Socio-Economic Impact of the Nagorno- Karabakh Conflict

3227 Words7 Pages

V. SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Azerbaijan – incurred damages and unseized opportunities

After the restoration of its independence in 1991, the Republic of Azerbaijan experienced a drastic decline in its economic output. The GDP decreased annually 13-20% and in 1994, according to the related data from the International Monetary Fund, GDP with the official exchange rate reached 2.258 billion USD that indicated the fact that the national economy was significantly weakened. The war with Armenia along with the deterioration of trade relations with other former Soviet republics was evidently among the major factors of such economic decline. Hereby, some statistics on the material losses and socio-economic damages caused to Azerbaijan and its occupied territories as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan war is provided as follows:
The Azerbaijani state agencies, NGOs and local authorities have kept a very strict quantitative record of the material losses. The overall area of the occupied territories constitutes one fifth of the territories of Azerbaijan or 13. 210 square km - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts. The occupied regions of Azerbaijan have been almost totally destroyed and looted. Great economic damage has been inflicted also to 4 regions of Azerbaijan bordering with Armenia, 4 regions adjacent to the line of contact, and the territories of the administrative regions of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. From the beginning of the war, more than 877 settlements have been burned and destroyed: more than 150 thousand houses and apartments (across 9.1 million square miles) have been destroyed and robbed and around 1 million people were forced to leave their homes, becoming refugees and IDP...

... middle of paper ...

...ble figures exist, the overall population is roughly estimated...”

Some parts of the report demonstrate the lack of reliable and precise figures estimating economic and social disaster either because of the limited access to the occupied area or reluctance of the international assessment mission to reveal objective information. The painful side of the case, which is sometimes neglected, is associated with mere citizens which have been primary victims of grave consequences of the conflict and their continuously deteriorating situation. If endless negotiations cause fatigue among politicians, they continue to sting the injuries of mere citizens by putting out any gleam of hope. This tendency seriously damages the confidence of all groups of population prompting them to seek alternative ways of settlement which are declared as inappropriate by international community.

Open Document