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Karnig Kerkonian

International Lawyer, Appellate Lawyer

Karnig Kerkonian is an adjunct professor of public international law at Artsakh State University and a prominent international lawyer. He holds an A.B. magna cum laude in Government from Harvard University, a J.D. from the University of Chicago where he served on the Law Review, and a post-graduate Diploma in Public International Law from Cambridge University, England.12

In addition to his academic role, Kerkonian is a founding partner at Kerkonian Dajani LLP, where he leads the international and federal practice groups. His legal work encompasses complex litigation involving foreign entities in U.S. courts, international sanctions, and cross-border transactions. He is also involved in public interest cases related to Armenian rights in both U.S. and international courts.123

Kerkonian has received recognition for his contributions to international law and human rights, including an Honorary Doctorate from Artsakh State University and the International Justice Award from the Armenian National Committee of America.24 He actively participates in discussions and presentations on topics related to public international law, the International Court of Justice, and human rights issues affecting Armenia and Artsakh.15

Highlights

Aug 29 · linkedin

DISAPPEARING INK. The fundamental obstacle to peace in the South Caucasus is Azerbaijan’s remarkable ability to disregard its own international legal obligations.

Consider these examples: (i) Azerbaijan agreed to the OSCE Principle of Non-Use of Force in resolving the #NagornoKarabakh conflict, only to violate it with calculated aggression; (ii) Azerbaijan signed the 2020 Trilateral Statement and then breached it in nearly every conceivable way; (iii) Azerbaijan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, then invaded #Artsakh and engaged in ethnic cleansing of Armenians; (iv) Azerbaijan acceded to the Genocide Convention, only to use starvation and isolation as tools of modern genocide in violation of Article 2(c); (v) Azerbaijan is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, yet has repeatedly tortured Armenian prisoners of war and keeps Armenian civilians as hostages in direct violation of international law.

These are not mere oversights. Azerbaijan practices a consistent pattern of treating its own, voluntarily assumed, international legal obligations as disposable stage props. They mean nothing. Aliyev's signature means nothing to Aliyev. Aliyev's legal obligations mean nothing to Aliyev. Aliyev's promises mean nothing to Aliyev.

Sound familiar? Of course it does. In 1938, Adolf Hitler signed the Munich Agreement, solemnly promising that his territorial ambitions would end with the Sudetenland. Naturally, within a short time, he expanded his conquest across Europe and embarked on genocide—demonstrating, as Churchill ultimately concluded, that fascist dictators do not stop at peace agreements. Ah, now there's a lesson.

Believing that a peace treaty with Aliyev will somehow result in peace is not just naive—it’s a dangerous abdication of our collective responsibility to uphold justice and protect the vulnerable. Aliyev has faced no meaningful repercussions for his relentless campaign of conquest, destruction, and subjugation against Armenian lands—whether in Artsakh, the border villages of #Armenia, Tavush, or Syunik. He is rebranding Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan,” while claiming that it’s the Armenian Constitution that is holding up peace. It’s a charade. And these charades don't end well--as the genocide of the Artsakh Armenians should already have made clear.

The greenlighting of Azerbaijan must stop. It is imperative that state actors and international institutions address the true nature of the Baku regime and respond with the moral and strategic resolve that the situation demands. Peace cannot be achieved through empty treaties with a leader who has proven, time and again, that his word is worthless.

True peace requires confronting and dismantling the forces of tyranny, not legitimizing them through hollow agreements that Aliyev has no intention of honoring or, as ridiculously, the awarding to Baku of international conferences like #COP29 that Aliyev simply uses greenwash his genocidal intent.

Aug 27 · linkedin

GENOCIDE, NOW BLACKMAIL? After committing genocide in #NagornoKarabakh, refusing to release Armenian hostages, and repeatedly threatening to attack neighboring #Armenia—Azerbaijan now directly targets the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, actually trying to blackmail European institutions, again.

Aliyev will ban European parliamentarians from #COP29 — you know, those who voted to remove the repressive dictatorship from the Assembly for its flagrant violations of human rights, open corruption, and relentless efforts to undermine democracy in Europe — unless Azerbaijan is allowed back into the Assembly. Blatant genocide, blatant repression, blatant corruption—and now blatant blackmail. There should be no surprises here: appeasement of authoritarian regimes only fuels their impunity. We know this. Hitler didn’t stop at the Sudetenland; Aliyev will not stop at Nagorno-Karabakh.

Frankly, the fact that Aliyev was allowed—in the aftermath of patent ethnic cleansing—to hijack and host COP29 to greenwash his genocide of the #Artsakh Armenians is bad enough. Now, the fascist upstart behaves as if he has a free hand to attack European parliamentarians for exercising parliamentary rights.

I mean really, what was the UN thinking in letting Baku host a UN conference on anything? It's like Pol Pot being allowed to host a UN conference on reforestation. The whole thing is just ridiculous sycophancy.

Keep feeding the crocodile, and soon it will be big enough to leave the swamp. The truth is Aliyev will not stop, until he is stopped.

Arman Tatoyan Garo Ghazarian

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Evanston, Illinois, United States