In the early 1990s, full-scale fighting erupted between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan. At the war’s end in 1994 as many as 230,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan and 800,000 Azeris from Armenia and Karabakh are thought to have been displaced as a result of the conflict.

The International Rescue Committee has provided relief and development assistance to displaced and war-affected communities in Azerbaijan since 1994. After 1998, we shifted our emphasis to projects intended to help communities, municipalities and local aid groups work together towards sustainable long-term solutions to their local problems.

We have promoted economic development through launching eight marketing centres to assist entrepreneurs.  By increasing food security and incomes through improved agricultural techniques we have also assisted displaced people to improve their living conditions and livelihood opportunities.