Forbes published lawyer human rights advocate, and author Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab’s article on Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh. Below are key points of the article.
On August 7, 2023, a group of United Nations experts raised the alarming situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. As they emphasized, the blockade, which has been obstructing the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia since December 2022, has left the population facing “acute shortages of food staples, medication, and hygiene products, impacted the functioning of medical and educational institutions, and placed the lives of the residents – especially children, persons with disabilities, older persons, pregnant women, and the sick – at significant risk.” Furthermore, as hospital reserves are depleting, hospitals were struggling to provide care. The U.N. experts called upon Azerbaijan to immediately restore the free and secure movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin corridor, as per the ceasefire agreement of November 2020.
The protest, blocking the Lachin Corridor, halts the normal movement of people and goods in or out of the enclave, including food, fuel, and medical supplies, resulting in shortages of the products in the enclave. Eight months later, the situation of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh turned into a humanitarian emergency requiring an urgent response and Azerbaijan continues to ignore the calls to address the situation.
In February 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered provisional measures to ensure that Azerbaijan ends the blockage of the Lachin Corridor. The order, which has a binding effect, states that the Republic of Azerbaijan shall, pending the final decision in the case and in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan did not act upon the order and the Lachin Corridor continues to be blocked.
As Nagorno-Karabakh is being starved, the international community cannot continue looking away as it has done for the last eight months. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh require urgent assistance without any further excuses.
Ilham Aliyev's assistant Hikmet Hajiyev called the Forbes article biased. According to him, it is pro-Armenian and allegedly distorts reality.
