BM84: Solidarity in calling upon the European institutions and countries to condemn the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijan

The European Students Union (ESU) has followed the struggle and calls of the
Armenian students and expresses its deep concern over the ongoing blockade
imposed by the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Republic of Artsakh, known as
Nagorno-Karabakh. Alongside creating a humanitarian crisis, this blockade has
severely impacted the right to education for all students of the area and is a ruthless
violation of the fundamental values of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Since 12 December 2022, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia
and the outside world, the Lachin corridor, has been blocked by self-proclaimed
Azerbaijani environmentalists. While causing a severe humanitarian crisis and
significantly affecting the most vulnerable populations, this has disrupted access to
essential goods and services for the 120 000 ethnic Armenian population living in
Nagorno-Karabakh, placing them under a blockade. Undoubtedly, this has gravely
impacted education provision as educational institutions stopped operating in
Nagorno-Karabakh due to a lack of heating and adequate food supplies. The
freedoms and right to education of around 22 000 children in Nagorno-Karabakh is
violated, while 6 498 students have no access to higher and vocational education.
The blockade affects the movement of all goods and essentials, thereby limiting the
access of students to educational resources, including research materials, and
technological equipment.
The blockade leads to ethnic cleansing fueled by Azerbaijan’s inflammatory rhetoric
calling for discrimination against Armenians and urging Armenians to leave
Nagorno-Karabakh. The situation has been further severed with establishment of a
checkpoint on the Lachin corridor on 23 April 2023 by the Azerbaijani forces. This sets
back the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and undermines
international peacebuilding efforts.
ESU recognizes the importance of peaceful negotiations in conflicts, as well as
respect for human rights and freedoms of people wherever they live. Access to education is a fundamental human right and a key factor for cohesive, peaceful and
democratic societies. ESU recognizes that the blockade of Lachin corridor instigated
by Azerbaijan violates all the human rights, including the right to education of people
in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is a breach of international obligations undertaken by
Azerbaijan, as well as a grave violation of the values and principles of the EHEA.
Given this, ESU reaffirms its commitment to advocating for the protection of human
rights and the fundamental values of EHEA across the region, including in
Nagorno-Karabakh. ESU reaffirms its call upon the EU and international community
for urgent actions to prevent the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh and ensure their right to peaceful life, self-determination and
peaceful co-existence together with its neighbors.
Joining the calls of the European Parliament (Resolution of 19 January 2023 on the
humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh
(2023/2504(RSP)), ESU ‘’urges the EU to be actively involved and ensure that the
inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh are no longer held’’ [1]. ESU and its undersigning
members, stand in solidarity with the Armenian National Students’ Association calling
upon the EHEA and the wider international community to condemn the breach of
EHEA fundamental values and international obligations by Azerbaijan. We urge the
EHEA, the EU and its member states to take a strong stance on this issue and to
provide support to the affected students and higher education institutions in
Nagorno-Karabakh. We call for the international community to support efforts to
ensure respect for the human rights, including the right to education, of the
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Proposer: ANSA, Armenia

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0012_EN.pdf