Nagorny Karabakh conflict and frontline areas

Policy Brief

Over the past two decades progress on finding a resolution to the Nagorny Karabakh (NK) conflict has proved elusive. The unresolved conflict continues to evolve and pose persistent and shifting challenges on the ground, including insecurity, long-term displacement, ingrained mistrust and serious limits on development and regional opportunities. Since fighting ended in 1994, there has been an uneasy situation of ‘no war, no peace’ between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

This brief highlights the potential for a number of key confidence building measures (CBMs); both military (joint investigation, sniper withdrawal) and civilian (resource management). Military CBMs are clearly required and expected by the international community; without cooperation on them, the sides are only undermining their own international standing. Cooperation is also urgently required on issues around missing persons and the measures each side needs to take when remains are found in the front-line area.

Findings and recommendations in this policy brief and accompanying report were drawn from consultations and interviews conducted in early 2012 among people directly affected by the conflict, both in a number of Azerbaijani villages near the LOC and in frontline areas in Tovuz and Gazakh districts on the Azerbaijani side of the international border; and also in villages in Tavush region on the Armenian side of the border. Consultations and discussion groups were also carried out in NK, in the same time-frame and in several locations.

Download the policy brief or click here to read the full report

This research is part of the EU-funded ‘People’s Peacemaking Perspectives’ project.

“At present, servicemen forbid us to graze our cattle on lands (closer to the border), but these are our main pastures. Consequently, our cattle population has fallen sharply; that is quite awful as people here live by keeping cattle; in fact, we all live by our land.”

Armenian resident, Dovegh village (Tavush region)