All-ASA COP29 Letter

October 11, 2024


Dear 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference Delegates,


We, the All-Armenian Student Association, express our deep disappointment and concern regarding the decision of several universities to send delegations to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan this November. While we fully recognize the necessity of curtailing the global climate crisis and strongly support efforts to implement sustainable solutions, we believe that actionable change must not come at the cost of turning a complete blind eye to autocracy, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Additionally, uninformed participation in COP29 in Baku could potentially jeopardize the safety and well-being of the delegates, placing them in a situation where their basic human rights, too, could be compromised.


Exactly one year ago, Azerbaijan orchestrated the ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). For nine months leading up to the exile, the Azerbaijani military held Nagorno-Karabakh under a blockade that effectively isolated the population from the rest of the world, only to then launch an attack and create an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the region. A communication has since been submitted to the International Criminal Court to try this as a “genocide.” Today, for the first time in thousands of years, Nagorno-Karabakh has been emptied of its indigenous Armenian population while Azerbaijan continues occupying 215 square kilometers of Armenia proper and maintains the arbitrary detention of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and political leaders; as Armenians were exiled in 2023, Azerbaijani authorities arrested eight government officials of Nagorno-Karabakh, in addition to maintaining POWs taken from 2020 until the present, held hostage by sham trials.


Moreover, the Azerbaijani government has recently arrested climate activists and journalists raising awareness of environmental issues in Azerbaijan—where oil exports comprise 92.5% of the country’s exports—a move criticized by numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Considering the Azerbaijani government’s brutal crackdown on free speech in a country one of the least free in the world, there are no guarantees for the safety of the conference’s attendees. 


In essence, Azerbaijan’s environmental policies directly contradict the values of the COP29 conference. At a pre-summit in Berlin, the Azerbaijani COP29 president shocked attendees by asserting his country’s unrestricted right to expand fossil fuel development, one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions. The hypocrisy of hosting climate talks in a country so reliant on oil exports—where environmental activism is suppressed—was noted by the Washington Post Editorial Board: “When world leaders arrive in Mr. Aliyev’s Azerbaijan for the United Nations’ COP 29 conference, we hope they do as little as possible to glorify their host—and appreciate the irony of climate talks being held there.” 


Whilst violating fundamental human rights and exemplifying a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan is greenwashing its recent aggression in hosting COP29. Consequently, by participating in the conferences with surface-level awareness, organizations, and universities will be legitimizing a regime that continues to perpetuate force, ethnic cleansing, and widespread human rights abuses against both Armenians and Azerbaijani dissidents.


As the largest coalition of Armenian student organizations—and as individuals committed to the principles of democracy and human rights—we call upon all universities participating in COP29 to reconsider the frame of their involvement. Entering this conference with indifference, especially in a country responsible for ongoing atrocities, risks emboldening regimes similarly greenwashing their human rights abuses. Additionally, it would suggest a tacit acceptance of Azerbaijan's breach of international law, thereby tarnishing these institutions' reputations as leading academic bodies committed to justice, human rights, and ethical engagement.


The All-Armenian Student Association therefore calls upon universities invited to participate in COP29 to:

  1. Learn more about Azerbaijan’s recent atrocities toward Nagorno-Karabakh;
  2. If planning to attend COP29, pledge to voice opposition to Azerbaijan’s arbitrary holding of Armenian POWs, Armenian political prisoners, and imprisoned Azerbaijani journalists;
  3. If planning to attend COP29, publicly decline participation in state-sponsored tours and activities hosted in the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh;
  4. If planning to boycott COP29, release a public statement highlighting Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and the university’s opposition to Azerbaijan’s unethical attempt to whitewash.

The decision to either attend the conference in Baku and draw attention to the recent developments in the South Caucasus, or the decision to decline participation as a whole, is not a political matter but rather one of ethical and moral responsibility. We urge these universities to lead by example and choose not to legitimize a government that perpetuates arbitrary detention, suppresses dissent, and commits further human rights violations as tools of control.


Respectfully,

All-Armenian Student Association and Partner Organizations