The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Baku will soon cease its operations.
According to media reports, Zara Amatuni, head of the communications program at the ICRC’s Yerevan office, stated that Azerbaijani authorities officially notified the organization of the office’s closure. Currently, “no visits to Armenians detained in Azerbaijan are planned.” Amatuni noted that the last visit to detainees occurred in June, and no further visits are scheduled before the office fully closes. She added that the ICRC continues to engage in dialogue with Azerbaijani authorities, but only the fact of the mission’s termination has been confirmed.
This decision by Azerbaijan’s authorities is not merely an administrative move but a deliberate act against one of the few neutral humanitarian organizations operating in the region since the onset of the conflict. The closure of the ICRC office and the cessation of visits to Armenian prisoners signify the loss of the last international mechanism for monitoring their detention conditions. This is particularly alarming in the context of Azerbaijan, where systemic human rights issues, lack of transparency in the judicial and penitentiary systems, and numerous reports of torture and ill-treatment, including against Armenian prisoners of war, have long been documented.
In recent years, international human rights organizations and independent experts have repeatedly highlighted the presence of political prisoners in Azerbaijani jails, the impunity of torture practices, and the use of the judicial system as a tool for political pressure. The situation with Armenian prisoners is even more complex, involving not only violations of international humanitarian law but also the use of detainees as leverage for blackmail and political bargaining. The ICRC’s absence from this system is a blow not only to humanitarian protection but also to the very concept of international oversight and accountability.
Formally, Azerbaijan remains a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, which mandate access for neutral humanitarian organizations to detained individuals. Under Article 8 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, states are obliged to grant the ICRC access to prisoners to verify their conditions of detention and address their humanitarian needs. By signing these international agreements, Azerbaijan undertook obligations that it is now openly disregarding. Moreover, halting ICRC visits to Armenian prisoners violates the principle of humane treatment enshrined in Article 13 of the same Convention, jeopardizing fundamental human rights, including the right to life and protection from cruel treatment.
Commenting on the situation, Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of the “I Have Honor” faction, stated:
“The closure of the ICRC office in Baku is a highly dangerous step that deals a severe blow to the protection of the rights of Armenians held in Azerbaijani prisons and to maintaining communication with them. Despite Azerbaijan’s consistent efforts to obstruct the work of international missions, the ICRC, overcoming challenges, operated in Azerbaijan and fulfilled critical functions, particularly regarding Armenian prisoners, prisoners of war, and missing persons. In the absence of democracy and the rule of law in Azerbaijan, the loss of the ICRC’s presence adds to the numerous existing challenges, depriving Armenians detained there of a vital source of hope and support.”
In this context, it is critical that the international community move beyond expressions of concern and adopt a firmer stance. The United Nations and signatories to the Geneva Conventions must respond decisively, demanding that Azerbaijan restore ICRC access and fulfill its international obligations. Inaction by the international community effectively amounts to tacit consent to the erosion of humanitarian standards, a trend that, regrettably, is becoming all too common.