“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
A refugee boy from Artsakh waits to be placed in temporary shelter in Goris, September 25, 2023, Photo by Irakli Gedenidze (Reuters)
On the occasion of World Children's Day, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Science and Education today organized an international festival of children's creativity in Shushi under the slogan “Shushi - the cultural gem of the Turkic states.”
At first glance, a wonderful event, but only at first glance. The festival was organized by the government of a state that, just five years ago, deprived the children of Shushi of their right to live their childhood in their homeland.
Children of Shushi, Photo by Areg Balayan, 2020
During the 2020 war in Artsakh, the Azerbaijani armed forces systematically committed war crimes that targeted not only defensive positions but also directly the civilian population. Azerbaijan launched military operations on September 27, leading to gross human rights violations in Artsakh and harming innocent children.
On October 4, Azerbaijani armed forces shelled the town of Martuni and killed a 9-year-old girl. Her 2-year-old brother sustained severe injuries. In the early October, during the evacuation from the town of Martakert, a 13-year-old boy was seriously wounded by a an Azerbaijani drone strike. On October 14, another Azerbaijani drone strike near the Vardenis-Sotk highway injured a 14-year-old boy. On September 19, 2023, during an Azerbaijani assault on the village of Sarnaghbyur in the Askeran region of Artsakh, five civilians were killed—three of them were children.
On September 20, according to data collected by the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, at least 200 people were killed and more than 400 injured. Among the civilian population, the number of wounded exceeded 40, including 13 children.
Because of the war, more than 24,000 children in the Republic of Artsakh were deprived of their right to education. On September 30, 2020, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia visited Gegharkunik province of Armenia to carry out a fact-finding mission regarding Azerbaijani air and artillery attacks targeting civilian settlements. The fact-finding team documented that Azerbaijani air and artillery strikes had been targeting civilian areas in Gegharkunik since the early morning of September 27. A drone strike on the residential area of the village of Sotk damaged not only one of the houses but also a school located approximately 100–150 meters from the explosion site. According to parents, for safety reasons, they were forced to temporarily hide with their children in basements.
With the international community turning a blind eye, the Azerbaijani armed forces deliberately continued committing war crimes against civilians, even targeting the Maternal and Child Health Center in Stepanakert.
Azerbaijan targeted the Maternal and Child Health Center in Stepanakert.
Despite statements from important international actors, the situation remained unchanged. Due to the blockade, 270 children were unable to return to their homes. Their rights to safety, education, and family life were violated. The severe shortage of medicine, medical supplies, and hygiene products had a serious negative impact on the children’s health and their right to access healthcare services. The lack of infant formula caused serious nutritional problems for hundreds of newborns, endangering their physical and mental development. According to Artsakh authorities, one in every three deaths in the country was caused by malnutrition.
Photo from Artak Beglaryan’s X page
Azerbaijan’s deliberate policy of terrorizing the population of Artsakh and keeping them in a constant state of uncertainty and tension had a clearly negative impact not only on the mental health of Artsakh’s children but also on their behavior.
Azerbaijan’s aggressive and Armenophobic policy against the peaceful population of Artsakh not only violated international law and humanitarian principles but also stole the childhood of an entire generation. While a children's festival is hosted in Shushi, thousands of children who were forcibly driven from Shushi and Artsakh are denied the opportunity to grow up, get an education, and enjoy a safe and secure childhood in their homeland.