Armenian Lawmaker Calls for OSCE Democracy Monitoring

Lilit Galstyan, an Armenian National Assembly member, addressed the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in The Hague on July 5, calling for international monitoring of democratic conditions in Armenia. Galstyan raised two main concerns: Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, and democratic backsliding within Armenia itself, including concentration of power and political prosecutions. She specifically highlighted the detention of at least 19 Armenian prisoners in Baku, including former Artsakh leaders, and noted that even the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access. Galstyan called on the OSCE to monitor Armenia's democratic developments, demand the release of detainees, protect Armenian cultural heritage, and reaffirm the right of return for Artsakh's indigenous population.