(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 26. The
full text of the“Concept of Return” - the concept of ensuring the
peaceful, safe, and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from
the territory of modern-day Armenia has been published, trend reports.
1. Introduction
The organization, which was established as the 'the
Society of Azerbaijani Refugees' in 1989 and was renamed to 'the
Western Azerbaijan Community' in 2022 (hereinafter referred to as
“Community”), deals with the protection of the rights of
Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of nowadays Armenia.
This Concept defines the general framework for the
objectives, principles, preparatory and implementation measures of
the activity to be carried out by the Community for the return of
Azerbaijanis forcibly deported from the territory of nowadays
Armenia. The Concept is based on international law, relevant
domestic law, and historical facts, and serves to ensure justice
and peace.
2. Description of the problem
The people of Azerbaijan have suffered greatly from
armed conflicts, occupation, ethnic cleansing, forced relocation
and genocide during the last two centuries. The complete expulsion
of Azerbaijanis from the current territory of Armenia, where they
once constituted an absolute majority, was completed in 1991. As a
result of the ethnic cleansing, that area is now inhabited by
explosively ethnic Armenians.
The ethnic cleansing committed against Azerbaijanis in
most cases was carried out with systematic efforts of state
authorities by committing violence, genocidal acts, massacres and
other crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights.
This process was particularly violent and cruel in 1905-1906,
1918-1921, 1948-1953 and 1987-1991. The results of these acts,
especially the deeds of the entities called 'the Republic of
Armenia' and 'the Republic of Mountainous Armenia' in 1918-21, the
Soviet Union, in particular, its notorious leader Joseph Stalin,
who transferred Zangezur and other Azerbaijani-majority areas to
Armenia in 1921 and signed a racist order on the deportation of a
hundred thousand ethnic Azerbaijanis from Armenia, as well as the
actions committed by the Armenian SSR in 1987-1991 still remain
unredressed.
Azerbaijani historical and cultural heritage,
including mosques and graveyards in nowadays Armenia, were
destroyed on a large scale, toponyms were changed, and systematic
racial discrimination was carried out against Azerbaijanis. The
persons involved in ethnic cleansing and other crimes against
ethnic Azerbaijanis and their deeds are glorified at the state
level in Armenia.
This unprecedented injustice created a sense of
impunity among the ruling circles of Armenia and encouraged them to
raise territorial claims, use force, conduct military occupation
against the internationally-recognized territories of the Republic
of Azerbaijan, further large-scale ethnic cleansing, and other
crimes against humanity.
The victorious self-defense operation conducted by the
Republic of Azerbaijan in 2020 against the military attack and
occupation of Armenia is a milestone event in restoring justice and
increasing the prospects of peace between the two countries. On the
other hand, the inability of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from
the territory of nowadays Armenia to return to their homeland, the
continuation of the policy of mono-ethnic statehood, ethnic
cleansing, and systematic racial discrimination in this country
represent an immense injustice, which represents a great obstacle
to the establishment of lasting peace.
3. Goals, objectives and approach
The Community does not accept the injustice committed
against Western Azerbaijanis during the last two centuries and
rejects its consequences. Based on the right to return enshrined in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Relating to
the Status of Refugees and other important international acts, the
Community declares the creation of conditions for the return of
Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of nowadays Armenia to
their homeland and ensuring their individual and collective rights
after the return as its primary goal. The main objectives and
principles of the activity to be implemented within the concept are
as follows:
- Obtaining a legally binding international agreement
with an appropriate verification and guarantee mechanism ensuring
the voluntary return of Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of
nowadays Armenia to their homeland in safety and dignity;
- Securing the return process with appropriate
security, humanitarian, and socio-economic assistance programs;
- Establishment of international monitoring,
accountability, security, intervention and other necessary
activities to prevent a renewed expelling, discrimination and harm
to the returned population;
- Ensuring sustainable rehabilitation and
re-integration of returnees through the implementation of
reconstruction and reconciliation measures under international
supervision.
As a legitimate representative of Western Azerbaijanis
for decades, the Community will play an active role in the return
process, will make efforts to conduct dialogue and cooperation with
the relevant states and international organizations as an
interested party and will strive to be recognized as the legitimate
interlocutor by them.
The special bond of Western Azerbaijanis with
Azerbaijan, which has taken care of them for a long time, should be
taken into account, and an opportunity should be created for them
to conduct unhindered contact with the Republic of Azerbaijan after
returning to their homeland.
The return process should restore the settlement
geography and configuration of Western Azerbaijanis that existed
before the expulsion. Attempts to disperse Azerbaijani returnees
under various pretexts and legal tricks during their return will be
rejected as a form of racism and a harmful approach, creating a
hindrance for reintegration. Deviation from this principle can only
take place based on the free will and consent of the persons
concerned.
