Human Rights Organizations Submit Third-Party Intervention to UN Human Rights Committee on the case related to the Lachin Corridor Blockade

A coalition of human rights organizations submitted a third-party intervention to the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and its humanitarian and legal consequences for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in the context of the right to freedom of movement.

The submission, filed in a group of pending cases, presents factual findings and legal analysis on the prolonged obstruction of the movement in the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, following the 2020 ceasefire arrangement. According to the interveners, the corridor’s closure and subsequent checkpoint regime resulted in severe restrictions on civilian movement and access to essential goods and services.

The report documents that, beginning in December 2022, movement along the corridor was progressively impeded and ultimately halted. It describes widespread humanitarian impacts, including shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and electricity; disruption of healthcare and education; separation of families; barriers to medical evacuations; and cases of arbitrary detention at checkpoints. Vulnerable groups, including children, elderly persons, pregnant women, and people with disabilities, were reported to be disproportionately affected.

The organizations argue that the blockade and related measures violated core protections under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the right to freedom of movement, the right to return, the protection of family life, and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment. The intervention further maintains that effective control over the corridor triggered corresponding state obligations to ensure unimpeded civilian passage and access to humanitarian relief.

The submitting organizations call on the Committee to take these documented consequences and legal standards into account when assessing state responsibility and the scope of protections owed to affected civilians.

Credits: Vasily Krestyaninov/AP Photo