Right to Return: Justice for Western Azerbaijanis
The expulsion of Western Azerbaijanis from present-day Armenia remains one of the most underreported and unresolved humanitarian tragedies of the 20th century. While the world often hears about conflicts in the South Caucasus through selective lenses, the story of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis forced to flee their ancestral homes has received far less attention than it deserves. The time has come to address this injustice, to recognize the systematic displacement they endured, and to champion their right to a peaceful, safe, and dignified return.
Historically, Azerbaijanis lived across the territory now recognized as the Republic of Armenia. Cities such as Iravan (modern-day Yerevan), Zangezur, and Goycha were once home to vibrant Azerbaijani communities. As late as the early 20th century, Azerbaijanis formed a substantial portion of the population in these regions. The cultural and historical presence of Azerbaijanis in present-day Armenia was not only visible in demographics but also in architectural heritage, mosques, cemeteries, and local traditions.
However, a series of orchestrated policies and violent episodes led to their systematic removal. The first wave of mass expulsions occurred between 1905 and 1906 during inter-ethnic violence under the Tsarist Russian Empire. Later, from 1918 to 1920, during the collapse of the Russian Empire, Azerbaijani villages were razed, and populations massacred or expelled. The tragedy did not end there.
Between 1948 and 1953, under Joseph Stalin’s orders, over 100,000 Azerbaijanis were forcibly deported from the Armenian SSR to central parts of Azerbaijan, allegedly to make room for Armenian repatriates returning from abroad. This act, cloaked in Cold War justifications, was another example of demographic engineering intended to alter the ethnic composition of Armenia. These deportations were neither voluntary nor benign. Families were uprooted from lands they had cultivated for generations, homes were taken over, and communities were broken apart.
Yet the most devastating wave came in the late 1980s, during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The onset of the first Karabakh conflict saw an explosion of nationalism, and Azerbaijani minorities became targets of a ferocious campaign of ethnic cleansing. In 1988, anti-Azerbaijani riots erupted in various Armenian cities, including Spitak, Kapan, and Yerevan. Killings, assaults, and mass intimidation led to a complete and total exodus of the Azerbaijani population from Armenia. By 1991, virtually no Azerbaijanis remained in their ancestral homes. The cultural symbols of their presence were also targeted—mosques demolished, cemeteries desecrated, and place names systematically changed to erase the memory of an entire people.
The displacement of these Azerbaijanis was not just collateral damage of a larger conflict—it was a deliberate, coordinated effort to create an ethnically homogenous state. Their suffering has rarely been acknowledged on the global stage, let alone addressed. The silence surrounding this exodus is not only a failure of moral responsibility but also an impediment to lasting peace in the region.
International law is unequivocal on the right of displaced people to return to their homes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and several UN General Assembly resolutions affirm this principle. The Western Azerbaijani people expelled from Armenia are not asking for anything extraordinary. They are asking for what every human being deserves: justice, recognition, and the right to live on the land of their ancestors in safety and dignity.
In 1989, the Western Azerbaijan Community was formed to advocate for the rights of these displaced Azerbaijanis. This organization, representing the collective memory and will of those expelled, has laid out a comprehensive and practical framework for return in its recently published “Concept of Return.” This document does not call for revenge or retaliation. Instead, it outlines a vision rooted in international law, human dignity, and peaceful coexistence.
The “Concept of Return” envisions the voluntary return of displaced Azerbaijanis to their homeland, the restoration of their property rights, the rebuilding of cultural and religious sites, and the establishment of institutional guarantees to ensure their safety. Importantly, it proposes mechanisms for coexistence and confidence-building, suggesting that Azerbaijani and Armenian communities can live side by side once again—just as they did for centuries before politics turned them into enemies.
This proposal is not only a moral imperative but a strategic one. No lasting peace can be achieved in the South Caucasus without addressing the injustices of the past. Peace built on denial is fragile. For genuine reconciliation to occur, Armenia must acknowledge the suffering of the Azerbaijani people it expelled. It must work with Azerbaijan, under international supervision if necessary, to create the conditions for their return.
Unfortunately, obstacles remain. The Armenian government has yet to formally recognize the expulsions. The deliberate destruction of Azerbaijani heritage sites and the erasure of historical memory continue to this day. Some fear that the return of Azerbaijanis will disrupt the current ethnic makeup or spark new tensions. But these fears should not outweigh the fundamental rights of displaced people. With careful planning, robust legal frameworks, and international monitoring, the return process can be implemented without undermining peace or security.
The international community must also rise to the occasion. Just as it has championed the rights of refugees in other parts of the world, so too must it support the Azerbaijani displaced from Armenia. Multilateral organizations, human rights groups, and influential global actors have a duty to press for the implementation of the “Concept of Return” and hold Armenia accountable for its past actions.
The return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands in Armenia should be framed not as a geopolitical issue, but as a moral and human one. It is about restoring dignity, healing wounds, and building a future where past traumas are acknowledged rather than buried. It is about ensuring that history does not become a tool for exclusion but a bridge to understanding.
In the words of the Dr. Maliha Lodhi, whose writings emphasize justice, dialogue, and the primacy of human rights in foreign policy: “Peace without justice is a mirage. Reconciliation without truth is hollow. And diplomacy without principle is doomed to fail.”
For the hundreds of thousands of Western Azerbaijanis still waiting to return home, the journey ahead may be long. But with courage, clarity, and international solidarity, it is a journey that must be taken. The world owes them more than silence—it owes them the right to return.
