By Elen Muradyan
A cross-party committee of 19 Swiss parliamentarians will launch an initiative on May 26 to support the return of displaced Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, marking Switzerland’s latest diplomatic effort to address the aftermath of the 2023 mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Swiss Peace Initiative, based on legislation passed by the Swiss parliament in March, aims to “organize an international peace forum on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” to facilitate dialogue between Azerbaijan and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, according to a press release from Christian Solidarity International (CSI).
National Councillors Erich Vontobel and Stefan Müller-Altermatt will lead the committee, which enjoys broad cross-party support in the Swiss legislature. The initiative builds on a bill passed in March that mandates the Swiss government to host a peace forum modeled after a similar event Switzerland organized for Ukraine.
“The international community wants those people to be able to return home if they choose. Nothing is moving, and we see that time is working against them,” Nicolas Walder, co-rapporteur of the initiative, said when the proposal was approved by the lower house in December.
The Swiss parliament’s decision in March came despite opposition from Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who warned the forum could damage relations with Azerbaijan. Cassis had urged lawmakers to reject the bill, noting that Switzerland recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh or its representatives.
More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 following an Azerbaijani military offensive that ended three decades of Armenian control over the territory. The exodus effectively emptied the region of its Armenian population, raising concerns about cultural erasure and the permanent displacement of the region’s indigenous Armenian community.
The May 26 event will feature presentations from Vartan Oskanian, Armenia’s former foreign minister and current Chairman of the Committee for the Defense of the Fundamental Rights of the People of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The forced displacement of Nagorno-Karabakh’s entire Armenian population represents not just a humanitarian catastrophe but a profound regional crisis,” Oskanian wrote in a January opinion piece. “At its heart lies the imperative to address a grave injustice while laying the groundwork for sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Oskanian has argued that the right of return is enshrined in international law and was affirmed by the International Court of Justice’s ruling in November 2023.
“Each day of inaction makes this process more difficult to reverse,” he cautioned, referring to reports of cultural heritage destruction in the region. “Azerbaijan continues its systematic erasure of Armenian cultural, historical, and communal heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Other speakers at the launch event will include Vardan Tadevosyan, Director of the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Centre, Sarkis Shahinian, General Secretary of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Switzerland-Armenia, and Dr. Joel Veldkamp from CSI.
The initiative represents one of the most concrete international efforts to address the aftermath of the 2023 conflict. Switzerland’s Federal Council must now organize the forum within a year, despite its initial opposition to the parliamentary measure.
Former Human Rights Defender of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gegham Stepanyan, previously welcomed the Swiss Parliament’s decision, saying it sends a clear message that “Switzerland does not view the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as settled and refuses to normalize the forced displacement of Armenians.”
While Azerbaijan has claimed it welcomes the return of displaced people, international observers note that these assertions lack credible mechanisms to ensure safety and fundamental rights for returning Armenians.
The post Swiss deputies form committee to back Nagorno-Karabakh initiative appeared first on CIVILNET.