gas to Nagorno Karabakh, claiming there was insufficient proof that Azerbaijan was involved in these activities. 

Armenia had raised the issue and accused Azerbaijan of supporting the blockade. However, Azerbaijan has denied any links with the protesters. It has also refuted the Armenian claim that the protesters are causing a complete blockade of supplies of essential commodities to Nagorno Karabakh.  

After the ICJ verdict on Wednesday, Azerbaijan issued a statement claiming that it has always undertaken steps to guarantee safe movement along the Lachin Corridor, AP reported.   

Nagorno Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. However, ethnic Armenians, who constitute the majority population in the region, had declared themselves a part of Armenia in 1988, when both Armenia and Azerbaijan were parts of the Soviet Union (USSR), and drove out most of the Azeri population during the war in 1994.   

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars (1994 and 2020) over the territory since the dissolution of the USSR. In the last war, more than 6,500 people were killed, but Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains. A ceasefire was achieved following mediation by Russia, which also deployed a peace keeping force in the region. 

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/02/23/icj-asks-azerbaijan-to-guarantee-free-movement-between-armenia-and-nagorno-karabakh/