Freedom House qualifies what happened in Artsakh as ethnic cleansing,  while Yerevan meets new demands of Baku - Ombudsman

ArmInfo. The report of the  international human rights organization clearly stated that  what happened in Artsakh fully complies with the internationally accepted definition of ethnic cleansing. Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan wrote  on his Facebook page. "

, together with a number of Armenian human rights  organizations, has done a great job and published a report that  clearly proves that ",  Stepanyan wrote.

"And in a parallel reality, there is constant talk about Armenia  withdrawing the claims brought against Azerbaijan in international  courts, and according to some unspecified information, the process  has already begun (at the end of June, the Telegram  channel, citing diplomatic sources, reported that Yerevan intends to  meet Baku's new demand to withdraw all claims from international  courts,  ed. note), the Ombudsman notes.

If that's the case, it will mean that we "don't care" about the  rights of 150 thousand people, Gegham Stepanyan believes.

Notably,  released a fact-finding report titled "Why  Are There No Armenians in Nagorno- Karabakh?" documenting how ethnic  Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have been deliberately subjected to  repeated attacks, intimidation, deprivation of basic rights and  normal living conditions, and forced displacement by Azerbaijan. 

"This report examines the situation for ethnic Armenians living in  Nagorno- Karabakh for the period starting with the Second  Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and through the Azerbaijani military  offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 and its  aftermath. It is an initial summary with a full, extended report to  be released later. Through an international fact-finding effort that  included hundreds of witness interviews and open-source data, the  analysis aims to answer why there are no ethnic Armenians living in  Nagorno-Karabakh as of May 2024. It documents how people in Nagorno-  Karabakh were intentionally subjected to regular attacks,  intimidation, deprivation of basic rights and adequate living  conditions, and forced displacement. The evidence demonstrates that  the Azerbaijani state acted upon a comprehensive, methodically  implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian  population and historical and cultural presence," the report notes.

The report was discussed on July 1 in Yerevan within the framework of  the Armenian Democracy Forum.