As part of a program of the International Development Agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, BSCSIF was invited to participate in Baku, to take part in a research project in collaboration with the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM). Therefore, on behalf of BSCSIF, Romanian researcher Valentina Albu conducted a three-month research project in 2012, on the subject of the Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh from an International Law and Human Rights regard.
The researcher interviewed a number of 20 experts from Baku such as analysts, scholars, representatives of INGOs and NGOs and governmental officials from the fields of international relations, human rights and international law, as well as IDPs and non-IDPs, which increased the chances of achieving a multiple-advocacy situation and an understanding of the Azerbaijani perception of the concepts of human rights and the regulation of applying the instruments of law.
The output of this program resulted in a Research Paper that focused on the perception of Azerbaijani experts in regard with the efficiency of International Law and Human Rights mechanisms and assess their implementation in the Karabakh conflict.
Strengthening the institutional capacity in order to enhance conflict coping capacities is a necessary and ongoing process in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The idea is that by dissecting the conflict experiences, we can draw lessons from experience. We can use this case for training and also for seeking patterns across crises, across sectors and maybe also across nations, that is useful for explaining outcomes. Moreover, the research aims at evaluating performance of international organizations and the implementation of peace-building and peace-making procedures, while as without naivety, knowing the real context and the political expediency of the course of events in this specific protracted conflict. The results of the BSCSIF expert’s findings were presented at SAM.
During her stay, Ms. Valentina Albu attended several conferences and round tables representing BSCSIF, such as NISA “Forum on Cybersecurity in Azerbaijan”, “Forum of the outcome of the US Presidential Elections and its implications for the Caucasus”, SAM “Energy Efficiency: Economic & Institutional Aspects and Perspectives”, “The middle class in Azerbaijan: social, economic and political dynamics and perspectives”, “The role of Azerbaijani- US partnership in achieving regional peace and security” Conferences, “Emergent Systemic Threats – A Critical Infrastructure Protection Perspective” round table organized by NATO in Azerbaijan, as well as many others.
