Briefing on Swiss Peace Initiative for Artsakh  in US Congress

ArmInfo. A briefing on the recently launched Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabagh to facilitate the collective, protected return of forcibly displaced  Armenians of Artsakh to their ancestral homes was held in the US  Congress.

As reported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),  over 200 Congressional staffers, human rights advocates and policy  professionals took part in the event  Swiss parliamentarians Erich  Vontobel and Lukas Reimann, Christian Solidarity International  President  John Eibner, and former Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan  Oskanian led the panel discussion.  The discussion was opened by Mark  Milosch, Congressional Staff Director for Congressman Chris Smith.   Following presentations by each of these four experts on the legal,  diplomatic, and humanitarian dimensions of Artsakh Armenians' right  of return, ANCA Policy Director Alex Galitsky moderated a robust  question-and-answer session. 

Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee  of America, noted that a real, sustainable and long-term peace cannot  be forced upon Armenia at the point of a gun-at the expense of human  rights, international law and the  indigenous Armenian population of  Artsakh. "The terms of the fake peace currently being pushed on  Yerevan - little more than terms of unilateral Armenian surrender  demanded by a genocidal Azerbaijan under threat of renewed attacks -  must be rejected, and a new peace forged - one ensures the safe  return of Artsakh's indigenous Armenians to their homeland,"  Hamparian noted.

Swiss MP Erich Vontobel, the founding co-chair of the forum,  recounted the origins of the Swiss peace initiative as a personal  commitment he made to Artsakh refugees he met during a 2024 visit to  Armenia.  "One woman showed me a video of her former house - now  occupied by another family. That sight broke my heart. That's when I  knew: I must and want to act. I promised her - and the refugees -  that I would." Vontobel emphasized the neutral and inclusive nature  of the proposed forum: "The Swiss Peace Initiative offers the U.S. a  chance to support peace - without taking on direct risk. We in  Switzerland are neutral and have the necessary expertise and  credibility to organize this peace forum. What we need now is broad  international support - above all, from the United States."

And Swiss MP Lukas Reimann, a leading member of the parliamentary  initiative, stressed that Azerbaijan's actions violate binding  international law and humanitarian norms. "The expulsion of the  Nagorno- Karabakh Armenians is a serious violation of international  humanitarian law. The Swiss Foreign Ministry explicitly lists  'attacks against the civilian population' and the 'unlawful expulsion  of the civilian population' as war crimes on its website on  international humanitarian law." He emphasized the key role the  Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) can play,  noting that Switzerland will chair the body in 2026: "The United  States can help revitalize the [OSCE] Minsk Group and ensure that it  contributes to the return of the forcibly displaced persons to their  homeland.  That's what is required for a lasting peace," Reimann  stated.

John Eibner, President of Christian Solidarity International (CSI),  described the ethnic cleansing as the culmination of deliberate  policies to starve and terrorize a civilian population. "Azerbaijan  launched a military assault as the climax of a nine-month military  blockade, the aim of which was to weaken the civilian population by  starvation. The result was the ethno-religious cleansing of Armenian  Christians from their historic homeland." Eibner called on U.S.  policymakers to act: "The Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh  offers exceptional possibilities for the United States to make good  on President Trump's pledge and thereby contribute to a durable  peace: It is also an opportunity for the United States to help  reverse the ethno- religious cleansing of one of the world's oldest  Christian communities and halt the erosion of the region's religious  pluralism."

The Swiss-led delegation of Vontobel, Reimann, Eibner and Oskanian  arrived in Washington earlier this week for a series of high-level  meetings  State Department and  Congressional leaders  and human  rights advocates, in addition to Congressional briefing. 

The Swiss Peace Initiative is based on Motion 24.4259, passed by  Parliament, which instructs the Federal Council to organize an  international peace forum on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in order  to facilitate an open dialogue between Azerbaijan and representatives  of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and to negotiate the safe return of  the historically resident Armenian population.