6 IMCA participants sent a letter to the WHO Director General calling for urgent actions to address humanitarian crisis in Artsakh

A total of around 2,500 participants of the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia held in Yerevan on July 6-8, 2023 (including 23 satellite symposia), together with the presidency of the congress and the Armenian International Medical Committee, addressed a letter to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, calling for immediate measures to overcome the humanitarian crisis created by Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of Artsakh, as well as using the levers of the organization to force Azerbaijan. to stop the illegal blockade of Artsakh. Similar letters will be sent on behalf of the Congress to the relevant UN agencies.

The letter addressed to the WHO specifically states:

“We, the international group of about 2500 participants of the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia (medical doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals), are writing to bring your attention to the ongoing severe humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh).

As it is known, from December 12, 2022, Nagorno-Karabakh is under the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan. The lives of 120,000 people, including 30,000 children and thousands of disabled people, have deteriorated dramatically. Our compatriots in Nagorno Karabakh struggle for daily bread and do not have access to basic medical services. The authorities of Azerbaijan continue to ignore the calls of the international community to lift the blockade and disregard the relevant decision of the International Court of Justice.

Azerbaijan's actions are taking place in violation of international law. These actions also contradict the statement of November 2020 signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. The above-mentioned statement stipulates the provision of unimpeded traffic through the Lachin Corridor, which connects Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world. However, for six months now, Azerbaijan has been carrying out an illegal and brutal blockade, allowing only a part of the necessary medicines to enter Artsakh and only the transportation of critically ill patients from Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia with the help of the ICRC.

To intensify the suffering, the armed forces of Azerbaijan constantly target civilians in Nagorno- Karabakh. The Aliyev regime has cut off natural gas supplies, sabotaged and blocked repairs to the high-voltage power line that provided the bulk of Nagorno-Karabakh's electricity. While the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh deepens, the autocratic leader of Azerbaijan does not allow humanitarian and fact-finding missions to enter Nagorno-Karabakh.

As followers of the Hippocratic Oath, we do not accept any situation that violates a person's fundamental right to access medical care. With this letter, we ask you urgently to do everything possible within your power and use all the levers of the organization to stop Azerbaijan's inhuman blockade of Nagorno Karabakh. We expect, in accordance with the values declared by the WHO, to take effective practical measures aimed at alleviating the suffering of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and protecting the citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh from the continuous aggression of repressive Azerbaijan”.

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