Geneva – March 18, 2026

The Committee for the Defense of the Fundamental Rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh People, established by the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament in December 2023, together with the Switzerland-Armenia Association, filed a formal complaint in Switzerland on March 18, 2026, against SOCAR Trading SA.

The complaint states that the company has violated international standards on responsible business conduct by providing financial support to a state responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno- Karabakh’s indigenous Armenian population.

“Material contributions” to ethnic cleansing

The complaint was formally submitted to the Swiss National Contact Point (SECO) under the 2011 and 2023 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Under the OECD Guidelines’ Specific Instance procedure, the Swiss National Contact Point will now review the complaint and determine further actions and remedies.

SOCAR Trading is the Swiss-based subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the trading and financial arm of Azerbaijan’s state oil sector and a key source of revenue for the Azerbaijani state. In September 2023, an Azerbaijani military offensive resulted in the complete displacement of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, effectively ending the centuries-old Armenian presence in the region.

Using analysis from many authorities, including Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the organizations argue that this campaign constituted ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide.

The complaint asserts that SOCAR Trading, through its financial and commercial activities, contributed to the economic resources of the Azerbaijani state and therefore had a clear responsibility under the OECD Guidelines to conduct rigorous human-rights due diligence and address the risks associated with its operations.

“The forced displacement of around 150,000 Armenians from their homeland constitutes one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the South Caucasus in recent decades,” said Karnig Kerkonian, a Chicago-based international lawyer and member of the Committee. “Companies that financially support the state responsible cannot ignore their obligations under international standards.”

Switzerland’s mandate for peace in Nagorno Karabakh

At a press conference held in Geneva today, the complainants also recalled that it was one year ago that both chambers of the Swiss Federal Assembly adopted a motion mandating the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to organize a peace forum between Azerbaijan and representatives of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. One year later, such a forum has yet to be convened.

The Committee and its partners expressed their continued expectation that the Swiss authorities will fulfill this parliamentary mandate, which they believe could play an important role in building a just and sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Switzerland should actively engage to defend indigenous peoples and their right to selfdetermination, as guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations,” said Sarkis Shahinian, honorary president of the Switzerland-Armenia Association. “As a neutral state, Switzerland is well-positioned to play a constructive role in bringing this decades-old conflict to a just end.”

“Lasting peace cannot be built on ethnic cleansing” said Joel Veldkamp, the director of public advocacy for the Zurich-based NGO Christian Solidarity International, who also spoke at the press conference. “The new conflict with Iran had made clearer than ever the importance of building long-term peace and security in the vital South Caucasus region.”

Action at the UN Human Rights Council At the same time, two members of the Committee for the Defense of the Fundamental Rights of the People of Nagorno-Karabakh are participating in the annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking during plenary sessions through several accredited non-governmental organizations, they have called the Council’s attention to Azerbaijan’s continued unlawful detention of Armenian hostages in Baku prisons, its refusal to comply with the International Court of Justice’s November 17, 2023, order requiring Azerbaijan to ensure the safe return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to their historic homeland, and its ongoing destruction of Armenian religious and cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh.