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“Ruben Vardanyan was captured when the Azerbaijani army was sent to Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In Nagorno-Karabakh, he tried to protect the local Armenian population from the coming violence. After a complete blockade lasting ten months, which deprived the local population of food, fuel and medical supplies, Azerbaijan is forcing more than 100,000 Armenians to leave their homes, leave their property and flee. Many called it genocide.

Ruben is an experienced and dedicated business executive. He has dedicated himself to a number of charitable causes, including schools, colleges, and the Aurora Prize, which honors individuals for their outstanding humanitarian work around the world (of which I am a Board Member).

Now the international community has got an opportunity to respond to the illegal arrest of Vardanyan, as well as other Armenian prisoners illegally detained in Baku. Just a year after the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan, in November this year, this country is preparing to host the UN Climate Change Summit COP29 in its capital Baku. These are the largest global climate talks this year.

MEPs have openly called for a boycott. A growing number of governments around the world are expressing dissatisfaction with Azerbaijan’s behavior. I sincerely hope that the newly appointed UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will also join this growing “chorus” given his commitment to human rights. The UN should demand that Azerbaijan release all Armenian prisoners before the COP29 summit, as well as review the procedure for selecting host countries in the future.”

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Paul Polman, former Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact