Ahead of the next session of the UN General Assembly, the Baku Initiative Group convened an international meeting in New York on the right of return to ancestral homelands. It marked the first time the forced displacement of Azerbaijanis from Armenia has been raised for discussion under the umbrella of the United Nations.
More than 50 delegates representing 16 countries gathered for the meeting, titled “A Belated Step Toward Historical Justice: The Right of Return and Decolonization.” Participants included experts on refugee rights, specialists in return processes, representatives of diaspora organizations, delegates from communities that have faced violence and discrimination, and UN experts.
Discussions focused on building a legal framework that would allow Azerbaijanis expelled from what are now Armenia’s borders to return to their ancestral lands. Participants stressed that any such process should take place under international oversight, uphold principles of security and dignity, rest on a legally binding agreement, and be accompanied by independent monitoring.
The event included a screening of a short film documenting the desecration of Azerbaijani cultural and religious monuments. Ambassador June Soomer, former chair of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and Prabjot Singh Wirring, chief legal counsel of the International Sikh Confederation, both addressed the gathering, affirming that Azerbaijanis’ right to return to their homeland is recognized and calling on international bodies to give the issue due attention.
The meeting closed with a protest against the destruction and Armenianization of Azerbaijani heritage within Armenia’s present-day borders. Participants adopted an appeal calling on UN leadership to appoint a special representative on the issue.
Organizers said Azerbaijani place names, places of worship, burial sites and other historical traces have been systematically destroyed or appropriated, while hundreds of thousands of people have still not been able to exercise their right to return home. They argued this situation violates the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Refugee Convention, and Protocol 7 of the Dayton Agreement.
