World Refugee Day: The Experience of Displacement of the Azerbaijani Population and the Path to a Just Peace

2025-06-19 15:54:00, Aktualitet CNA

World Refugee Day: The Experience of Displacement of the Azerbaijani Population

Every year on June 20, the world marks World Refugee Day to honor the strength, resilience, and dignity of those who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution, or violence.

Azerbaijan is among the countries that have experienced the profound human cost of displacement. As a result of ethnic cleansing and the occupation of its territories, over a million Azerbaijanis, including both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees from Armenia, were forcibly expelled from their homes in the early 1990s. For decades, these individuals lived in temporary shelters and endured considerable socio-economic hardship while awaiting a just solution.

As of 2023, Azerbaijan has successfully re-established full sovereignty over all of its internationally recognized territories, completing the process of territorial liberation that began in 2020. Following this development, the voluntary return of internally displaced persons under state-led programs, such as the “Great Return,” has become one of Azerbaijan’s most urgent priorities. Infrastructure, housing, and essential services are being rebuilt to allow displaced families to rebuild their lives.

However, a large part of the displacement issue remains unresolved. Azerbaijani refugees who were expelled from the Republic of Armenia still face the systematic denial of their right to return to their historical lands. Their continued displacement is in clear violation of international law, including Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to return to one's country, and UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which affirms the right of refugees to return in safety and dignity.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has repeatedly highlighted this injustice. Speaking at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Baku, he stated:

“Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were forcibly expelled from their historical lands in Armenia. Unfortunately, they are still denied the right to return. This is a grave violation of their fundamental human rights and must be addressed by the international community.”

It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is committed to peace and normalization based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty. If a peace agreement is signed, it should pave the way for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia. Azerbaijan is ready to respond reciprocally based on the principles of justice and international law.

On World Refugee Day, Azerbaijan reaffirms its commitment to the values ??enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations Charter, and international human rights law. The country calls on the international community to ensure that the rights of all displaced persons are respected and upheld, without prejudice or political bias.

Displacement must never be accepted as permanent. Through justice, accountability and inclusive peace, we must work to transform the trauma of forced displacement into a future of dignity, return and reconciliation .