Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno Karabakh Region: Deported Community’s Quest for Peace, Justice and Returning Home

Azerbaijan has experienced one the of the harshest refugee and IDP crises of modern times during its 25 years of independence which made about 13 percent of the country’s population to live lives of refugee and IDP. The Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh (ACNK) who was forcefully displaced by Armenia during ethnic cleansing in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of the huge refugee and IDP population of Azerbaijan. The ACNK supports the peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international legal norms, and in order to accelerate the peace process, the ACNK has offered to launch direct negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Despite all support provided by Azerbaijani state to solve socio-economic problems of the community no support can fully heal the wounds inflicted by war, occupation, massacres and ethnic cleansing. The only way to truly heal these wounds is through the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the community’s return to their native lands and homes.

Authors: Rovshan Rzayev
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