World Refugee Day: Azerbaijan's displacement experience and the road to a just peace

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

AI Brief

Over one million Azerbaijanis were displaced due to conflict and ethnic cleansing in the 1990s.
Azerbaijan is enabling voluntary returns to regained territories and calls for international support for refugees' right to return.
Baku reaffirms its commitment to peace, justice, and international law on World Refugee Day.

Azerbaijan is among the countries that have lived through the deep human cost of displacement. As a result of ethnic cleansing and the occupation of its territories, over one million Azerbaijanis — including both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees from Armenia — were forcibly uprooted from their homes in the early 1990s. For decades, these individuals lived in temporary shelters and endured significant socioeconomic hardship, while awaiting a just resolution.

As of 2023, Azerbaijan has successfully restored full sovereignty over all its internationally recognized territories, concluding the process of liberation of territories that began in 2020. Following this development the voluntary return of IDPs under state-led programmes such as the “Great Return” has become one of the most pressing priorities of Azerbaijan. Infrastructure, housing, and essential services are being rebuilt to allow displaced families to reclaim their lives.

However, a major part of the displacement issue remains unresolved. Azerbaijani refugees who were expelled from the Republic of Armenia still face systematic denial of their right to return to their ancestral homes. Their continued displacement stands 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.

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

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

It is worth to mention 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 open the path for the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia. Azerbaijan stands ready to reciprocate 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 UN 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 selectivity or political bias.

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

The press statement is issued by the Embassy of Azerbaijan