(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27. Azerbaijani
Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva issued a statement on September 27 –
Remembrance Day, reports via Ombudsman's office.
'Two years ago, that is, on 27 September 2020 the Armenian armed
forces started large-scale military operations by intensively
attacking the positions of the Azerbaijani army and densely
populated civilian settlements like Gapanli village of Tartar,
Chiragli, and Orta Garavand villages of Aghdam, Alkhanli and
Shukurbeyli villages of Fuzuli and Jojug Marjanli village of
Jabrayil districts in order to occupy new territories with the use
of large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery of various
calibers, which resulted in human casualties. Thus, to prevent
military aggression of Armenia and liberate Azerbaijani occupied
territories, Azerbaijan used its right to self-defense by carrying
out counter-attack operations in line with the norms of
international law, including Article 51 of the United Nations
Charter' she said.
'During the 44-day Patriotic War, the Armenian armed forces
intensively fired at heavily populated Naftalan, Aghdam, Aghjabedi,
Beylagan, Dashkasan, Fuzuli, Goranboy, and Tartar districts and
city centers from the prohibited weapons, even Ganja and
Mingachevir cities, Barda, Gabala, Siyazan, and Khizi and other
districts, which were located far away from the combat zone were
subjected to long-range operational-tactical and ballistic missile
attacks. The next target of Armenia was Baku, the capital city of
Azerbaijan, however, it failed to do so,' Aliyeva stated.
'We have to note that war crimes committed by Armenian armed
forces with the use of banned 'Scud', 'Smerch' and 'Isgender-M'
ballistic rockets, as well as white phosphorous and cluster
munitions without hesitation caused to death of nearly 100
civilians, of which 12 were children, and over 450 civilians were
badly injured. Furthermore, over 12,000 civilian objects, including
more than 3410 houses, 120 multi-floored apartment buildings, and
numerous schools, hospitals and kindergartens in Azerbaijan were
destroyed or fell into disrepair as a result of artillery attacks,'
she informed.
'During the past period, Armenia intentionally committed ecocide
against Azerbaijan by using prohibited chemical weapons,
intentionally causing massive fires, subjecting the environment,
including drinking water sources to physical and chemical pollution
and seriously damaging nature, flora, and fauna,' Aliyeva said.
'It should be noted that today it's necessary to solve the
clashes between states as one of the global problems and to build
peace for the elimination of serious obstacles to the development
of mankind in terms of fulfillment of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. Therefore, ensuring just and sustainable peace,
serving directly to the protection of fundamental human rights by
promoting a peaceful and inclusive society for the sake of
sustainable development, and putting an end to racial, ethnic, and
religious discrimination among the peoples, unreasonable conflicts,
and double standards are of utmost importance,' she stressed.
'In this regard, after the signing of the tripartite statement
of 10 November 2020 declaring the cease of hostilities between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, new opportunities were created for the
restoration of peace, which serves the normalization and
development of interstate relations in the South Caucasus in line
with the new realities, overcoming long-term conflict, and for
restoration of economic and transport communications in the
region,' ombudsman added.
'Despite all this, Armenia, which regularly creates impediments
to the peace by carrying out racial, ethnic, and religion-based
hatred policy for long years, along with the assertion of unlawful
territorial claims to Azerbaijan, has been still continuing to
commit military provocations aimed at severe violation of human
rights. This is once more confirmed by the facts of multiple
attacks on the positions of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces
during the postwar period, and a large-scale military provocation,
that started being committed during the night of 12 September 2022
in the directions of Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin of the
Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, causing the violation of the
rights of servicemen and civilians to life, live in safety and
right to health. In addition, it is an indication that namely,
Armenia does not support peace as it repeatedly violates the
ceasefire regime, and lays Armenia-produced multiple mines in
various directions using mountainous terrain and valley gaps of the
territory of Azerbaijan in the darkness, especially in the places
where large-scale restoration and construction works are being
carried out, as well as on the supply routes, and attacks made on
the diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan abroad by the people of
Armenian origin,' Aliyeva emphasized.