The decision of an expellee to return shall be
voluntary and he/she must be fully informed of his/her rights and
opportunities to make this decision. It has to be taken into
account that a person with the right to return can make the
decision only after he/she is assured of returning to his/her
homeland in dignity and safety, of allocation of adequate
guarantees and sufficient resources for him/her during the return
process and to be able to build his/her life after the return, and
of ensuring the individual and collective rights in his/her
historical homeland.
During the return process, the interests of women,
children and vulnerable social groups will be considered the main
priority, and internationally accepted, progressive concepts and
standards in this field, including the 'Women, peace and security'
approach, will play a leading role.
The Community understands that there has been a deep
animosity between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples over the
last two centuries and that a significant number of people are
currently suffering from security problems as a result of Armenia's
unlawful acts under international law, and considers that the
responsibility for all the political, security, legal, social and
humanitarian problems that have arisen rests with Armenia. While
accepting the humanitarian urgency as an objective criterion in the
peaceful settlement of security problems, the Community considers
the duration, in which injustice and breaches of law remain
unaddressed, as the main criterion for focusing international
attention with a view to establishing sustainable peace.
Thus, the longer the crime and injustice remain
unaddressed, the stronger the sense of impunity becomes and the
graver the injustice becomes. This, in turn, encourages fait
accompli as well as inhumane, harmful and dangerous approaches like
offsetting an injustice by perpetrating a graver injustice. In this
regard, the Community believes that the issue of the restoration of
the rights of Western Azerbaijanis, who have been facing immense
injustice, must be among the first issues to be dealt with in the
context of the maintenance of regional security and the restoration
of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
4. The main topics of planning and
implementation
While recognizing the right to return as a supreme
principle of international law and human rights, the Community
understands that this process will not be easy. The Community
expects that the main obstacle to the realization of the right to
return will be the resistance of Armenia. In addition, the return
process involves the resolution of significant legal issues, a
security component as well as the securing great amount of
resources. The resolution of all these tasks requires the support
of the wider international community, along with that of Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
The community will play a central role in all stages
of the repatriation process and continue its activity once it is
finalized.
Conceptually, the Community's position on the main
issues of the return is as follows.
4.1. International legal framework and
guarantee
The first task is to bring the issue of the expulsion
of Azerbaijanis from the territory of nowadays Armenia to the
agenda of the international community as an unprecedented
injustice, to achieve acknowledgment of it as a threat to
international peace and security, to reach legally-binding
decisions and agreements with relevant verification and guarantee
mechanism that ensure the right of Azerbaijanis to return, enabling
the establishment of lasting peace and justice. To that end, the
Community will aspire to include a provision on the creation of
conditions for the return of Western Azerbaijanis expelled from
present-day Armenia to their homeland as Armenia's obligation in
the peace treaty to be concluded between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.
The Community will initiate contacts with the
government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the government of the
Republic of Armenia, permanent members of the UN Security Council,
the countries in the region, and other relevant states and
organizations in order to formulate the international legal
framework of return.
4.2. Identification and census of members of
the Community
All Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of
nowadays Armenia and their descendants have the right to return to
their homeland. With the help of population registry services of
the Republic of Azerbaijan and other countries where Western
Azerbaijanis reside and using the relevant international
methodology, the Community will carry out a census of its members.
Noting that one of the effective tools in such a census is
voluntary self-introducing of the persons concerned and with the
aim of encouraging them to take this step, a wide public
information campaign will be conducted to explain the forceful
expelling from the homeland as a serious unlawful act, and to
elucidate the essence of the safe and dignified return to the wider
public.
4.3. Preparing a return plan
The Community will endeavor to find an appropriate
international implementing partner in order to carry out the return
process in an organized and effective manner. Establishing a
partnership with the UN High Commission for Refugees to that end
will be considered a priority. The Community, together with the
international implementing partner, will develop a detailed return
plan based on applicable international standards, in liaison with
the government of Azerbaijan and the government of Armenia. The
return plan should describe the phases and directions of the
process, specifying the required steps and resources as well as
exact timelines.
4.4. Attitude to the legal framework of
Armenia
As Western Azerbaijanis were forcibly expelled from
the territory effectively controlled by the political and legal
entity called 'the Republic of Armenia', they were deprived of the
opportunity to participate in the formation of this state, the
formation of its constitutional framework as well as national and
legal character.
The Community is aware that the Republic of Armenia is
a member of the United Nations (UN), recognized by the majority of
other states, and considers the Republic of Armenia as a
political-legal reality. The fact that Armenia has joined the
relevant international legal documents, including the UN Charter,
places concrete obligations on this country in the field of
restoration and protection of the rights of Azerbaijanis expelled
from its territory, including creating conditions for their safe
and dignified return to their homeland. The Community sees the
possible individual and collective activity of Western Azerbaijanis
with and within the framework of the legal system of Armenia as a
practical matter and rejects the interpretation and acknowledgment
of such interaction as acquiescence to any injustice and illegal
action committed against Azerbaijanis, as well as renouncing their
legitimate interests on the territory of this country.
