Statement of the Delegation of Armenia during the Interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict

09 March, 2021

HRC 46^th Session: Interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict

Delivered by Mrs. Zoya Stepanyan, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Armenia

Madam President,

Armenia aligns with the statement delivered by Belgium on behalf of the Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict.

We extend our appreciation to the Special Representative Virginia Gamba for her continued engagement with the Council.

In a time of humanitarian crises, children residing in the areas of armed conflict were left furthest behind. Some of them died or were severely injured not only because of pandemic but due to aggressive militarism. On September 27 Azerbaijan, a country with one of the poorest human rights record in the world, exploited the dire situation caused by the pandemic and launched wide scale military aggression against Nagorno Karabakh with the aim to annihilate the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh. 72 civilian causalities including children have yet been verified. 41 civilians were killed as a result of targeted strikes, 31 in captivity, and at least 163 civilians, including 9 children, were wounded. Azerbaijan used cluster munitions as well as incendiary weapons containing white phosphorus. Hundreds of schools, kindergartens and hospitals, including a maternity ward were deliberately targeted.

Azerbaijan horded our region with foreign terrorist fighters, people accused of war crimes and most serious human rights violations in the Middle East. There are credible reports that hundreds of these criminals remain in the territories currently under Azerbaijani control and we reiterate the call for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

I thank you.

1^st Right of reply to the Statement made by Azerbaijan

Delivered by Mrs. Zoya Stepanyan, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Armenia

Madam President,

My delegation asked for the floor to reply to the statement by the delegation of Azerbaijan. We categorically reject all the groundless accusations and self-delusions voiced by Azerbaijan.

We would like to remind that unlike Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh has established effectively functioning human rights mechanisms, including democratic control over armed forces.

Whereas Azerbaijan, a country whose policies and practices can serve as an A to Z catalog for all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, hand in hand with jihadist mercenaries, committed despicable atrocity crimes against the civilian population, grossly violating international humanitarian law. Those are facts, confirmed by numerous independent investigations, voiced by leaders and intelligence agencies of several states and reflected in the statements of UN human rights mechanisms. There are credible reports that terrorist fighters and their families, including children are being settled in villages of Artsakh currently under Azerbaijani control thus pushing the policy of ethnic cleansing.

For years Azerbaijan deliberate deployed military units in the immediate vicinity of settlements and used the civilian population as a human shield. In the environment of severe restrictions, endemic corruption, punitive policy, consistently forged elections and zero accountability towards its public, Azerbaijan accuses Armenia for purported violations. Let us remind that by doing so Azerbaijan cannot whitewash or cancel numerous reports, independent investigations and judgements about grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Years of state induced Armenophobia in Azerbaijan, aggressively agitated in schools and even kindergartens brought about chilling results – absolute dehumanization of Armenians in Azerbaijani mindset.

During the recent aggression against the indigenous population of Artsakh we have witnessed unprecedented splash of government orchestrated hate speech in social media, calls to kill Armenians of all ages and opinion polls among Azerbaijani youth on the subject of readiness to kill Armenian children. The most shocking was the number of those who volunteered.

The history yet again repeated itself. In the end of 1980s after decades of oppression, human rights abuses and foreign domination in Nagorno Karabakh, the peaceful democratic processes for change were met by massacres of Armenian population in capital and major cities of Azerbaijan. 30 years ago in response to realization by people of Nagorno Karabakh of their right to self- determination Azerbaijan opted to wide scale military aggression that resulted in tens of thousands of causalities. People of Artsakh defended their right to live in a brutal war imposed on them. They built a thriving democracy, that Azerbaijan is now trying to destroy.

Second Right of Reply

Madam President,

My delegation takes the floor for the second time as apparently Azerbaijan confused Human Rights Council with its domestic audience. On September 27th, 9-years-old Victoria Gevorgyan was killed from shelling in the Martuni region of Artsakh in the yard of her house. Her mother and younger brother were wounded. The latter, two-year-old Artsvik Gevorgyan, received shrapnel wounds in the process of evacuation. Their mother stated that strikes from Azerbaijani UAVs continued even as they fled the area by bus. This is one of many stories. Azerbaijan bombed and shelled not only civilian settlements of Artsakh, including the capital Stepanakert, but also targeted the territory of the Republic of Armenia, particularly settlements in Gegharkunik and Syunik regions, causing civilian causalities and destruction far from the area of hostilities.

Madam President

We would like to be very clear here. Azerbaijan does not only continue to deny the very root causes of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, massacres and pogroms it committed against peaceful civilian population, but the very right to existence of indigenous people of Artsakh.

In the midst of pandemic Azerbaijan created humanitarian catastrophe. The UN absence from Nagorno Karabakh has been one of the aggravating factors of the lack of international protection. Armenia is of strong conviction that the humanitarian access to Artsakh should not be subjugated to any political considerations.

The plea for human rights and justice cannot be left unfulfilled. Lasting peace in the region is possible only through resolving the status of Nagorno - Karabakh based on the realization of the fundamental human rights, including the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh, ensuring the safe and dignified return of the displaced population and preserving the cultural and religious heritage.

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