Civilnet
By Mark Dovich
Armenians are piling up non-perishable food, medicine, and hygiene kits for Nagorno-Karabakh residents in front of the United Nations office in Yerevan, calling for the organization to transfer the urgently needed supplies to the region.
Since July 14, people have gathered every day in front of the UN office in Yerevan to drop off supplies and protest what they see as the organization’s inaction in the face of Azerbaijan’s seven-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.
They are also calling for a stronger international response to the blockade, which has prompted severe shortages of food, energy, medicine, and other essentials. As of Tuesday, fuel shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh have put a halt to all public transport. Officials in Stepanakert are warning of an imminent threat of starvation among Nagorno-Karabakh’s more than 100,000 Armenians.
Read more: 7 months of blockade in Karabakh
On Monday, a number of the protesters met with Niels Scott, resident coordinator ad interim at the UN’s Yerevan office, to discuss the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Reporter Seda Grigoryan wrote on Facebook that Scott “assured them that the UN office in Armenia keeps the situation in Artsakh at the center of its attention” and said that he was ready for more talks with the protesters.
Nonetheless, it remains unclear what, if anything, the UN will do with the supplies that are continuing to pile up. The UN’s office in Armenia did not respond to multiple CivilNet requests for comment.
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday to discuss “the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” according to a readout from Khachaturyan’s office.
That came after Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan sent written appeals to a number of UN agencies urging them to take action on the issue.
Earlier this year, a United Nations court ordered Azerbaijan to “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo” between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, but the court has no enforcement powers.
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