The Republic of Armenia should make its national legal
framework accessible to the Azerbaijani community, ensure equal
rights for Azerbaijanis, enable them to study in their mother
tongue, use the Azerbaijani language in legislative, executive and
judicial branches of Government, and begin a constructive dialogue
with the Community within the framework of the legal advice,
monitoring and supervision mechanism of relevant international
organizations for the improvement of the country's legislation in
order to fully ensure the protection of the rights of
Azerbaijanis.
In any case, Western Azerbaijanis expelled from
present-day Armenia have the right to live in their homeland, this
right is inherent, inviolable, absolute and the decisive factor.
Issuing documents by Armenia confirming identity, property and
other rights does not create this right, nor failure to do so does
deprive of this right. Issuance of such documents is only a formal
and technical matter, and it is an obligation that must be
unconditionally fulfilled by the Republic of Armenia.
4.5. Ensuring security
Due to the fact that the Armenian government has
committed large-scale and systematic violence against the
Azerbaijani population due to their ethnicity, the Community does
not trust this country in security matters, and therefore,
considers the deployment of an international security mission with
an appropriate mandate and comprised of the forces of countries
trusted by Western Azerbaijanis in the areas to be returned to as
an essential condition.
The mandate and capabilities of the international
mission will depend on the security situation. Taking into account
the fact that threat assessment requires appropriate information
gathering and analysis capabilities, and that the Community lacks
these capabilities, the Community will seek assistance from the
Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan in this matter. The
Community will rely on the threat assessment to be presented by the
Government of Azerbaijan.
The mission should be deployed prior to return, take
control of relevant areas, have civil-military coordination
capability, police component and civil administration powers, and
operate as long as the Community deems necessary.
The Community should be represented as an interested
party in the mandate formulation and management format of the
international security mission.
Given that adequate participation in law enforcement
and justice matters is a necessary condition, Azerbaijanis shall be
entitled to form local security forces and take an appropriate role
in courts.
4.6. Property issues
As with other violations of law committed against
Western Azerbaijanis, the Armenian government is responsible for
eliminating the consequences of the violation of their property
rights. The Armenian government shall ensure the return of property
and communal lands belonging to Azerbaijanis and pay compensation
for property damage and losses caused by preventing the use of the
property. The Armenian government shall pay all the costs arising
from the restoration of the property rights of Azerbaijanis and
take other necessary measures.
4.7. Reintegration and
rehabilitation
Shortly after their return, repatriated Azerbaijanis
will need humanitarian assistance, and afterwards, a reintegration
and rehabilitation program and assistance for long-term social and
economic development. The Community is determined to be a key
partner for international organizations and donors to implement
relevant programs in this area.
Social ties and dynamics within settlements are
critical to ensuring the success of reintegration and
rehabilitation measures. Experience has shown that maintaining the
pre-deportation settlement configuration facilitates the
restoration of social ties and thus reintegration and
rehabilitation. In this regard, the preservation of the
pre-deportation settlement configuration is a requirement of human
rights as well as a necessary condition for the success of
reintegration and rehabilitation.
4.8. Restoration and protection of cultural
heritage
With the participation of specialized agencies of the
UN, the Community will make efforts to assess the condition of
cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis in the territory of
Armenia, including the preparation of a list of examples of
cultural heritage that have been damaged and obliterated. The
Community will try to achieve the fulfillment of the obligation of
the Armenian government to restore and protect them.
4.9. Reconciliation between ethnic
communities
Western Azerbaijanis were subjected to an immense
injustice. This injustice is not limited to ethnic cleansing.
People from other places were brought in and settled in the
homeland of the Western Azerbaijanis. While keeping this painful
past in its historical memory, the Community accepts that the way
to ensure peace and development goes through reconciliation.
Western Azerbaijanis are ready to live peacefully and side by side
with Armenians who were transferred to the homeland of Western
Azerbaijanis from other countries. The Community expects that
achieving reconciliation will be complex and will take a long time.
The Community regards respect for human rights, the rule of law and
the elimination of double standards as the most important tools for
achieving peace. In this regard, the Community seeks to get Armenia
to cease its policy and practice of instilling hatred and
discrimination against Azerbaijanis, to hand over those who have
committed crimes against Azerbaijanis to the court of justice, to
immediately stop glorifying them, to demolish monuments erected to
military and political figures and terrorists who took part in
crimes against Azerbaijanis, and to reverse the changes of
toponyms.
4.10. Long-term activity of the
community
The Community believes that its mission is not limited
to the issue of return. The Community intends to continue its
activities as an organization, including its concerted efforts to
ensure the interests, rights, development and security of the
Azerbaijani returnees, as well as a dialogue and interaction with
the Republic of Azerbaijan, foreign countries and international
organizations, and with the Armenian government and the Armenian
public to this end, even after the return of the expelled Western
Azerbaijanis to their historical homeland.
5. Final provisions
The Community will be proactive and take ownership of
the implementation of this Concept, making efforts to obtain
resources within the legal framework for this purpose. The
Community may amend the Concept depending on possible changes in
the situation.