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Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan insists on the safe and dignified return of Artsakh's (Nagorno-Karabakh) displaced Armenian population to their homeland and their right to self-determination.

More than 100,000 indigenous Armenians were forced to flee to Armenia following Azerbaijan’s military assault and seizure of Artsakh in September 2023.

In an interview to Panorama.am, Stepanyan called for efforts to prevent the displaced Artsakh people from leaving Armenia, including settlement of their housing and employment problems, to smoothly pursue their right of the collective repatriation to Artsakh later.

He called out the Armenian government’s “ostrich policy” and failure to advocate for the Artsakh people’s return to their homes and the release of Armenian prisoners illegally held in Azerbaijan.

“The right of repatriation is the elephant in the room. Everyone knows that it exists, but they deliberately try to ignore it. We will constantly raise the issue until substantive discussions start,” the ombudsman said.

He stressed the need for a change of government in Armenia to address the issue of Artsakh and its people.

“They are saying, “Our sisters and brothers of Nagorno-Karabakh need to accept Armenia as their homeland and move on.” That is, they are urging the people to forget about the killing of their loved ones, move on and enjoy their lives. This is unacceptable to us,” Stepanyan added.