ANCA Condemns Azerbaijan’s Attempts to Silence UN Human Rights Watchdog Advocating for Christian Armenian Victims of Ethnic Cleansing

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Azerbaijan has lodged an unfounded complaint with the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) against Christian Solidarity International (CSI), a globally respected human rights and religious freedom organization with consultative status at the UN, over its principled advocacy on behalf of the displaced Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

The complaint falsely accuses CSI of “politically motivated hostile actions” and “apparent noncompliance” with UN standards—charges rooted in CSI’s efforts to shed light on Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military assault and genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign that emptied Nagorno Karabakh of its 120,000 indigenous Armenians. The Committee is scheduled to review Azerbaijan’s complaint and CSI’s written response on Friday, May 23rd.

“Azerbaijan – having deployed the full force of its military to ethnically cleanse Armenians from Artsakh – is now using brute legal and political pressure to silence moral voices condemning this atrocity and, ultimately, seeking its reversal. The ANCA condemns this brazen attempt at arm-twisting and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with CSI and all those seeking justice for Artsakh’s Armenians,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Since Azerbaijan’s 2023 attack, which killed hundreds, displaced the entire Armenian population, and led to the capture of dozens of hostages, CSI has worked to spotlight this crisis through statements before the UN Human Rights Council and multiple side events. These included a July 2024 event on the right of return for displaced Armenians, and October 2024 and March 2025 events on Armenian detainees currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan under opaque legal conditions.

Sixteen of these detainees are now being subjected to closed-door show trials in Baku, where they are denied due process, including access to impartial legal counsel and the right to examine evidence. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals, including ethnic Armenians. The UN Committee Against Torture has previously expressed “alarm” at Azerbaijan’s reported abuses, including torture and extrajudicial killings, targeting Armenians.

Azerbaijan’s complaint further claims that CSI violated protocol by referring to “Nagorno Karabakh” and displaying maps including the region’s historical borders—actions Azerbaijan labels as “using fictitious names” and “distorting maps of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Observers warn that this complaint is part of a broader campaign by Azerbaijan to erase the existence of Nagorno Karabakh from the international record, first through ethnic cleansing, now through silencing global human rights defenders.

CSI has vowed to continue its mission of defending the rights of persecuted communities and preserving their voices within international forums.