Insights into the Recognition of Artsakh’s Independence
Posted on February. 8. 2021
By Z. S. Andrew Demirdjian
The great revolution in the history of man,
past, present and future, is the revolution
of those determined to be free.
John F. Kennedy
Statehood, nationhood, country, city-state, empire and all sorts of human, social, political, economic territorial entities have been discussed since the beginning of history. Notable people who have formally argued and debated the topic in writing, in addition to discussing it at the agoras, are the Ancient Greeks and the Romans.
According to most scholars, the history of the Western “state” begins in Ancient Greece, where Plato and Aristotle wrote of the polis (city-state) as an ideal form of association, in which a community’s cultural, religious, social, political, and economic needs could be satisfied. Additionally, the state would provide security and protection against foreign aggression.
The concept of city-state, characterized mainly by its self-sufficiency, was considered by Aristotle as the means of developing morality of what is right and wrong in the human character. The Greek idea of a state corresponds more accurately to the modern concept of the country or nation (i.e., a population of a fixed geographic area where the inhabitants share a common language, culture, and history). The Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) meets all of these attributes of a nation, of a state. Unlike Azerbaijan, Artsakh does not behead captive soldiers; hence they form part of a civilized Christian society dating back to thousands of years.
As a historical province of Greater Armenia, Artsakh has a special place in the minds and hearts of the people who inhabit that geographical territory. The preponderance of the population is indigenous ethnic Armenians; they speak Armenian, and share the same cultural and historical heritage. For nearly 30 years, the proud people of Artsakh can rightfully boast to have democratically elected their representatives. Moreover, the country has its defense forces, infrastructure, social, and educational institutions, and is in interaction with other countries around the world.
In this article, let us explore how well Artsakh meets the legal requirements of a de facto state? Do the people of Artsakh deserve to be independent if they seem to have all the trappings of a separate nation surrounded by Azerbaijan, a Central Asian conqueror of the region?
A considerable number of the world’s peoples, cities, and senates have recognized the independence of Artsakh except their governments. For example, the French Senate recognized Artsakh’s independence in November of 2020, but the French government declined to follow suit. Another example is the United States where eight states have recognized the independence of Artsakh, but not the government (the president).
However, Artsakh faces an uphill battle for recognition by the international community of states of the UN for some perceived real or imagined reasons. One wonders as to why is the international community hesitating to recognize the independence of Artsakh after proving itself for over a quarter of a century to be a worthy member of the world nations? The following reasons are plausible:
’ Not to anger Turkey and Azerbaijan and the rest of the Turkic and Islamic nations.
’ Nothing will accrue to self-interest to go on a limb to recognize Artsakh.
’ Each and every state has its minorities waiting in the wings to become independent. Establishing precedence is a dangerous proposition. For example, the Basques in southern France would like to join their people in Spain and establish an independent Basque state.
’ The UN is dominated by Muslim/Arab countries, which out of Islamic “bond of brotherhood” will vote against Artsakh’s independence in favor of Azerbaijan as a co-religionist.
’ Bribery! Can one UN delegate bribe another delegate (called euphemistically gift giving)? Ask the experts, the Azerbaijanis who managed to get four rulings against Artsakh on territorial integrity violations as though the concept of self-determination is an archaic practice.
Now, the Azeri military storm has died out, but the Armenians are still fighting among themselves to make it easier for the enemy to achieve another victory. Instead, the Armenians should come up with a road map to recovery and work at it diligently to realize it before facing another serious challenge from Azerbaijan.
One of the crucial items is the recognition of Artsakh’s independence. Every Armenian must join the quest to get Artsakh recognized as an independent state. To be effective, every Armenian is hoped to get insights into the workings of the UN procedures of recognizing Artsakh’s independence. Here are some suggestions of insights to serve as a forum for discussion, argument, or debate with all people who would lend an ear to learn about the survival of Artsakh:
I. Campaign Organization Requirement. Before we embark on a campaign for the recognition of Artsakh as an independent state, we need to organize. An international committee would suffice. Additionally, we should inform, educate, and motivate every Armenian to speak about the readiness of Artsakh for statehood.
Word of mouth communication with fellow citizens would spread the word about Artsakh’s qualifications. Citizens will influence their political representatives (e.g., senators), who, in turn, influence the decisions of their governments. So, it is incumbent upon every Armenian to participate in the campaign.
II. The Eligibility Requirement. To declare Artsakh as a sovereign state, customary international law specifies minimum standards for statehood as formulated by the Montevideo Convention of 1933: you must have (a) a permanent population (b) you must live in a defined territory; (c) you must have a government; and (d) your government must be capable of interacting with other existing states, which is controversial.
The last requirement, (d) your government must be capable of interacting with other existing states, was included as a qualification in the 1933 Montevideo Convention (which established the United States “good neighbor policy” of nonintervention in Latin America. However, it is generally not recognized as international law). As stated above, Artsakh has all the qualifications for statehood and these qualifications have been in place for nearly 30 years.
III. Declaration of Independence Requirement. It should be noted that just because Artsakh has met the qualifications and declared itself independent does not mean the battle is won. Success to claim sovereignty under the required qualifications depends on the objectivity or subjectivity of the UN decision makers. However, not all is lost. Since Artsakh has established itself as a de facto state, there are certain benefits it can expect even if it is not yet recognized by any state.
