Statement of the Delegation of Armenia during the Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on human rights of internally displaced persons at the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

25 June, 2021

HRC 47th Session: ID with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Ms. Cecilia Jimenez-Damary under Agenda Item 3

As delivered by Mr. Nairi Petrossian, Deputy Permanent Representative

President,

Armenia thanks the distinguished SR for the comprehensive and evenhanded way she addresses the complex issue of enforced displacement. Indeed, there is no hierarchy of suffering, and all types of displacement should be delt in a victim-centered manner. We know it well as Armenia has been affected by a long history of unaddressed waves of displacement and land dispossession.

Last year Azerbaijan unleashed a new aggression against Nagorno Karabakh, perpetrating despicable atrocity crimes and forcing almost all its civilian population out. This is a conflict-induced displacement par excellence, as numerous identity-based crimes and violations of housing, land and property rights are part of the discriminatory strategies employed to displace indigenous Armenian population and to prevent their return. That is especially the case with the Shushi and Hadrut districts and other Nagorno Karabakh occupied areas currently controlled by Azeri forces.

All efforts towards political resolution of this conflict should systematically address the issues of voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity of the Armenian indigenous population to their homes in Nagorno Karabakh through appropriate housing, land and property provisions to be implemented under the strict monitoring of the international community.

I thank you.

Right of Reply

President,

We requested the floor to exercise our right of reply and refute the allegations made by Azerbaijan.

The realities created by the use of force cannot be legitimate. Occupation of the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, threats and aggressive posturing will never become the foundation for a lasting and sustainable settlement of the conflict.

Armenia reiterates its readiness to continue efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through political and diplomatic means. Armenia has expressed its good will on numerous occasions, including by recently passing to Azerbaijan information on the mines in the region.

Meanwhile, for many decades Azerbaijan’s leadership spared no effort to induce displacement of the Armenians as their way of addressing the Nagorno Karabakh issue. Numerous identity-based crimes, violations of all possible human rights and freedoms have been employed for the strategic objective of ethnic cleansing and displacement of the indigenous Armenian population.

The policy of State-run racial and ethnic hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijan has been once again manifested with the opening of the “Military Trophy Park” in Baku, which also featured life-size wax figures of Armenian servicemen depicted in most degrading manner. The Azerbaijani media is full of photos of children kicking and mocking the mannequins. The upbringing of children in Azerbaijan in the spirit of profound anti-Armenian hatred continues in the ugliest forms, but it is not the only manifestation of this racial prejudice.

For years any person of Armenian origin or having a presumably Armenian-sounding last name, regardless of citizenship, has been detained upon an attempt to enter Azerbaijan and effectively banned from visiting that country. The latest example of this hate-driven State policy occurred just few days ago, when Azerbaijan denied accreditation to the sports commentators of Armenian origin who should have been covering the EURO 2020 football tournament.

In another shocking move, Azerbaijan issued a postal stamp depicting a person in medical protective cloths standing on the map and disinfecting Nagorno-Karabakh area from viruses, which is a clear reference to the ethnic cleansing of the territory from Armenians. The Universal Postal Union determined that the stamps violate its Convention and Philatelic Code of Ethics, refused to register them, and invited Azerbaijan to withdraw the stamps.

This identity-based hatred against Armenians proves that the realization of the right to self-determination is the only remedy for the survival of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in their ancestral homeland.

I thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications