Participants in the Yerevan discussion called on Karabakh refugees to appeal to international courts.

The Washington agreements do not address the issue of the return of the Armenian population to Karabakh, but refugees can independently defend their rights to return through the International Court with international guarantees, stated participants in the discussion in Yerevan.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament declared September 19 as the Day of Forced Deportation and the Struggle for Rights. Internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh consider it necessary to seek their return to their homes and protect their interests at the international level.

A public discussion, "After the Deportation of Artsakh: Challenges and Solutions," organized by the Armenian publication CivilNet, was held in Yerevan on November 18. The speakers included human rights activist Siranush Sahakyan, who represents Armenian prisoners at the ECHR, international law specialist Ara Ghazaryan, and historian and former Minister of Culture of Nagorno-Karabakh Lernik Hovhannisyan, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported.

According to the human rights activist, the exodus of the Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh is effectively a forced deportation. "And this deportation is ongoing." "Until the internationally guaranteed right of people to return to their homeland is ensured, we are dealing with an ongoing crime against humanity," said Siranush Sahakyan during a discussion, commenting on the issue of the right of forcibly displaced persons to return.

Despite declarations by international bodies, it is virtually impossible to realize the right of a forcibly displaced person to return and enjoy their property "unless a safe environment is created in the international arena that will allow people to return home safely and with dignity," and now Azerbaijan's policy "makes the realization of the right of return impossible," she emphasized. "If a person is forced to return to a place where they can no longer ensure their safety, their way of life in accordance with their identity, this means that we have no right to return," Sahakyan explained.

The agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, signed in Washington, does not contain a clause obliging the parties to resolve the issue of the return of the Armenian population to Karabakh, including issues of property and compensation, noted international law specialist Ara Kazaryan. "As long as the agreement previously signed in Washington does not contain such a clause, the door remains open for appeals to international bodies, and there are practically no time limits for appeals," he stated.

According to him, the lack of appeals on behalf of refugees to international courts is "a serious shortcoming of the Armenian government," and this situation benefits Baku. "On the other hand, Azerbaijan will not be able to stop the flow of individual complaints to the ECHR, and tomorrow it will have to respond to them. "Azerbaijan's advantage is that only a few thousand, rather than 120,000, complaints will be sent to international bodies. Significant resources are needed, and human rights defenders cannot file individual complaints on behalf of all Artsakh residents," the expert noted. Kazaryan called on Karabakh Armenians to "independently defend their rights." "If people have property documents, they should appeal to international bodies. Legal norms are subject to protection, but legal proceedings take time. It is essential that the ECHR and the UN Human Rights Committee adopt acts that will set standards and record that the Armenians of Artsakh were forcibly deported and did not receive compensation. This will become a historical fact. Azerbaijan will not be able to claim that this did not happen; "They may try to maneuver, but over the years the issue will become more concrete," the expert noted.

Kazaryan added that the agreement preliminarily signed in Washington "is very far from a peace treaty, since peace treaties are hundreds of pages long, with appendices and detailed mechanisms."

"It's enough to look at the agreement on the Bosnian War, where an entire appendix is devoted to the issue of return, which is not in the Washington Agreement. This means the path to appeal to the international court is open. In turn, the international court is obliged to accept complaints until these two countries create mechanisms for compensation and return. "This is an established approach in international law," noted Ara Ghazaryan.

The tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Karabakh Armenians was threatened with destruction after the forced exodus of the population from the region, and as of today, the Azerbaijani authorities have "crossed all permissible boundaries" by ignoring international conventions, noted historian and former Minister of Culture of Nagorno-Karabakh Lernik Hovhannisyan.

"Armenian cultural heritage is being appropriated by Azerbaijan, and this is not a new process; its origins date back to the 1920s and 1930s. The so-called "Albanian concept" of the origin of the Azerbaijani people is largely based on a policy of appropriation, or outright destruction. "According to various sources, we have learned that the churches of St. John the Baptist in the city of Shushi, St. Hambardzum in Berdzor, St. Sargis in the village of Mokhronis in the Hadrut region, and St. Astvatsatsin in Mariamazor have been completely destroyed. Hundreds of cases of vandalism are known: for example, stray animals were found in the St. Astvatsatsin Church in Stepanakert. Entire settlements are also being destroyed. "Thus, the Azerbaijani side is depriving us of a historical landscape that is a vital part of our identity," he said.

Hovhannisyan reported that the Armenians left 5,658 monuments in Karabakh, including 385 churches, 60 monastery complexes, 2,835 khachkars (cross stones), and more than 400 cemeteries.