Azeris (in Armenia)
Azerbaijanis constitute the largest group of displaced people in the Caucasus region. Many are displaced within Azerbaijan and the disputed region Nagorno-Karabakh.
Displacement in Azerbaijan results from fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Ethnic tensions in the area grew throughout the 1980s, and instances of ethnic violence became more frequent. Already before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the declarations of independence by Armenia and Azerbaijan, 300,000 Armenians and 350,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced. Fighting escalated after the breakdown of the USSR in 1991, leading to even more displacement. When a ceasefire was agreed on in 1994, more than 500,000 Azerbaijanis had been forcibly uprooted by Karabakh Armenian forces.
Although the ceasefire has been largely respected, a political settlement of the conflict has not been achieved, and with sporadic fighting continuing to break out along the border, large-scale repatriation remains unlikely in the near future. Most of those who fled violence and persecution almost 20 years ago have been trapped in protracted displacement since, living in collective centres and IDP settlements. The last tent camps were demolished in 2008 and some IDPs also now live in housing that they own, rent or share.
Online Resources
- Amnesty International (2007) 'Azerbaijan: displaced then discriminated against: the plight of the internally displaced population'.
- FMO Resource Summary: Azerbajian.
- MacFarlane, S. N. and Minear, L. (1997) 'Humanitarian action and politics: the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh', Humanitarianism & War Project.
- Salinas, M. (2003) 'FMO Research Guide: Azerbaijan'.
Offline Resources
- Greene, T. (1996) 'The Forsaken People. Internal Displacement in the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia', Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution.
- UNHCR (2000) 'Chapter 8: Displacement in the former Soviet region' in The State of the World's Refugees 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action.
