Press Release: Artsakh Union appoints British human rights advocate Sam Mason as Goodwill Ambassador

YEREVAN, ARMENIA – The Artsakh Union has announced the appointment of Sam Mason, a prominent British human rights advocate and Chief Executive of HART, as its newest Goodwill Ambassador.

Mason will support international advocacy for the rights of the displaced people of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), including efforts to preserve their cultural heritage and advance their safe return.

“Theirs is a hidden tragedy,” says Mason. “Just a few years ago, an entire population – some 150,000 people – was forced from its homeland. Now displaced and largely forgotten, what happens next to their unique dialect, rituals, and mountain traditions? We must not allow the spirit of Artsakh to fade.”

• An important test for the UK Government

Mason, who has led numerous humanitarian fact-finding missions to the South Caucasus, warns that the dispersal of this community poses a serious threat to its long-term cultural survival. Scattered across Armenia and beyond, families face immense challenges in maintaining the social ties and shared history essential to keeping their distinct heritage alive.

“The story of Artsakh presents an important test for Britain,” Mason notes. “It challenges our willingness to stand with vulnerable communities when they face overwhelming pressure from more powerful states. In a rapidly changing world, the UK Government must decide whether it can forge a foreign policy in which commercial interests do not come at the expense of human rights.”

• The politics are complex but there is always hope

Artak Beglaryan, Founding President of the Artsakh Union and former Human Rights Ombudsman for Nagorno Karabakh, says the displaced population “faces a severe humanitarian crisis that remains absent from global media coverage and overlooked by international institutions […] We are striving to secure justice and uphold our people’s right to return to our ancestral homeland.”

Mason adds, “International law is clear: people should not be severed from the land that defines their historical identity. The people of Artsakh have a legal right to return. It might seem impossible – the politics are complex and local rivalries run deep. But there is always hope, in time, for internationally supervised dialogue to negotiate a safe return.”

Notes to editors:

• Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) is a disputed region internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Following the 44-Day War in 2020 and a ten-month blockade in 2022–23, the territory’s ethnic Armenian population was forced to flee.
• The Artsakh Union (The Union for Protection of the Interests and Rights of the Artsakh People) is an Armenian-based advocacy organisation. It seeks to sustain community cohesion, document cultural assets, and uphold the fundamental Right of Return under international law.
• HART is a UK-based humanitarian aid organisation, founded by Baroness Cox in 2004. It partners with communities in forgotten conflicts and champions local advocacy through the HART Prize for Human Rights.

Contact: anais.arroyo@hart-uk.org