ANCA condemns Azerbaijan`s attempts to silence UN Human Rights  Watchdog advocating for Christian Armenian victims of ethnic  cleansing

ArmInfo. 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 Turk 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.