UK Firm Chapman Taylor accused of harmful human rights impact in $2.4 million Shushi Redesign project, 2 August 2024

A U.S. law firm, Kerkonian Dajani, has filed a complaint with the National Contact Point in the United Kingdom accusing the global architectural firm Chapman Taylor of violating the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

The complaint, submitted on behalf of the Avan Shushi Partnership, alleges that Chapman Taylor's redesign of the town of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh has “not only failed to mitigate but also contributed to the adverse human rights impacts on the indigenous Armenian population,” of the town. Shushi holds a significant importance for both nations...

Almost immediately after Azerbaijan recaptured parts of territories of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 2020 war, Baku announced ambitious reconstruction plans for these territories. 

At a meeting with UK Minister for Exports Graham Stuart in May of 2021, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev invited British companies to invest in territories recaptured by Azerbaijan...

Chapman Taylor, established in the UK, secured a $2.4 million contract from Azerbaijan to develop a new master plan for the city of Shushi.

The Director of Chapman Taylor Marcelina Zielinska took part in Azerbaijan National Urban Forum in October of  2022. “We are very impressed by the ambitious plans of the Azerbaijani government to revive these lands," she said in a statement during the event. According to her, the company would also work in Jabrayil...

The UK architectural firm also worked with an Azerbaijany company Pasha Holding. Investigative journalists revealed Ilham Aliyev’s family, namely his daughters Leyla and Arzu, had stakes in some of the construction projects of the local firm.

The Krekorian Dajani complaint alleges that Chapman Taylor played an active role in deciding the fate of various structures within Shushi, including marking buildings and homes for demolition.

The firm alleges that Chapman Taylor's violations occurred during Azerbaijan's systematic erasure of Armenian people, culture, and heritage in Shushi, and that the firm failed to use its influence to mitigate these adverse human rights impacts, as required by the OECD Guidelines...

Karnig Kerkonian, Partner at Kerkonian Dajani, said Azerbaijan’s impunity “is patently unmitigated” as Azerbaijan has been openly engaged in a state campaign to remove the indigenous Armenian people, their heritage and history from Nagorno-Karabakh.