The Azerbaijani regime engaged in ethnic cleansing against the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to a report released today from an international fact-finding mission composed of Freedom House and a coalition of six other partners.

The report, which builds on initial findingsreleased in June, examined the situation for ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh between the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and the Azerbaijani regime’s September 2023 military offensive, along with the aftermath of that offensive. The report found multiple cases of gross human rights violations, breaches of international humanitarian law, and violations of international criminal law by Azerbaijani authorities against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, through extrajudicial killings, a monthslong blockade, forced displacement, and postdisplacement policies of cultural erasure and property destruction.

The documented evidence aligns with the definition of ethnic cleansing put forward by a UN commission of experts in the context of the former Yugoslavia. The fact-finding report also supports the conclusion that the acts documented in Nagorno-Karabakh constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report’s release comes as Baku hosts the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), the annual UN forum on climate change.

“Baku’s military offensive and the use of blockade, starvation, and threats were brutal tactics meant to forcibly displace ethnic Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Andranik Shirinyan, Armenia country representative at Freedom House. “The Azerbaijani regime’s unchecked actions in Nagorno-Karabakh set a dangerous precedent of undemocratic regimes using force to end conflicts. The global community must step up its efforts to address the human rights abuses faced by the ethnic Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”

Key findings include:

The Azerbaijani state’s actions constitute ethnic cleansing using forced displacement as a means. It acted upon a comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population and historical and cultural presence. The documented evidence meets the criteria for ethnic cleansing as defined by a UN commission of experts’ report examining violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

The September 2023 displacement of 100,000 ethnic Armenians was the culmination of an intensive, yearslong campaign. This campaign by the Azerbaijani state included widespread human rights violations in various forms against the ethnic Armenian population, using prolonged tactics of intimidation and a blockade. Such actions made it impossible for the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to live safely and in a dignified manner.

Ethnic Armenian residents suffered multiple violations to their rights and freedoms. Fact finders documented violations to residents’ rights to life, health, food, freedom of movement, adequate living standards, liberty and personal integrity, education, and property. Cultural rights were also violated. Ethnic Armenians additionally suffered violations to their right to live without torture and ill treatment. Perpetrators willfully killed civilians—even in the presence of peacekeepers—and enjoyed absolute impunity. This heightened the insecurity and terror among the population prior to the mass displacement in September 2023.

Violations in Nagorno-Karabakh remain ongoing in the form of erasure of Armenian cultural and historical presence. This includes the planned or completed destruction of Armenian cultural monuments, churches, cemeteries, and residential neighborhoods.