CSI supports the Swiss sponsored peace negotiations between the Azerbaijani Government and representatives of the forcibly displaced Armenian Christian population of Nagorno Karabakh as required by the Swiss parliament. However, the Council of Ministers angered Swiss parliamentarians by tacitly accepting Azerbaijan’s ethno-religious cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh and refusing to communicate with representatives of the expelled population.
Responding to questions by Lower House member Erich Vontobel (EDU), the Swiss Federal Council, headed this year by Karin Keller-Suter, stated on June 10 that “the Foreign Ministry is currently unable to plan the organization of a forum” as mandated by Parliamentary Motion 24.4259. The government cited Azerbaijan’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of the ethnically and religiously cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh and its rejection of a peace forum aimed at enabling the return of the 120,000 forcibly displaced Armenian Christians. Thus, the government made future Swiss monitoring and mediation efforts contingent on the consent of the very regime responsible for the expulsion.
The response sparked strong criticism in Parliament. Lawmakers had explicitly tasked the government with “enabling open dialogue between Azerbaijan and representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians” to negotiate conditions for the safe return of the displaced. The Federal Council is ignoring the core of Parliament’s mandate: giving those affected a voice in the peace process.
At the end of May, 19 members of the Swiss Parliament established the cross-party Committee “Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh” for the purpose of supporting the Swiss government’s mandate to initiate a peace forum between Azerbaijan and the representatives of the displaces population of Nagorno Karabakh with a view to creating conditions for their safe an dignified return.
Committee Co-Chair Stefan Müller Altermatt (Mitte) declared: The Council of Ministers must not be satisfied with a ‘no’ from Baku. Switzerland must now demonstrate that it is serious about its role as a neutral mediator.” Müller-Altermatt reminded the Swiss Foreign Ministry that Nagorno Karabakh remains on the agenda of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) and offers proven mechanisms to support such a forum at the international level – mechanisms that it should actively use.
The displacement of 120,000 Karabakh Armenians in autumn 2023 represents a clear violation of international humanitarian law. “Switzerland, as the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, cannot turn a blind eye when an entire people is expelled from their homeland. Otherwise, we lose our credibility,” warns Committee Co-Chair Erich Vontobel, demanding: “The Federal Council must fulfil its parliamentary mandate!”
“CSI cannot accept that a state that has committed religio-ethnic cleansing can place a veto on Switzerland or any other state engaging in peaceful dialogue with representatives of a forcibly displaced community”, stated CSI’s International President Dr. John Eibner. He furthermore pledged that CSI will continue to press for Azerbaijan to engage in constructive dialogue with representatives of the expelled Armenian Christian population about their return to Nagorno Karabakh with fundamental human rights guaranteed.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is a Christian human rights organization promoting religious liberty and human dignity.
