Speakers at the launch of the Swiss Peace Initiative in Berlin, left to right: Jonathan Spangenberg, Erich Vontobel, John Eibner, Peter Fuchs. csi
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) and the Central Council of Armenians in Germany hosted an event on October 8, 2025, at the Evangelical Academy in Berlin to present the Swiss Peace Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh. The event (video) brought together Swiss parliamentarians, international legal experts, and representatives of the displaced Armenian population.
Peace as the fruit of justice
Father Peter Fuchs, Executive Director of CSI Germany, opened with remarks grounded in Christian social teaching. He defined peace as “tranquility in order”, the state in which justice prevails. “Peace is not an abstract absence of conflict,” Fuchs stressed, “but must be active justice in action.” Fuchs emphasized in his remarks that the basis of all just action lies in human dignity, since every human being is created by God and possesses inalienable rights.
With this theological framing, Father Peter Fuchs positioned the Swiss Peace Initiative as a moral imperative: a concrete expression of the principle that real peace requires justice.
Germany’s commitment
Jonathan Spangenberg, Chairman of the Central Council of Armenians in Germany, reminded attendees of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s September 23, 2023 UN Security Council speech declaring Azerbaijan’s determination to create facts through military force and calling the expulsion of ethnic Armenians “unacceptable.”
He also cited UN Special Adviser Juan Méndez, who classified the forced displacement as corresponding to Article 2(b) of the Genocide Convention. “International law is only as strong as the states willing to defend it,” Spangenberg declared. “And here, Switzerland has acted.”
The crisis: 120,000 displaced, zero returns
In September 2023, Azerbaijan’s military operation in Nagorno Karabakh forced nearly 120,000 Armenians to flee. Nearly two years later, not one has returned despite a binding International Court of Justice order from November 17, 2023, requiring Azerbaijan to ensure that all persons who remain in or return to Nagorno Karabakh “are free from the use of force or intimidation that may cause them to flee.”
Artak Beglaryan, former Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh, shared his personal story via video message. He lost his father and eyesight in the 1990s Karabakh war, then was forcibly displaced with his family in 2023. Now over 80 percent of displaced Armenians in Armenia live in poverty; more than three times the national average.
“When I meet my compatriots in Armenia, the first question to me is whether there is news on our return,” Beglaryan said.
A recent survey shows 87 percent want to return home. Yet Azerbaijan has denied all access requests, even brief visits to cemeteries and churches. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is systematically destroying Armenian cultural heritage and illegally settling Armenian homes.
“Nagorno Karabakh people need representation”
Dr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, former ICC Chief Prosecutor, identified a fundamental problem: “No one is representing the Nagorno Karabakh people.” Azerbaijan controls the territory but has a policy to eliminate the ethnic Armenian community, which the UN genocide prevention adviser considers a genocide risk.
“Armenia clearly cannot negotiate on Nagorno Karabakh,” Ocampo stated, “and therefore Nagorno Karabakh people need representation.” He praised Swiss National Councillor Erich Vontobel for mobilizing the Swiss parliament to create a forum to mediate between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh Armenians.
Growing international momentum
Ocampo highlighted expanding parliamentary support for the initiative:
- June 2025: 110 UK Parliament members endorsed the Swiss Peace Initiative.
- July 2025: U.S. State Department recognized the right of return for displaced ethnic Armenians and addressed the Armenian prisoners in Baku.
- September 2025: EU parliamentarians challenged Azerbaijan’s human rights violations and partnership eligibility.
- October 20, 2025: British MP Chris Law has committed to raising the issue with Swiss authorities at an International Parliament Union meeting in Geneva.
“The parliamentarians have power, they are using it,” Ocampo said. “We are gaining momentum.”
No justice, no peace
Dr. John Eibner, CSI’s international president, delivered concluding remarks with a stark warning: A peace process that does not eliminate the injustice of expulsion is incomplete and contains “little justice.” As long as this element of justice is missing, “it will haunt Armenia, the region, and the great powers.”
Eibner emphasized this is “a fight for civilization,” placing the Armenian crisis within the broader context of Christian communities being displaced from the Islamic world, citing Syria and Iraq.
The Swiss Peace Initiative
The Swiss Peace Initiative is based on Motion 24.4259, which was approved by a majority in both chambers of the Swiss Parliament. This initiative mandates the Swiss Federal Council to organize an international peace forum to facilitate “open dialogue between Azerbaijan and the representatives of the Karabakh Armenians of Artsakh and to negotiate the safe return of the historically Armenian population.”
Erich Vontobel succinctly summarized the central demand of this initiative by stating: “This initiative does not call for sanctions or intervention. It calls for a table, a place for dialogue, where displaced persons also have a seat.”
