Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988; a 1994 cease-fire has not truly resolved this long-standing conflict. Active in the field of international relations and human rights, Arzu Abdullayeva has been co-chair of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (HCA) since 2000; from 1992 to 2000, she served the organization as chair of the national committee in Azerbaijan. The HCA is an international network of non-governmental organizations and individuals working for peace, diversity, and human rights in Europe and North America. Deputy chair of Azerbaijan’s Social Democratic Party, she is also a winner of the Olaf Palme Peace Prize and a recipient of the joint United States-European Union Marshall Prize for Democracy Building. (Last updated 02.2004)

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region intensified following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Within this context, Natalya Martirosyan seized an historic opportunity, successfully running for a position on the Yerevan City Council in Armenia’s first post-Soviet elections. Two years later, in 1992, she was made co-chair of the Armenian National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, a network of individuals and organizations that promotes democratic values and regional stability in Europe and North America. Ms. Martirosyan has worked with governments, intergovernmental institutions, and non-governmental organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to broker the 1994 cease-fire that suspended the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Last updated 02.2004)

Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia are still in conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Though a cease-fire has prevented the resumption of full-scale war, there has been no real peace. Mominat Omarova is deputy chair of the State Committee on Women’s Issues in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she examines new ways for women to participate in the peace process in the Caucasus. Since 2000, she has represented Azerbaijan at sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; this year’s session will include important discussions on the role of women in conflict prevention and peace building. Dr. Omarova is an Azeri expert at the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men. She has organized and directed regional workshops on leadership in the twenty-first century, conflict prevention, and peace building at universities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. (Last updated 02.2004)

The scourge of human trafficking plagues the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States. Gulnara Shahinian, an internationally recognized expert on the problem, is chair of the United Nations Working Group on Trafficking and vice chair of the Council of Europe’s Commission on Trafficking. She has testified before the OSCE about the roots of trafficking, its connection to organized crime, and recent attempts to address the post-conflict crisis. She authored the recently published Trafficking in Women and Children, which contains articles on the subject, national and international legislation, and information about governmental and non-governmental structures that address trafficking. Ms. Shahinian is also a founder of Democracy Today, an NGO that facilitates a more stable and egalitarian Armenian society by examining the role of women and building a base for the implementation of women’s educational programs. She works closely with women in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia in peacemaking and conflict resolution. Ms. Shahinian has served as both a member of the executive committee and head of the Department of Foreign Affairs for the Yerevan City Council. (Last updated 02.2004)

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