Our partners in the South Caucasus promote women’s rights and peace in the face of unresolved territorial conflicts, conservative ideas and an ever-shrinking space for civil society. Together, we support women and build peace in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgian and Abkhaz contexts.
Our work in the South Caucasus is coordinated from our regional office in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Armenia is bogged down in a territorial conflict, with few opportunities for women to take part in peace talks. We build trust across conflict lines, encourage women’s political engagement and support survivors of abuse.
We have supported women’s rights in the Azerbaijan since 2004. There is little space for activism in the country’s harshly repressive climate. Nevertheless, brave individuals and groups work to address gender-based violence, child marriage and femicide.
Georgian activists have relative freedom, but conservative ideas still hold back women. Tension also remains over two breakaway regions. We promote peacebuilding, support IDPs and raise awareness of women’s rights.
“Despite this repressive climate in which NGOs are forced to close down, we have managed to provide continued support to women human rights defenders.”
– Elisabet Brandberg, regional manager for the South Caucasus
International Women’s Day demonstration in Yerevan, Armenia. Photo: Petra Hultman
Nagorny-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia – neutral forms designating conflict regions as opposed to politicized alternatives; territories that de-facto exist independently from Azerbaijan or Georgia for almost 30 years now. Note: South Ossetia and Abkhazia were respectively an autonomous region and an autonomous republic on the territory of the Georgian SSR that today have a disputed international legal status. They have been recognized as independent republics by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Nauru. Other states consider them integral part of Georgia, unrecognized or self-proclaimed states. They are often referred to as disputed territories in analytical reviews and the media. Nagorny-Karabakh, an ex-autonomous region on the territory of the Azerbaijani SSR with a majority ethnic Armenian population, declared independence in 1991 but is not recognized by any state. It is considered an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, an unrecognized or self-proclaimed state. It is often referred to as a disputed territory.