COP29 host Azerbaijan guilty of ‘ethnic cleansing’ during 2023 attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh: report [Video]

Azerbaijan carried out “ethnic cleansing” against the Armenian population 14 months ago in attacks on the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, a new report by the Washington-based non-profit organization Freedom House has concluded.

The comprehensive report, released on the first day of COP29, the United Nations climate conference that took place this month in Azerbaijan, draws upon interviews with more than 300 Karabakh Armenians. The summit, which began on Nov. 11, wrapped up this weekend in Baku, the country’s capital, under the auspices of the same government that’s accused of committing crimes against humanity.

Human rights groups, environmental activist Greta Thunberg and politicians in Canada and the United States were among those expressing disappointment and alarm that the conference was being held in a major oil-producing country with a dubious record of upholding rights — a charge that Azerbaijan’s political leaders called “disgusting” and a “smear campaign.”

The Freedom House report includes accounts from survivors of last fall’s military action, including …