European Union has issued a statement on Nagorno-Karabakh. Find the full text below.
The European Union has announced the launch of the second phase of the civil society programme European Partnership for the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (EPNK).
This programme aims to support peace-building efforts concerning the conflict over NagornoKarabakh by facilitating dialogue between civil society, media and policy-makers.
Established under the Instrument for Stability – the EU’s special financial instrument created to support the peaceful settlement of conflicts, de-escalation of tensions and post-conflict rehabilitation worldwide – EPNK is a consortium of five European NGOs, which seeks to work with local partners in the South Caucasus on a wide range of peace-building projects and to help improve conditions for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process.
The programme promotes a dynamic dialogue between a broad range of policymakers, media and civil society from all sides of the conflict. It also supports a wider participation of conflict-affected people in the peace process, including women, youth, internally displaced persons and refugees.
Programme activities are arranged around three main themes: media, public policy and conflictaffected groups. They aim to:
• Broaden the base of participation in peace-building initiatives, with special attention given to marginalised groups;
• Build confidence between all sides of the conflict through increased people-to-people contact;
• Promote fresh analysis and new ideas that challenge existing discourses on the conflict with peace-oriented visions of the future, and
• Actively engage civil society in dialogue with policy makers at national and international levels on the transformation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
