As Azerbaijan has seized control of the territory of NKR, it is has destroyed cultural heritage, eliminated civil society, and terrorized the local population. It is likely that this will continue, putting higher education institutions, students — primarily men of military age or those engaged in activism — and scholars and human rights advocates under increasing threat.

Our prior research on the impact of war on Syrian higher education and our experience with the Taliban in Afghanistan indicates that forms of higher education documentation — transcripts, grade reports, research, creative works — are at tremendous risk, as are the careers and futures those materials represent.  With Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian state policy in mind, we anticipate that Armenian language documents will be destroyed wholescale.

During conflict/post-conflict, access to and withholding of documents and educational materials is used as a disciplinary tool against targeted populations. Once Azerbaijan’s take over is complete, NKR Armenians will neither have access to higher education in their homeland nor access to their records, credentials, or research.

Our research also indicates that when refugees and displaced peoples do not have ready access to educational materials, they face barriers when seeking to begin or continue higher education or seek employment. Lack of documentation, or even incomplete documentation, is often used by officials in host countries to discriminate against refugees. This will be the case for NKR Armenians in Armenia and as they seek refuge further afield.

We urge that the following steps be undertaken immediately.

1. Secure as quickly as possible the educational electronic and analog records of all Armenians of NKR. This means securing records of degrees award and in progress; grade reports; professional certifications and

2. Introduce Backpack to refugee-supporting/education groups in Armenia — student organizations primarily — who can extend the tool into NKR or include it in welcoming protocols for refugees.

3. International Higher Education must identify ways to support refugee NKR Armenian students, host displaced Armenian scholars and make available digital resources for the storage or records, research and libraries.

4. IHE must collaborate to provide opportunities to preserve cultural heritage and document that which cannot be saved before it is destroyed.