NAGORNO-KARABAKH: FROZEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, REPARATIONS IN INTER-STATE CONFLICT

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Date

2023-05

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[Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University

Abstract

Transitional justice is a broad and complex topic but is essential to understand when armed conflict has ceased. Aside from the loss of life that accompanies armed conflict, communities are displaced, infrastructure damaged, economies disrupted, and relationships with authorities become fraught. Transitional justice mechanisms seek ways to right these wrongs and mete out justice to the victims. There are many international, domestic, and customary laws that hold states liable to provide justice for the victims of armed conflict, often through reparations programs. Inter-state conflict often leaves victims of armed conflict in difficult positions. Nagorno-Karabakh, a contested region located between the states of Armenia and Azerbaijan, is one such region where inter-state conflict has left victims without much recourse for justice. Following decades of intermittent conflict, the two states agreed to a ceasefire in 2020 after a brief, albeit devastating, armed conflict had resulted in the return of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani sovereignty. Due to a tense relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan, mediation for permanent peace has been unsuccessful thus far. The victims of conflict have not received justice from either state, as infrastructure is still damaged and hundreds of thousands of civilians remain displaced. As neither state is party to the Rome vi Statute, seeking reparations mandated by the International Criminal Court is not a viable pathway, leaving few other options for an international body to mandate reparations. By examining three cases of reparations in contemporary inter-state armed conflict, it becomes apparent that the best course of action for victims of armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh would be through an independent international commission. The examples of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, the UN Iraq-Kuwait Claims Commission, and the ICJ Uganda-DRC Reparations Program provide applicable examples of reparations programs following inter-state conflict.

Description

Thesis (Master of Arts) - Indiana University, Department of International Studies / Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, 2023

Keywords

Nagorno-Karabakh, transitional justice, post-conflict, reparations, Armenia, Azerbaijan

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Thesis