According to Stefan Talmon, Professor of Public International Law at Oxford University and the author of Recognition in International Law, once an entity succeeds establishing itself as a de facto state, it will benefit from territorial integrity and certain guarantees of sovereignty. For example, now that Kosovo is established as a state, Serbia can no longer freely attack it to bring it back into Serbia. Under the UN Charter, a de facto independent state benefits from the prohibition of the use of force to regain the territory as Azerbaijan is in violation. These rules were established during the Cold War to protect also new states that were not yet recognized by one bloc or another.
IV. Recognition Campaign Requirement. Self-declaration of independence is fine, but unless other countries recognize you as a sovereign state, you have a lot of work to do to become one of the members of the elite UN club. International recognition is what gives the country legitimacy in the international community and what ultimately distinguishes Kosovos of the world from the Nagorno-Karabakhs. This means, the established countries are going to take some real convincing to do.
Recognition is quite complicated because it combines international law, international politics, self-interest, the affinities found among countries based on religion or ethnicity, and corruption. According to Professor Talmon, some people say that recognition is a purely political act. It is at the discretion of existing states whether they recognize Artsakh. As a result, there is no right to recognition. For example, a number of entities are recognized as states by some countries, but not by others: Palestine, Taiwan, and Northern Cyprus fall into this category.
It is worth noting that the United States has no official policy on what is required for recognition, according to its State Department. Instead, the decisions to recognize a state are made by the president. Then the president decides whether to establish diplomatic relations with the state based on U.S. national interests. When we approach President Joseph Biden and ask for recognition, we must not forget to explain how Artsakh’s independence will be good for “America” (e.g., a new market, an ally in the south Caucuses, US will be hailed as a true democracy that upholds self-determination, etc.).
Based on scientific research findings, when asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude. In asking for help when you mention Armenia was first to have accepted Christianity as the state religion or the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide, people do not want to be distressed with sad stories, but when you mention the benefits for him for doing something, he or she would perk up its ears and begin earnestly to listen to you. Self-interest is a compelling reason for people to respond positively to propositions of mutual interest. So, always think of reciprocity when you want someone to do something for you unless you are dealing with a bosom friend.
V. After Recognition Requirements. After the establishment of the UN in 1945, membership has become the gold standard of international legitimacy. Once admitted to the UN, Artsakh becomes a full member of the international community and, thus, Azerbaijan will not feel free to attack Artsakh anytime it wants. If armed conflict does happen, Azeri aggression will be condemned by the members of the UN.
After getting some states recognize the independence of Artsakh, applying for UN membership is very easy. According to the UN rules, all is required to write a short letter to the secretary-general, requesting membership. For a template, check out Kosovo’s or Montenegro’s successful applications. Mail your applications to: Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, The United Nations, First Ave. at 46th St., New York, NY 10017.
VI. The Final Requirement. This is the most treacherous climb. The Security Council must refer you to the General Assembly, which must determine by a two-thirds majority that Artsakh is a peace-loving state that is able to carry out the duties of the UN Charter. Artsakh has had almost 30 years’ of track record of carrying out the minimum standards for statehood with flying colors. The Artsakh War of 2020 was initiated by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Naturally, Artsakh had to defend its sovereignty as a de facto state allowed by the UN Charter. Artsakh loves peace to spend its time and energy for the further advancement of its social, political, and economic challenges of the republic.
The biggest stumbling block to UN membership is power politics. For example, neither North nor South Korea got UN membership until 1991 because of vetoes by one bloc or another during the Cold War. Even today, Russia’s veto on the Security Council will most likely prevent Kosovo from gaining a seat at the table.
As is obvious, the point at which a territory officially becomes a state is very much a matter of luck. The silver lining in all this is that the longer Artsakh waits, the better its chances become. According to international law, which is often based on custom, the longer Artsakh can maintain its de facto sovereignty, the more likely it will be accepted.
It is said that the strength of Kosovo’s bid for independence from Serbia is based mainly on the fact that it had been independent for almost a decade, whereas Artsakh has been independent for nearly 30 years. So, Artsakh should not be discouraged from being recognized as a state by UN. It is a matter of a lot of patience and having the right friends at the UN.
In sum, we should all remember, even after UN recognition of Artsakh’s independence, it is not going to stop Azerbaijan from resorting to armed conflict in the hope of recapturing the whole of Nagorno-Karabakh, for President Aliyev international rules do not count from deterring him to pursue his ego-centric ambitions of even usurping other peoples territories.
On so many occasions after the Artsakh War of 2020 , President Vladimir Putin have stated during his interviews encouragements such as “Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan,” which would serve as a green light for Azerbaijan to claim Artsakh again by force; so many times President Ilham Aliyev have expressed threats such as “Karabakh is history,” “Karabakh is Azerbaijan,” or that “Yerevan, Sevan, and Zangezur” are Azerbaijani territories.
Without belaboring the point, a future war is on the horizon with our ambitious enemy neighbor. Therefore, we must prepare a viable defense this time without relapsing again into the comfort of complacency of being invincible.
Artsakh is a ship in distress. All Armenian hands, young or old, male or female, Dashnak or Henchak or Ramgavar, should be on deck ready and willing to pitch in —for collaboration is synergistic. We should all do our share of taking time to call and write to our representatives in the capital cities of the countries in which we live to earnestly request the recognition of Artsakh as independent —based on mutual interests.
Armenians have lived through many existential storms. With unity, we shall weather this one as well and rise again to tackle other challenges for the national advancement and for the freedom of Artsakh to be passed on from generation to generation in perpetuity.