On September 28, 2026, an international conference titled "Right of Return and Decolonization: Restoring Belated Historical Justice" was held at the UN Headquarters in New York, organized by the Baku Initiative Group on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Operativ Media reports that this is the first such event at the UN where the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis by Armenia has been discussed.

The event was attended by more than 50 representatives from 16 countries, including prominent experts in the protection of refugee and minority rights, specialists in the right of return, UN experts, and representatives of diaspora organizations and affected communities that have experienced violence, discrimination, and persecution based on ethnicity.

Discussions at the conference focused on ensuring the return of Azerbaijanis ethnically cleansed from present-day Armenia to their homelands, taking the necessary legal steps to restore historical justice, and keeping this issue on the agenda of international organizations.

Key areas of focus included carrying out the return process safely and with dignity under the supervision of international organizations, implementing guarantee mechanisms, securing a legally binding international agreement, and conducting international monitoring.

During the conference, a short documentary was screened, depicting the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis and acts of vandalism committed against cultural and religious monuments.

During the conference, speeches were delivered by Ambassador June Soomer, former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD); Prabjot Singh Wirring, Chief Legal Counsel of the International Sikh Federation; Carlyle Corbin, an international expert on governance; and representatives of colonized territories. In their speeches, they recognized the right of return of Azerbaijanis and stated that international organizations must pay attention to this issue.

Participants held a protest against the deliberate destruction and Armenization of historical, cultural, and religious monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis in present-day Armenia.

At the end of the event, an appeal was adopted and addressed to the UN leadership regarding the appointment of a special rapporteur.

The cultural, religious, and historical heritage belonging to the Azerbaijani people in present-day Armenia, including toponyms, mosques, cemeteries, shrines, and other monuments, has been systematically destroyed, desecrated, and appropriated. Furthermore, the fundamental right of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from their historical territories—the right to return to their historical lands safely and with dignity—remains unfulfilled. This situation contradicts existing norms of international law. International legal instruments, such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as well as precedents established in international legal practice like Annex 7 of the Dayton Agreement, already provide the normative and practical basis to ensure the realization of the right of return.