Azerbaijani NGOs call on Trump to reject Lemkin appeal over Vardanyan

Azerbaijani non-governmental organisations have called on U.S. President Donald Trump to reject an appeal by the U.S.-based Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention. The appeal urges Washington to pressure Azerbaijan to release detainees of Armenian origin, including Ruben Vardanyan.

In an open letter sent on 25 December, the NGOs said the institute’s appeal misrepresented individuals facing serious criminal charges by describing them as “hostages”.

The Lemkin Institute’s appeal, titled “Bring them Home for Christmas: Urgent Appeal to Secure the Release of Armenian Hostages in Azerbaijan”, prompted the response from Azerbaijani civil society groups.

In their letter to Trump, the NGOs said those named in the appeal were accused of offences including financing terrorism, waging aggressive war and committing crimes against humanity, and argued that such allegations could not be dismissed through humanitarian or religious framing.

They said the framing ignored what they described as documented evidence of crimes committed during more than three decades of conflict, which they said led to the forced displacement of nearly one million Azerbaijanis and the destruction of hundreds of civilian settlements.

The organisations also rejected any religious interpretation of the issue, saying the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict had never been religious in nature and that references to Christmas and New Year sentiment did not negate legal accountability.

The letter credited Trump with supporting peace efforts in the South Caucasus, referring to a joint declaration signed in Washington on 8 August 2025, and warned that the Lemkin Institute’s actions risked undermining confidence-building measures, normalisation efforts and emerging economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. 

The appeal to the U.S. president followed an earlier open letter sent on 23 December to the Lemkin Institute by the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, which represents hundreds of organisations.

In that letter, the forum accused the institute of bias, misinformation and attempts to undermine the peace process, and questioned its credibility and impartiality.

The forum said criticism of the Lemkin Institute had come not only from Azerbaijani civil society but also from members of Raphael Lemkin’s family and from Armenian academic and analytical circles, including figures associated with the Zoryan Institute.

It also cited the institute’s opposition to Azerbaijan hosting the COP29 climate summit, questioning why an organisation focused on genocide prevention would campaign against an international environmental event.

The forum further pointed to a March 2025 statement by the Lemkin Institute describing political developments in the United States as an “authoritarian coup” and a “genocidal process”, saying such language raised broader concerns about the misuse of genocide-related terminology.

The Azerbaijan National NGO Forum called on the Lemkin Institute to correct or withdraw statements it said lacked legal or factual basis, and to engage in constructive dialogue with Azerbaijani civil society.

The Lemkin Institute has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Founded in the United States in 2021, the Lemkin Institute says its mission is to place threatened communities at the centre of genocide prevention efforts and to provide tools for analysing and responding to crises.

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