Tigran Abrahamyan, MP from the I Have Honor parliamentary faction, has criticized the lack of international response to Azerbaijan's decision to close the local office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In a Facebook post, he noted that the move follows previous closures of various UN programs and international media bureaus.
“In a country where Armenian prisoners are held, the only international institution still maintaining contact with them — the ICRC — is being removed. Until June, ICRC representatives visited them, kept families informed, monitored their health, and more. Now it’s leaving,” Abrahamyan wrote.
He stressed that the Red Cross served as a form of external oversight in Azerbaijan’s repressive environment: “In conditions of authoritarianism and lawlessness, its presence ensured some alertness — a ‘third eye’ on the ground.”
“No serious response has come from any organization, institution, or major global actor that claims to champion human rights and the rule of law,” Abrahamyan lamented.
According to him, the international community is silent because Azerbaijan is needed for bypassing Russia in energy and infrastructure, for sitting Armenia at the negotiating table, and for pressuring Iran. “Under these circumstances, democracy and fundamental rights have lost relevance,” he concluded.
The ICRC has informed the families of Armenian prisoners held in Baku that it will no longer be able to visit them. According to Zara Amatuni from the ICRC’s Armenia office, the last visit took place in June. No visit occurred in July. She confirmed that the ICRC’s Baku office will cease operations soon at the request of the Azerbaijani government.
