Statement by the Adibekyan Family Foundation for Advancement

STATEMENT BY THE ADIBEKYAN FAMILY FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT

On the Occasion of the Armenia–European Union Summit, Yerevan, 4–5 May 2026

The Adibekyan Family Foundation for Advancement (AFFA), a Luxembourg-based charitable foundation dedicated to the development of Armenian communities and the advancement of education, addresses this statement to the leaders gathered in Yerevan for the historic first Armenia–European Union Summit and the 8th Summit of the European Political Community, and to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the occasion of his visit to Armenia.

We welcome this moment as a testament to Armenia’s deepening partnership with the democratic world. We believe such a partnership must be founded on what cannot be negotiated away: the rule of law, human dignity, and the protection of fundamental rights.

It is in this spirit that we call upon all leaders present in Yerevan to address an issue that cannot be deferred while the world’s attention turns to Armenia: the continued unlawful detention of 19 Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, among them Ruben Vardanyan – a globally recognized philanthropist, co-founder of the UWC Dilijan International School, and a man who spent decades building the future of Armenia.

We at AFFA know Ruben Vardanyan personally. We built together in Armenia. We share a belief in this country’s future. The man held in Baku today is not a criminal. He is a builder.

The situation is grave and deteriorating. On April 21, 2026, Ruben Vardanyan – writing from detention – appealed to the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, documenting the conditions of captivity: no family visits, no access to independent humanitarian monitoring, no ICRC presence. Verdicts have been issued without being provided to the detainees themselves. Defense lawyers have been effectively obstructed from filing appeals to international bodies. These are not procedural irregularities. They are systemic violations of the most fundamental standards of international human rights law.

The European Parliament has repeatedly demanded the immediate release of Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan. Most recently, on April 30, 2026 – just days before this Summit – it reaffirmed that demand with an overwhelming majority of 476 votes, explicitly condemning the ongoing detention. This follows its resolution of March 2025, which equally called for unconditional liberation. The leaders now arriving in Yerevan do not need a new mandate. They have one, freshly given by 476 elected representatives of the European people. What is needed now is action.

Baroness Cox of Queensbury, in her letter of May 1, 2026, has rightly noted that there can be no just and lasting peace while human beings remain in captivity. We fully share that conviction.

We therefore call upon the leaders assembled in Yerevan:

1. To demand the immediate and unconditional release of all 19 Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, in accordance with the resolutions of the European Parliament and the norms of international humanitarian law.

2. To make the release of Armenian prisoners a substantive agenda item – not a footnote – of the Armenia–EU Summit and of all ongoing diplomatic engagement with Azerbaijan. The credibility of any peace process depends on it.

3. To actively support the organization of a formal delegation to Baku – composed of ombudspersons, family members of detainees, and representatives of international institutions – with guaranteed safety and freedom of access, so that the humanitarian situation of the prisoners may be independently assessed and urgently addressed.

The first Armenia–European Union Summit is a historic milestone. We ask that it be remembered not only as a diplomatic achievement, but as the moment when the international community chose to stand by those who dedicated their lives to building Armenia — and who remain imprisoned in Baku.

Adibekyan Family Foundation for Advancement

Luxembourg, May 3, 2026