In the heart of Yerevan, Armenia, I witnessed an encounter that profoundly impacted me and underscored a tragic consequence of the 2020 Artsakh War. I visited a children’s development center, where all of the children were refugees who had escaped from the 2020 Artsakh War brought upon them by the Republic of Azerbaijan, a neighboring enemy to Armenia. Not long after introducing myself to these young souls and being introduced to them, I learned something about them that absolutely broke my heart. Almost all of these children had lost their fathers to the war. An entire generation of young soldiers died trying to defend their rightful homeland, and their children had to be stripped of their fathers' love and guidance, a direct result of this devastating conflict. 

These children, despite all of the pain they had lived through, brightened my day with their big and genuine smiles and with their sincere gratitude for the gifts I had brought them. Most of them were around the ages of seven to twelve. At such a young age, the children’s biggest worry should be keeping up with their studies and doing the best they can at school. No child should have to be worried about how they are going to escape and forcibly leave their homes, where they were born, where they spent years of their childhood and made lifetime friends. No child should have to live the years of their lives without a father or a mother. The direct effects and rippling effects of the 2020 Artsakh War have been clear and potent evidence of the perpetrator, Azerbaijan, ruining the lives of thousands of children – children who may have had more potential, more dreams, and more life and motivation within themselves before being stripped of their homes, families, and happiness. They not only carry the heavy burden of lost youth and the absence of paternal figures, but also the loss of their righteous homeland. This petition is a call to action for the international community to address the multifaceted injustices faced by Armenia in the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War. 

The 2020 Artsakh War resulted in significant losses for Armenia, including nearly an entire generation of young soldiers and fathers. The aftermath of this conflict continues to leave indelible scars on Armenian society. However, the atrocity does not end with the loss of human lives only. There is an ongoing, deliberate cultural erasure perpetrated by Azerbaijan, which has been going on ever since it became a neighboring country to Armenia. Azerbaijan threatens to completely get rid of Armenian heritage and identity, claiming most of the culture as its own, and erasing the rest deliberately. An example of this cultural genocide is their destruction of a 177-year-old Armenian church in Shushi. “Nagorno Karabakh is home to some of the world’s oldest and most historically significant Christian churches, monasteries, and monuments,” Veldkamp continued. “We may yet see a campaign of near-total destruction of Armenian heritage sites, as we saw in Nakhichevan, where Azerbaijan demolished every single church, monastery, and cross-stone between 1997 and 2005,” writes the Christian Solidarity International. A countless number of churches and heritage sights are destroyed as time goes on, and no international organization seems to be doing anything about it. This is a serious matter of international law and human rights, as no nation is considered superior to another, and no nation has the right to destroy, erase, and rewrite history. 

Armenian refugee children are already coping with the trauma of war, their fathers’ absence affecting their emotional, psychological, and social development, and the entirety of the Armenian community suffers from this tragedy, as it is dealing with a serious generational void. Beyond the immediate human toll, Azerbaijan’s acts of cultural genocide upon ancient Armenian cultural sites and churches are another ongoing threat to the existence of Armenia and Armenians altogether. The Caucus Heritage Watch at Cornell University, a group of noteworthy and credible professionals at a distinguished institution, published that about 60% of all Armenian cultural sites, churches, temples, etc. in Azerbaijan were demolished. In an intricate satellite investigation, the Caucus Heritage Watch wrote, “Our forensic research showed that 108 Armenian churches, monasteries and cemeteries were destroyed in a state-sponsored program of cultural erasure beginning in 1997 (or 98% of the sites we could assess).” Azerbaijan’s deliberate attempt to erase Armenian identity is not just an attack on Armenia as a single nation but an act of violence and a threat to global human diversity and unity. Cultural heritage is an integral part of our shared human history, and its erasure hampers our collective understanding and appreciation of world diversity and history.

Adding to this crisis is the plight of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), who should not be in captivity at this point in time in no way, shape, or form. They remain hostages as we speak, yet the war ended years ago. Despite the cessation of hostilities, Azerbaijan continues to commit acts of aggression toward the nation of Armenia, and keeping Armenian hostages captive, putting them through unfair trials, and forcing them to stay in hostile jails, is just one of their violations of international law. As mentioned by the International Humanitarian Law Databases by the Red Cross, Article 118 of the Third Geneva Convention requires the rapid repatriation of POWs following the end of conflicts. “Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities,” writes the Red Cross. Not only has Azerbaijan not released Armenian POWs, but they have also held them in jails by forcibly putting them through unfair trials without giving them any information or knowledge whatsoever. The Red Cross also writes, “... the measures adopted shall be brought to the knowledge of the prisoners of war.” Azerbaijan’s acts against Armenian POWs represent a severe breach of Article 118 of the Third Geneva Convention, and the continued detention of Armenian POWs exacerbates the suffering of their families and the Armenian community around the globe, prolonging the war's impact and undermining international law.

This petition calls upon human rights organizations, world leaders, and the overall international community to take immediate action in pursuing the interests of international and humanitarian law. With this petition, we demand the repatriation of Armenian POWs and an end to cultural genocide. Azerbaijan must return all Armenian POWs to their homeland without any further delay, as this is not only a legal obligation under the laws of the United Nations, but also a humanitarian, moral imperative to cease the torture of POWs, their families, and the Armenian community. As a united community of diverse cultures and nations, we must pressure Azerbaijan to cease its campaign of cultural genocide. With this petition, we demand that the international organizations protect Armenian churches, temples, cultural sites, and heritage, which are all crucial to preserving the identity and history of the Armenian people. 

This petition is grounded in credible sources, expert opinions, and a strong logical basis. Our argument rests in the principles of international law and human rights, and our sources for this information are distinguished and reliable establishments, such as the Caucus Heritage Watch at Cornell University, the International Humanitarian Law Databases of the Red Cross, and the Christian Solidarity International. 

The ongoing suffering of Armenian children, the deliberate cultural erasure by Azerbaijan, and the continued detention of Armenian POWs are issues that demand immediate attention and action. This petition calls on the international community to uphold human rights, protect cultural heritage, and ensure justice for all affected by the 2020 Artsakh War. We implore you to lend your voice to this cause and help us make a change. Please sign this petition to support justice, human rights, and the preservation of cultural identity.