Blockade of the Lachin Corridor Causes a Humanitarian Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh
Image courtesy of Misak Aghababyan via Unsplash
In mid-December of 2022, Azerbaijani protestors blockaded the Lachin corridor, which is the only route connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, a contested region between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The blockade cuts off the 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh from receiving aid. Historically, the Lachin corridor has been used to supply Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh with critical food provisions, medical supplies, and other essential goods. Before the blockade, around 1,200 trucks containing aid would travel to Nagorno-Karabakh using the Lachin corridor. Now, only five or six trucks are able to reach the region. With this drastic reduction in aid, the healthcare system in Nagorno-Karabakh has been heavily impacted.
Meline Petrosyan, an eight-month pregnant woman described the conditions of maternity wards to Amnesty International, saying “The maternity ward was full, while medicines, hygiene products, and baby essentials, diapers, formula milk were in short supply. They could only operate one incubator and three premature babies had to take turns using it. When I think about all the uncertainties of giving birth in these conditions, I feel terrified.”
In addition to impacting the healthcare system, the blockade has also caused a food shortage and an energy crisis. In January 2023, local, de-facto officials instituted a food rationing system because food stockpiles were dwindling. Furthermore, the region is experiencing energy and gas supply interruptions, which last an average of six hours per day. As a result, schools in the region had to shut down for several weeks. At the end of January, the schools were able to reopen, however, school time is limited due to a lack of heat and electricity.
The shortages facing the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh are described as a humanitarian crisis. Local authorities have requested that with supply lines still blocked, humanitarian aid be airlifted into the region. However, Azerbaijan has not authorized the operation of the area’s airport, and a resolution to this longstanding conflict is not within sight.
Tension and conflict have existed between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. The First Nagorno-Karabakh war began in 1988 and lasted until 1994 when it finally ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement. The war resulted in an estimated 30,000 casualties. Since then, there have been several clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces at the Nagorno-Karabakh border.
In 2020, the two countries engaged in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. This resulted in Azerbaijan reclaiming the majority of the land. Peace was once again brokered by Russia, and subsequently, Russian peacekeepers were dispatched to the area to prevent further conflict. Most recently, fighting between the two countries broke out in September 2022. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. However, based on the last census which was conducted in 2015, the region is estimated to be 95 percent% ethnically Armenian.
The Armenian government has claimed that Azerbaijan orchestrated the protests and supported the protestors blockading the Lachin corridor. In the January 2023 International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing, Armenia requested that Azerbaijan “ensure uninterrupted free movement of all persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin corridor." It also called for Azerbaijan to “immediately restore and refrain from disrupting or impeding the provision of natural gas and other public utilities to Nagorno-Karabakh.” This ICJ hearing is part of a large case that Armenia filed in 2020 alleging Azerbaijan “has breached a convention against racial discrimination".
Azerbaijan responded to Armenian claims of ethnic cleansing, accusing Armenia of “distorting reality” and “fanning the flames” of conflict. Azerbaijan is pursuing a counterclaim through the ICJ, charging Armenia with human rights violations and breaching discrimination conventions by planting landmines in the territories it used to occupy.
Russia has been tasked with mediating conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, however, the country is preoccupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine. This has prolonged the Lachin corridor blockade as there has been no direct action taken by Russian peacekeepers to find a resolution to the blockade. The European Parliament has criticized Russian peacekeepers for their lack of action in resolving the problem. Additionally, they called for the Azerbaijani government to lift the blockade on the Lachin corridor. In a United Nations Security Council Meeting, the United States called on Azerbaijan and “others responsible for the Corridor’s security” to take action to restore free travel in the Lachin corridor. Still, there has been very little response from either Russian peacekeepers or Azerbaijani forces.
As the condition of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh grows worse and Russia remains preoccupied, other countries in the region must step up to mediate the situation. While the European Parliament has called for action from Russia and Azerbaijan, it needs to directly involve itself to resolve the conflict. Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh are responsible for the safety of Armenians living in the region, but there is likely little they will do to resolve the blockade. This means it is up to other countries with influence in the region to develop a solution to the blockade quickly. In the short term, countries need to work to increase the aid getting into Nagorno-Karabakh to help ease the crisis. Additionally, to prevent further conflict in the long term, countries need to help develop a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Conflict and violence will persist in the region until an agreement is reached.
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