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The Society for Armenian Studies condemns the actions of Azerbaijan towards the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). On December 12, the Lachin corridor was once again closed by citizens of Azerbaijan, this time posing as environmental activists. This action was intended to  block the transport of people and goods between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, also interrupting natural gas supplies to Artsakh. Gas is the major source of heat, hot water, and electricity in Artsakh, thus the blockade exposes citizens to a severely cold winter and, for the elderly and the very young, a potentially fatal one. Firewood is not available anymore, and shops have run out of key supplies. Medical supplies have run low and patients with life-threatening conditions cannot be transported to Armenia for needed treatments. Families have been split apart and some are unable to return to their homes for the holidays.

With the loss of several Armenian-populated regions in Artsakh after the devastating war that Azerbaijan instigated in 2020, the government of Azerbaijan can cut power and heat to Artsakh at their whim, as they already did in March of this year.

While many across the world are celebrating this holiday season, Armenians in Artsakh live in increasingly dangerous conditions – facing not only the terror of drone strikes and sniper fire but also the prospect of freezing or starving to death. The International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention,  Genocide Watch and many humanitarian and human rights organizations have all judged the actions of Azerbaijan as constituting crimes against humanity and have alerted the international community to the risk of genocide against the Armenian population of Artsakh.

We, the Executive Committee of the Society for Armenian Studies, urge international agencies and governments to ensure the free access of people and goods to Artsakh and urge lawmakers to sanction Azerbaijani officials and entities for their criminal actions in creating this humanitarian crisis. As a community of scholars, the Executive Committee also encourages academics and academic organizations to raise awareness of this crisis and its long history.

To help facilitate further engagement, we suggest the following recent publications: the invigorating round table published in IJMES  about the place of Armenians and other minoritized groups in Middle East Studies; the latest issue of JSAS, the first of two concerning indigeneity; and the Hyperallergic Special Issue on Artsakh.