Master Thesis International and European Public Law The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: autonomy or independence? Sara Alborzi ANR S258044 Supervisor: S. J. Rombouts LLM Second reader: S. F. van den Driest LLM Mphil Faculty of Law Tilburg University 19 December 2012 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 4 Map of Ancient Armenia and Albania (50 AD) ........................................................................................ 5 Map of the Republic of Azerbaijan .......................................................................................................... 6 Map of the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh ....................................................................... 7 Nagorno-Karabakh Country Profile ......................................................................................................... 8 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 2. History of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ..................................................................................... 12 2.1 Armenia in ancient times ............................................................................................................ 12 2.2 The development of the Azeri-Armenian hostilities ................................................................... 13 2.3 Nagorno-Karabakh’s separation from Armenia .......................................................................... 15 2.4 Karabakh Armenian’s attempts to separate Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan ..................... 16 2.5 The Nagorno-Karabakh war ........................................................................................................ 18 3. The principle of self-determination............................................................................................... 20 3.1 Internal and external self-determination ................................................................................... 20 3.2 Remedial right to secession ........................................................................................................ 22 3.3 People vs. minority...................................................................................................................... 27 3.4 Holders of the right to self-determination .................................................................................. 30 3.5 The definition of collective individuality ..................................................................................... 32 3.6 The impact of uti possidetis on the status of Karabakh Armenians as ethnic minorities ........... 34 3.7 Concsluion ................................................................................................................................... 36 4. Internal self-determination ........................................................................................................... 38 4.1 The right to autonomy ................................................................................................................ 38 4.2 Autonomy for the ethnic minorities in Finland and Italy ............................................................ 39 4.2.1 The Ǻland Islands ................................................................................................................ 39 4.2.2 South Tyrol .......................................................................................................................... 42 4.3 Internal self-determination and ethnic minorities ..................................................................... 43 4.4 Karabakh Armenian’s entitlement to internal self-determination ............................................. 46 4.5 The difficulties of establishing an autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh ........................................... 49 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 54 2 5. External self-determination .......................................................................................................... 56 5.1 The ICJ Advisory Opinion on Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence......................... 56 5.2 Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence in connection to the ban on the use of force .................... 60 5.3 Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence in connection to uti possidetis .......................................... 67 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 69 6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 71 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 75 Annex 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 84 Annex 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 86 3 List of Abbreviations ASIL American Society of International Law CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CoE Council of Europe CSCE Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe Doc. Document DR Decisions and Reports ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECRI European Commission against Racism and Intolerance ETS European Treaty Series FCNM Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities GA General Assembly GAOR General Assembly Official Records HR/CT Human Rights Committee ICC International Criminal Court ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICJ International Court of Justice ILC International Law Commission ILM International Legal Materials LN League of Nations LNOJ League of Nations Official Journal MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mtg. Meeting NKAO Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast NKR Nagorno-Karabakh Republic No(s). Number(s) OSCE Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Para(s). Paragraph(s) Plen. Plenary Rep. Republic Res. Resolution SC Security Council SCOR Security Council Official Records Sess. Session SSR Soviet Socialist Republic Supp. Supplement UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNTS United Nations Treaty Series USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Vol. Volume 4 Map of Ancient Armenia and Albania (50 AD) 5 Map of the Republic of Azerbaijan 6 Map of the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh 7 Nagorno-Karabakh Country Profile1 Official name: The Nagorno-Karabakh2 Republic (or the Republic of Artsakh3) Capital: Stepanakert State Language: Armenian Religion: Around 95 per cent of the population are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Form of Government: Presidential Republic Currency: Armenian Dram (AMD), put on circulation in 1993 Population: 141.4 thousand people/ as of January 1, 2010 / Ethnic Composition: Armenians (95%), Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Georgians, Kurds, Azerbaijanis. Territory: The territory of the Artsakh Republic is more than 12 thousand km2 out of which 1041 km2 are under control of Azerbaijan. /The territory of the Shahumian region together with the Getashen sub-region is 2527 km2, 698 km2 of which are under control of Azerbaijan/. Natural resources: marble, granite, andesite, tuff, basalt, limestone, diabase, concrete clays, pumice, clay, different kind of metals, especially zinc, copper stone, lead, lithographic stone, coal, pyrites, iron, and other metals, water resources. National Flag: 1 Official website of the President of the Artsakh Republic: <http://www.president.nkr.am/en/nkr/generalInformation/> [accessed 20 September 2012]; 2 The name Nagorno-Karabakh (also spelled Nagorny Karabakh or Nagorno Karabagh) is derived from Persian, Russian and Turkish words, and literally means “Mountainous black garden”. 3 Artsakh used to be the name of Nagorno-Karabakh and it is the name most often used by Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. 8 The flag of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) was adopted on June 2nd 1991 by the Supreme Council of the Republic. It is derived from the flag of Armenia, which consists of three equal horizontal stripes of red, blue and orange: The red colour symbolizes the on-going struggle of the Armenian people for existence, Christianity, independence and freedom. The blue colour symbolizes the will of the Armenian people to live in peace. The orange colour symbolizes creative power and diligence of the Armenian people. The flag of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) further has a westwards pointing step like arrow (white division), which signifies Nagorno-Karabakh's current separation from Armenia, and its hopes for union with the Motherland.4 4 Website of the Armenian Student Association: <http://www.calpoly.edu/~asaclub/karabakh.htm> [accessed 20 September 2012]. 9 1. Introduction Ever since the existence of mankind, humans have always lived in separate societies that have competed with one another in order to outshine the other. Rivalry between peoples has always easily escalated into war. Wars in turn have led to conquest and the subjugation of peoples.