'Incidentally, the laying of mines and other explosive ordnances
in our territories by Armenia during the occupation period and the
failure of them to provide us with accurate minefield maps are
still remaining as a problem. In general, during 1991-2022 years,
3190 citizens of Azerbaijan, including 355 children, and 38 women
became victims of mine explosions. From November 2020 to September
2022, 242 persons were hit by mines, of which 40 persons died and
other 202 got serious bodily injuries,' she informed.
'Military provocations purposefully committed by Armenia, in
violation of the norms of international humanitarian law (IHL),
including the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the protection of war
victims and their Additional Protocols, intended to seriously
damage sustainable peace and security in the region, along with
prevention of extensive reconstruction works carried out in the
liberated areas and the return of former internally displaced
persons to their own lands,' Aliyeva said.
Based on what has been said above, we think that just and
sustainable peace takes an important role in the effective
enforcement of obligations arising from the universally recognized
norms and principles of international law, including IHL, as well
as the UN SDGs. However, considering that Armenia has not yet given
up its ethnic and religious-based hatred and aggression policies
against Azerbaijan and constantly hinders the peace process and
causes threat and danger to the provision of sustainable peace in
the South Caucasus region, it is necessary to take the following
measures immediately:
- International organizations, states, foreign ombudspersons,
and other national human rights institutions must join efforts to
ensure fulfillment of the norms and principles of international
law, including IHL by Armenia, which severely violates the rights
of Azerbaijanis due to their racial, ethnic, religious and cultural
affiliation, and to ensure the restoration of sustaining peace;
- Armenia should respect the universally recognized territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and completely stop its provocative actions
aimed at severe violations of fundamental human rights, such as the
right to life, right to live in safety, and right to health by
threatening the lives and health of the civilian population;
- The delimitation and demarcation processes between Azerbaijan
and Armenia with a view to clarifying the boundary line between
states should be carried out objectively and a peace deal, which is
significant in terms of political and economic development of the
region, should be ensured;
- Armenia should provide Azerbaijan with objective information
about the fate of persons who went missing during the First and
Second Karabakh Wars and share accurate minefield maps of the
liberated territories;
- Illegal armed forces belonging to Armenia should be
immediately withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan, and all
items of the Tripartite Statement of 10 November 2020 should be
fulfilled by creating an opportunity for the opening of transport
communications that is important for the development of the region,
as well as for building new transport communication lines that will
connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with the western
districts of Azerbaijan, and for returning and peaceful living of
internally displaced persons and refugees in their ancestral
lands;
- Unpleasant actions causing the formation of intolerance
towards Azerbaijanis in Armenia and beyond its borders and
hindering a sustainable peace between the parties, as well as using
hateful and spiteful speeches on social media that promote enmity
should be strongly condemned. Necessary legal measures should be
taken in connection with the attacks made on the diplomatic
missions of Azerbaijan in line with the 1961 UN Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations, and the 1973 Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons,
including Diplomatic Agents;
'We do hope that with the joint support of well-known
international organizations and peaceful states, Armenia will
coherently fulfill its obligations arising from international human
rights treaties, including IHL norms, as well as all items of joint
statements concluded on 10 November 2020 and 11 January 2021 by the
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the
Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation and
consequently, stability, security, and economic development in the
South Caucasus region will be achieved,' Aliyeva stated.
The statement is addressed to the UN Secretary-General, UN
Security Council, UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights,
UN Office of High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Human Rights
Council, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, European Union,
Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, International and European Ombudsman Institutions, Asian
Ombudsman Association,
Besides, it was sent to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
and the Ombudsman Association of its member states, the Independent
Permanent Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children,
the International Peace Bureau, foreign ombudsmen and national
human rights institutions, embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan
and the foreign embassies in Azerbaijan, as well as to the
Azerbaijani Diasporas.
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