Artsakh human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan presented the humanitarian consequences of blocking the Lachin Corridor.

"1. On December 11, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis in civilian clothes, posing as environmental activists, blocked the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia and the world, the Lachin Corridor, under the pretext of fake environmental concerns.

2. The road under the control of the Russian peacekeeping troops is used only for the transportation of people and goods intended for the civilian population of Artsakh. Blocking the Lachin Corridor effectively means a blockade for the whole of Artsakh with a population of 120,000. In addition, due to the blocking of the road, Artsakh's Lisagor, Mets Shen, Hin Shen, and Yeghtsahogh communities were completely isolated from the capital Stepanakert and the whole of Artsakh.
 
3. In the last 10 days, this is the second case of blocking the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. On December 3, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis blocked the Lachin Corridor under the same trumped-up environmental pretexts. As a result of more than three hours of negotiations with the involvement of Russian peacekeeping troops, the road was unblocked.
 
4. As the Lachin Corridor is primarily a road of humanitarian importance for the livelihood of Artsakh Armenians, its closure, even for a short time, is fraught with irreversible and catastrophic humanitarian consequences. 400 tons of essential goods are imported from the Republic of Armenia to Artsakh daily, including grain, flour, vegetables, fruit, economic goods, etc. Currently, the supply of food, medical supplies, and energy carriers to Artsakh is completely stopped.
 
5. In the cold winter conditions, around 1100 civilians, including women, old people, and 270 children, found themselves in an uncertain situation in the Lachin Corridor, unable to return to Artsakh to their homes and families. Apart from being cut off from their families, they are also deprived of their right to education.
 
6. Blocking the only road to and from Artsakh has also created a serious medical crisis for Artsakh's healthcare system. According to the information provided by the Stepanakert Republican Medical Center and the Artsakh Ministry of Health, due to the continuous blockage of the Lachin Corridor, the transportation of critically ill patients who need urgent treatment and hospitalization in the Republican Medical Centers of Armenia has become impossible. The representatives of the human rights defender visited the patients in critical condition and noted that the lives of these patients are in great danger as a result of the terrorist activities currently being carried out by Azerbaijan.
 
7. There is undeniable proof that this campaign is organized by the authorities of Azerbaijan. First of all, the so-called "environmental" campaign of Azerbaijan is accompanied by several Azerbaijani journalists, who provide full coverage of the current activities live. In addition, journalists constantly provoke Russian peacekeepers and disrupt their mission by trying to break into their positions and even drag them. Some of those posing as "environmental" activists are representatives of some non-governmental organizations funded by the Azerbaijani authorities and the Aliyev Foundation. Moreover, there is evidence that among those blocking the road there are also representatives of the special service of Azerbaijan.
 
8. On December 13, at 18:00, the Azerbaijani side deliberately stopped the gas supply in the entire territory of Artsakh, which is a repetition of the events of February-March 2022, which leads to several adverse humanitarian consequences, such as 1. gas Disruption of the educational process in heated schools, 2. Disruption of the work of gas-heated state departments and vital institutions, 3. Impossibility of heating people's houses with gas, 4. Lack of hot water in several households, 5. Disruption of the work of gas-heated hospitals, 6. Vehicles. lack of fuel etc.
 
9. The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh reminds us once again that the uninterrupted operation of the Lachin Corridor, which is mainly used for humanitarian purposes, is guaranteed in 2020. with the tripartite statement signed on November 9. Article 6 of the tripartite statement specifically states: "The Lachin Corridor (5 km wide), which will ensure communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and at the same time bypass the city of Shushi, will remain under the control of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation."
 
The Azerbaijani side grossly violates the provisions of the declaration and thereby fails to fulfill its international obligations.
 
10. It should also be noted that the free transportation of all medical and hospital supplies is also guaranteed by international humanitarian law, in particular, the protection of the civilian population during the war, according to the IV Geneva Convention. Blocking the Lachine Corridor is a clear violation of the convention.
 
11. The blockade of Artsakh is not an isolated episode, and it should be considered as part of a large-scale and systematic policy implemented by Azerbaijan, which is aimed at completely removing the people of Artsakh from their native land. Since the confirmation of the ceasefire guaranteed by the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh has repeatedly reported the repetition of similar threats and provocations from the Azerbaijani side.
 
During the last two years, Azerbaijan
 
1. deliberately and repeatedly attacked the infrastructure of Artsakh to terrorize and intimidate the population of Artsakh,
2. left the people of Artsakh without gas and water supply for weeks,
3. disrupted seasonal agricultural work by targeting villagers;
4. used loudspeakers to constantly put psychological pressure on the residents of the Armenian communities near their positions,
5. tried to spread misinformation and panic among people by conducting cyber attacks on the state information resources of Artsakh.
 
12. The main reason for this extreme behavior of Azerbaijan is the lack of proper response of the international community and its actors.
 
The international community should immediately adopt a unanimous and unequivocal position, as well as take targeted actions to condemn, punish and prevent Azerbaijan from continuing to act with absolute impunity and achieve its ultimate goal - the annihilation of the people of Artsakh," said the Facebook post of the Artsakh HRD.