UNDP, UNHCR, and ICRC ‘told to leave’ Azerbaijan

by Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning and Aytan Farhadova

(Updated: about 7 hours ago)• 5 min read

▲ICRC vehicles in Nagorno-Karabakh. Official image.

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According to pro-government media outlet Caliber, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been told ‘they must leave’ Azerbaijan.

Previously, the Baku offices of these organisations were ‘notified about the need to review the format of cooperation’, Caliber reported on Sunday, citing the information available to their editorial team.

According to Caliber, the main reason for the decision was that Azerbaijan is now able to ‘address emerging challenges independently’, including those specifically related to Nagorno-Karabakh, noting that in 2025, more than ₼4 billion ($2.4 billion) have already been allocated for the reconstruction of the region.

In addition, Caliber cited an example from the EU as proof Azerbaijan was not ‘reinventing the wheel’ by refusing international support, noting that several refugee support centres established in Poland by the UNHCR in 2022 to assist Ukrainian refugees in transit zones were closed the following year after refugee needs changed and there was a shift towards more sustainability in aid, including increased collaboration with local organisations and municipalities.

Beyond citing Azerbaijan’s growth, Caliber also criticised the UNDP for alleged ‘corruption, systemic management failures, and a lack of transparency’, citing an audit conducted by the UNDP’s Office of Internal Audit and Investigations.

In particular, the article claimed that in 2023, the UNDP allocated $754,570 to 23 local civil society organisations which were not properly registered with the state, calling it a ‘flagrant disregard for legal and ethical standards’.

Both the UNDP and UNHCR have been working in Azerbaijan since 1992.

Continued attacks on the ICRC

In addition to criticising the two UN agencies, Caliber, focusing on the ICRC specifically, highlighted that Azerbaijan had ‘serious suspicions of hostile, particularly espionage activities by the ICRC against the Azerbaijani Army’ during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

‘We have repeatedly witnessed that the ICRC operates under double standards, with anti-Turkish chauvinism, indulgence towards Armenian provocations, and complete indifference to the problems of Azerbaijanis, among other issues’, Caliber wrote.

In contrast, an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published August 2024 revealed the ways in which Azerbaijan reportedly impeded the humanitarian work of the ICRC and how the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society supported Azerbaijani government narratives.

The OCCRP investigation — which lasted more than a year and was based on data about ICRC convoys ‘provided by inside sources’, as well as interviews and on-the-ground reporting — claimed that the Azerbaijan Red Crescent was ‘deeply enmeshed with the authoritarian regime of President Ilham Aliyev’.

In particular, the investigation reported that during the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the Azerbaijan Red Crescent organised a protest near the Aghdam road to the region, demanding access for itself.

The ICRC played a crucial role in evacuating the region’s population in need of advanced medical treatment during the blockade, which began in December 2022. The region’s population, which numbered over 100,000, saw shortages not only of food and fuel, but also medical supplies, which challenged the work of the medics.

Despite the International Court of Justice’s decision obliging Azerbaijan to ensure ‘unimpeded movement’ along the enclave’s only road to Armenia in both directions, the OCCRP claims that Azerbaijan ‘severely limited’ even the ICRC’s ability to operate there.

The ICRC was one of two international organisations officially represented in Nagorno-Karabakh before the 2020 war — the second, Halo Trust, closed in 2023.

Currently, the ICRC is the only organisation who has met with Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, focusing on recording the conditions of their detentions and their health.

Azerbaijan has officially acknowledged 23 Armenian prisoners, including former Nagorno-Karabakh officials, most notably former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

Azerbaijan’s civil society continues to shrink

Repression against civil society organisations in Azerbaijan first began in 2014, after the government changed legislation to only allow international organisations to provide grants if it had a branch or representative office registered in Azerbaijan and entered into an agreement with the Justice Ministry. In addition, such organisations had to apply for permission to host any events, from training sessions to conferences.

Following this, in December 2014, the former chair of the Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev, wrote an article claiming that local and international civil society organisations in Azerbaijan were acting as a fifth column.

According to prominent human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, ‘first, authoritarian governments constantly need an image of an enemy to distract attention from the ineffective social and economic policies they pursue, corruption, monopolies, the arbitrariness of officials, courts and the police. This image can be the Council of Europe, the EU, USAID, UN agencies, or France and Iran’.

Speaking to OC Media, Aliyev noted all of these organisations have worked in Azerbaijan for many years, and have been partnered with state agencies more than other civil society groups.

‘A significant part of the grants they allocate are aimed at financing joint projects with the state. The effectiveness of most of them and their benefit to the country has always been a subject of debate. In terms of transparency, it is no different from projects financed from the state budget,’ Aliyev said.