French Parliament holds conference supporting Artsakh Armenians’ right of return and prisoners’ release

Two years after the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and the displacement of the Artsakh Armenian population, a parliamentary conference was held on September 18 of this year at the National Assembly of France, initiated by Emmanuel Mandoni, Member of Parliament and Vice President of the France-Armenia Friendship Group.
The event was attended by parliamentarians from France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the European Parliament, as well as diplomats, experts, academics, intellectuals, journalists, and senior representatives of local self-government bodies, all of whom reaffirmed their readiness to provide practical support for the right of forcibly displaced people from Artsakh to return to their homeland.
During the first part of the conference, participants addressed ongoing geopolitical rearrangements in the South Caucasus and their consequences for the Artsakh Armenian population. They emphasized that impunity for forced displacement threatens the foundations of international order. In this context, it was noted that French and European parliamentarians have committed to ensuring that the ethnic cleansing of the people of Artsakh is not forgotten and to continue urging their governments to take practical measures to uphold international law.
The second discussion focused on parliamentary diplomacy, highlighting the importance of building connections and cooperation between European parliamentarians and the Parliament of the Republic of Artsakh to place the right of return for displaced Artsakh residents on the international agenda and to demand the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and political detainees. Special attention was given to the initiative of the France-Artsakh Friendship Group, which called for collecting signatures from French parliamentarians to support the right of forcibly displaced Artsakh residents to return and to demand the release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku.
The conference concluded with remarks from Artsakh’s representative in France, Hovhannes Gevorgyan, who thanked all participants and called for continued efforts in support of the Artsakh cause: “Politics is a powerful force capable of decisively changing reality, and therefore I propose that we courageously fight to ensure the triumph of justice over violence.”