The urgent situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

The urgent situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

Friends,

I want to bring to your attention a letter I and other business leaders have today sent to the President of Azerbaijan.

You may have seen reports about the human rights catastrophe unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh. The local population, much of which is ethnic Armenian, has been living under a blockade for many months at the hands of the Azerbaijani authorities, with people deprived of food, fuel, medical treatment and freedom to travel. Last week saw an escalation of violence and tens of thousands of people – including the elderly, vulnerable and children – are now fleeing to find safety.

The situation is extremely unstable and dangerous for those who are abandoning their homes as well as those who stay. I and the other signatories are speaking out not to take a position on the territorial dispute, but to defend fundamental human rights.

I want to thank my co-signatories. It is not always easy for business leaders to speak out on sensitive issues. But human rights are human rights. Governments are legally obliged to protect them. Companies are committed to respecting them under the “the Ruggie Framework”. Whether it is an entire population that is being affected, or a handful of individuals, these are the basic and universal liberties and protections which allow humanity to function – and which are the basis of the stable and functioning societies that all companies depend on.

The letter will remain open on my website . Please share it among your networks.

Warm regards,

Paul

Business leaders call for human rights to be upheld in Nagorno-Karabakh

To President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan

27 September 2023

As global business leaders we are deeply concerned at the unstable and deteriorating conditions facing people living in Nagorno-Karabakh, many of whom are ethnic Armenians.

We urge your government to uphold the fundamental human rights of all people in the area, as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights law.

We believe it is in Azerbaijan’s long-term economic interest to urgently de-escalate tensions and demonstrate its commitment to universal human rights in full view of the international private sector and investment community.

Azerbaijan’s widely condemned, months-long blockade of the Lachin corridor has already deprived the local population of food and essential medical supplies, and has restricted free movement of travel, leaving over a hundred thousand people in an increasingly dire situation.

The recent escalation of violence, and your continued refusal to allow international observers and sufficient humanitarian assistance into the area, has further raised fears over the safety of the local population. Many people, including the elderly, vulnerable and children, are now fleeing and abandoning their homes to find safety as this preventable humanitarian crisis continues to unfold.?? ?

Businesses operating in Azerbaijan and around the world have responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and are committed to respecting human rights in their operations and business relationships, including their relationships with governments.

We urge the Government of Azerbaijan to meet its obligations as set out in international law, so that all people in Nagorno-Karabakh can live in peace and security, free from discrimination and the threat of inhuman and degrading treatment, and are able to move freely, including leaving and re-entering the area. Their safety, dignity and liberty must be upheld.

Signed

Paul Polman, Vice Chair of the United Nations Global Compact and former CEO of Unilever

Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

Jesper Brodin, Chair of The B Team

Sharan Burrow, former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation

Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Convener of Mission 2020

André Hoffman, Vice-Chairman of Roche Holding AG

Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global

Mo Ibrahim, Founder of Celtel, Chair of Satya Capital Ltd and Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation

Isabelle Kocher de Leyritz, Co-founder and CEO of Blunomy and former CEO of Engie

Andrew Liveris, Chairman Emeritus and Former CEO of Dow Chemical

Hiro Mizuno, UN Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments and former Executive Management Director and CIO of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund

Torben M?ger Pedersen,?Chair of The CIP Foundation and Chair of Copenhagen Business School

Juan Carlos More, CEO of Bancolombia

James Mwangi, CEO of Africa Climate Ventures

Jacqueline Novogratz

Jean Oelwang, Founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite

Felix Gregorian

MSc RCL-Resp Care Leader-CCS, RRT, Inventor Med Dev-Comp Eng, USA-Ret Combat Vet (Infantry-Medical-ETT-Civil Affairs-SFAT-SOCCENT)

6 个月

Thank you Paul. God Bless

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Aline Masrelian

Civil engineer, Entrepreneur, Executive leader,"Haleb"chain manager at Sharoyan -Sarian LLC .General Director ,Executive Board Member at International Chamber of Commerce ICC National Committee Armenia

1 年

Thank you Paul Polman for rising your voice look to our history and you will see the difference between the Barbarian Azeris and Turks who will distroy the Armenian cultural heritage which goes back to 4 century and the Armenians who just had the baddest luck in the world to be neighboring

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Nune Hovhannisyan

Maximize end-user experience and ensure business continuity by continuously testing app performance and availability

1 年

Mr. Polman, Thank you so much for raising your voice on the humanitarian crisis and the overall situation in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. #Artsakh #PreventGenocide #Armenia

It is fantastic to see Paul that the businesses are also waking up to this catastrophic situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabach) going on since last 9 months. Everyone needs to Act and Act now, even the political leaders of great economies like Germany, France, the US, UK, Japan, India, etc.

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