On March 18, the Council of States\u2014the upper house of the Swiss Federal Assembly\u2014adopted Motion No. 24.4259 titled “Peace Forum for Nagorno-Karabakh: Enabling the Return of Armenians.” This motion, initially passed by the National Council, the lower chamber of the Swiss Federal Assembly requires the establishment of an international forum by the Government of Switzerland to facilitate and promote the right of return of the forcefully displaced indigenous Armenian Population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The motion, which was introduced to the Parliament by the Foreign Relations Committee of the Swiss National Council, calls for direct open dialogue between Armenian representatives and Azerbaijani authorities and affirms the undeniable responsibility of the international community in providing guarantees for the safe return of the displaced to their historical homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crucially, in addition to inviting representatives of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh directly, the motion\u2019s justification explicitly states that Nagorno-Karabakh has been emptied of its Armenian population since Azerbaijan\u2019s military actions in September 2023, citing \u201cdocumented ethnic cleansing.\u201d It emphasizes that direct threats and military operations by the Azerbaijani authorities had spread fear and forced the Armenian population to leave their homeland within a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This decision enforces the Swiss government to establish an international forum between representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh\/Artsakh which will promote the right to return of Artsakh Armenians, under international safety guarantees to ensure their protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The EAFJD welcomes this new development, with President Kaspar Karampetian stating: ” I congratulate the Swiss Council of States for ratifying the initiative that was accepted previously by the Swiss National Council. It is time now for the Swiss government to fully enact the provisions of this decision and promote the safe and unimpeded return of Armenian civilians from Artsakh to their homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The establishment of such a forum which will facilitate the right to return under international protection guarantees is not only a victory for the Armenian people but a triumph for all those who fight for Justice and Peace”- concluded Karampetian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On March 18, the Council of States\u2014the upper house of the Swiss Federal Assembly\u2014adopted Motion No. 24.4259 titled “Peace Forum for Nagorno-Karabakh: Enabling the Return of Armenians.” This motion, initially passed by the National Council, the lower chamber of the Swiss Federal Assembly requires the establishment of an international forum by the Government of Switzerland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[143,405],"class_list":["post-23392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-european-armenian-federation-eafjd","tag-405"],"yoast_head":"\n