Lilit Galstyan, a member of the ARF Bureau and a Member of Armenia’s National Assembly representing the Armenia Alliance faction, delivered a speech on July 5 at the 33rd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in The Hague, where she called on the Assembly to closely monitor the state of democracy in Armenia while also urging immediate action to address Azerbaijan’s ongoing violations against the Armenian people.

Among the key points highlighted in her address were:

• The international community’s failure to respond to Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and the continued destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.
• The unlawful detention and mistreatment of at least 19 Armenian prisoners in Baku.
• Growing concerns over democratic backsliding in Armenia, including the concentration of power, political prosecutions, and attacks against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
• A call for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to monitor democratic developments in Armenia, demand the release of Armenian detainees, protect Artsakh’s cultural heritage, and reaffirm the right of return of its indigenous Armenian population.

The full text of her speech is below:

Dear colleagues,

Each year we are discussing the state of human rights and democracy, and each year the picture becomes more troubling.

As the report rightly states, “Instead of strengthened co-operation, we are witnessing a widening gap between agreed standards and their implementation in practice.”

This is not simply an emotional disappointment, but a serious concern about our ability to restore trust and acknowledge our failures.

For the past four years, I have consistently raised two vital issues: the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh committed by Azerbaijan, and the democratic backsliding in Armenia.

At our Annual Session in Porto, I proposed sending an international mission to Baku to monitor the sham trials of the former political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and to assess the ongoing destruction of Armenian cultural heritage. The proposal was not supported.

By failing to act, we allowed Azerbaijan to continue its violations. Today, at least 19 Armenians—including Ruben Vardanyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Manukyan, and others—remain unlawfully detained. They continue to face torture and inhumane treatment, while even the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access.

This is not an isolated injustice, but part of a broader policy that included the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the forced displacement of its indigenous population, the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, and the continued promotion of the so-called “Western Azerbaijan”—a state-sponsored, aggressive, and false narrative used to advance territorial claims against Armenia.

By failing to respond, we weaken the very standards that form the foundation of the OSCE.

Unfortunately, Armenia is facing serious democratic challenges of its own. International organizations have expressed concern about the concentration of power and the weakening of democratic institutions.

Recent parliamentary elections were often portrayed as a geopolitical contest. However, the majority of voters rejected further concessions, crimes against democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, political prosecutions, and unlawful attacks against the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Colleagues, our responsibility does not end with merely documenting these developments.

I therefore call on the Assembly to closely monitor the democratic decline in Armenia;

to demand the immediate release of all unlawfully detained Armenians;

to ensure the protection of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh;

and to reaffirm the right of return of its indigenous population.

This is not simply a moral imperative, but also a legal obligation.

Let us restore trust in the principles we are committed to uphold.

Thank you.

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