Swiss parliamentarians call for a peace forum on Nagorno-Karabakh at the UN

Two years have passed since the forced expulsion of the entire Armenian Christian population from Nagorno-Karabakh. The peace initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh, passed by the Swiss Parliament, is bringing movement to the unresolved situation. National Councillors Erich Vontobel (EDU, Zurich) and Nicolas Walder (The Greens, Geneva) will explain the opportunities and goals of the peace initiative at the UN Human Rights Council.

Two years have passed since the forced expulsion of the entire Armenian Christian population from Nagorno-Karabakh. The peace initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh, passed by the Swiss Parliament, is bringing movement to the unresolved situation. National Councillors Erich Vontobel (EDU, Zurich) and Nicolas Walder (The Greens, Geneva) will explain the opportunities and goals of the peace initiative at the UN Human Rights Council.

Date: Monday, 29 September 2025, 11:00 a.m. Venue: Palais des Nations (UN headquarters) in Geneva, Room IX in Building A; the event will be broadcast live

In addition to National Councillors Walder and Vontobel, Artak Beglaryan, former human rights commissioner for Nagorno-Karabakh, and Dr. Paul Williams, renowned human rights expert and peace mediator, will also speak. Dr. Williams will participate via video link.

What has happened so far

In September 2023, after a nine-month siege, Azerbaijan's armed forces attacked the autonomous republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The attack resulted in the forced expulsion of the entire Armenian Christian population that had lived there for millennia.

In March 2025, the Swiss Parliament instructed the Federal Council to organize a peace forum between Azerbaijan and representatives of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh within twelve months to negotiate the collective and safe return of the Karabakh Armenians to their homeland. National Councilor Erich Vontobel explained the Swiss peace initiative in Parliament and presented it in Washington, D.C., in July. National Councilor Nicolas Walder is a prominent supporter of the initiative.

In August 2025, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met at the White House and pledged to take "further steps to achieve the signature and final ratification" of a peace treaty between their countries. Despite this progress and a ruling by the International Court of Justice, the displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are still unable to return to their homeland, and a solution to this problem is still nowhere in sight.

"No country in the world has done as much as Switzerland to enforce the right of return for Armenians from Karabakh," commented Dr. Joel Veldkamp, Head of Public Advocacy at CSI. "The Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh offers the international community a unique opportunity to strengthen the US-initiated peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This will be the case when the central human rights issues in this conflict are addressed, especially the right of return."

"CSI is delighted to offer Erich Vontobel, Nicolas Walder, Artak Beglaryan, and Paul Williams a platform in Geneva," says Joel Veldkamp. "They will convincingly argue that for lasting peace, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved on the basis of human rights."

Interviews with the speakers are available upon request.

You can find further information about the Swiss Peace Initiative here .

Press release

Media contacts: Joel Veldkamp, Head of Public Advocacy CSI, +41 44 982 33 10, joel.veldkamp@csi-int.org Rolf Höneisen, Head of Communications CSI-Switzerland, +41 44 982 33 77, rolf.hoeneisen@csi-schweiz.ch