Artsakh Union and the University Network for Human Rights contribute to UN report finding displaced Artsakh women in “precarious position” in Armenia

April 2, 2026

Artsakh Union met with representatives of the United Nations Working Group on the Discrimination Against Women and Girls during their March 2026 country visit to Armenia. 

During this visit, we presented our report, prepared in collaboration with the University Network for Human Rights (UNHR), which details the critical situation of women forcibly displaced from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The Working Group's concluding statement based on the visit, published March 25, emphasizes the situation of women who were among the over 120,000 Artsakh Armenians forcibly displaced from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh following an Azerbaijani military offensive in September 2023.

“The Working Group commends Armenia’s acceptance and assurance of humanitarian aid to women and girls fleeing from Nagorno-Karabakh, but also notes that they are facing economic vulnerability, housing insecurity, and an array of distinct and discriminatory socioeconomic challenges in Armenia. Their precarious position is directly traceable to their forced displacement from their homes and loss of their land, material possessions, and once-tight-knit communities," the Working Group's report said.

The Working Group's findings draw directly from key challenges faced by Artsakh Armenian women following the ethnic cleansing of the region raised in our joint report and our March engagement during the country visit. 

Alongside our documentation of the extreme economic and housing insecurity facing tens of thousands of displaced women in Armenia stemming from their displacement over two years ago, we also highlighted structural flaws in Armenian government programs targeting the community. This includes the national housing support program , which disproportionately disadvantages small families, single mothers, and women living alone by failing to cover the baseline costs of an individual housing unit.

We also brought urgent attention to the systemic legal and social protection gaps creating a “legal vacuum” for Artsakh Armenian women and other vulnerable groups. This includes the lack of state financial support for families of the September 2023 Stepanakert fuel depot explosion victims, the loss of critical protections for single-parent households, and the jurisdictional hurdles divorced women face in enforcing child support payments in Armenian courts. 

Furthermore, the report documents the profound psychological toll of the displacement, the glaring absence of a systemic, state-led trauma recovery strategy, and the devastating assault on women's reproductive health during the blockade. Finally, we emphasized the ongoing psychological suffering caused by the dislocation from ancestral lands, the disruption of cultural practices, and the tragic inability to visit the graves of loved ones left behind.

"Beyond a humanitarian challenge, the displacement of Artsakh Armenian women represents a systemic crisis of dignity and rights. We are urging the Armenian government to adopt immediate and adequate housing guarantees and a national trauma-informed strategy to protect vulnerable women from economic and psychological collapse. These measures are essential steps toward our final objective: a safe and dignified return to the homeland and the comprehensive restoration of their rights" said Artak Beglaryan, Chairman of the Artsakh Union.

"Our documentation reveals that the discrimination faced by Artsakh Armenian women is a direct and ongoing consequence of ethnic cleansing. The international community has a responsibility to move beyond words and establish accountability mechanisms that address the loss of land, material possessions and the profound disruption of these women’s lives," said Thomas Becker, the Legal and Policy Director and a Senior Clinical Supervisor of the University Network for Human Rights.

Artsakh Union remains steadfast in its mission to advocate for the collective interests, rights, and dignity of the forcibly displaced people of Artsakh. Ultimately, we strive to facilitate the collective return of the people of Artsakh to their ancestral homeland for a self-determined, peaceful, just, dignified, and safe life.

Read the full joint submission here.