HRC 48: Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Delivered by Mrs. Zoya Stepanyan, First Secretary

21 September, 2021

September 21, 2021

HRC 48: Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Delivered by Mrs. Zoya Stepanyan, First Secretary

Madam President,

Armenia thanks the Working group for presentation of its report. Enforced or involuntary disappearances is a multifaceted scourge which often time is accompanied with abductions, hostage taking, arbitrary detentions, torture and extrajudicial executions.

Yesterday, at the meeting of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances we highlighted the importance of cooperation between Committee and WG as well as emphasized the need of universalization of the Convention as the legal instrument that consolidates international response to this crime.

We would like to stress that there are a number of cross cutting issues between the Convention and international humanitarian law. Armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies sharply increase the number of enforced disappearances with subsequent risks of mistreatment and abuse.

During and after the aggression by Azerbaijan against the peaceful indigenous population of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, more than 240 Armenians went missing. Dozens of them appear in the video or photo footages disseminated by the representatives of the armed forces of Azerbaijan on social media. The testimonies of returning Armenian PoWs reveal not only sickening accounts of torture and inhumane treatment but have clear indication that the missing persons were in Azerbaijani captivity, thus those cases amount to enforced disappearances. The Human Rights Watch and other watchdogs made detailed reports on this dire situation. With Azerbaijan’s unapologetic disregard of international law the fate of these people cannot be more disturbing.

I thank you.

First Right of Reply

President,

Armenia asked for the floor to reply to the statements made by Azerbaijan during several interactive dialogues.

At the outset let us stress that repetitive propaganda narratives not backed by any factual evidence and voiced here by Azerbaijan serve nothing but a blame game for the sake of concealing its own well documented and well reported crimes.

When voicing groundless accusations, Azerbaijan conveniently forgets that close to 1000 Armenians are still missing as a direct result of aggression unleashed by it against Nagorno-Karabakh in 1990s and the continued impunity that the perpetrators of gross violations of human rights still enjoy. Additionally, more than 240 Armenians count as missing from the fall 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Many of them are considered to be subjected to enforce disappearance, since there are photo/video and other credible evidences that at some point they were in Azerbaijani custody. The latter continues to deny to disclose their fate and whereabouts. It is no coincidence that Azerbaijan never ratified the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

On mercenaries – the press release of the WG on the use of mercenaries states (and I quote) “the Government of Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s assistance, relied on Syrian fighters to shore-up and sustain its military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The way in which these individuals were recruited, transported … appeared consistent with the definition of a mercenary, as set out by relevant international legal instruments (end of the quote)”. The high-level officials and intelligence agencies of such countries as France, Russia and the United States have repeatedly confirmed the use of mercenaries by Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that according to a number of international reports Azerbaijan used mercenaries against Nagorno-Karabakh also during the war of 1990s. Those mercenaries were closely linked to notorious terrorist organizations that committed despicable cruel attacks worldwide. These are the plain and well-known facts. As afar as Azerbaijan’s claims are concerned then they are not backed by any credible report or evidence and hence, they are a mere propaganda pieces.

On water contamination- When it comes to the water pollution, the joint exercise that included Armenia, Azerbaijan, OSCE, NATO, ENVSEC Environment and Security Initiative came to the conclusion that despite allegations made by Azerbaijan, the water flows coming down from the Armenian mountains to Azerbaijan are not polluted. In response to this conclusion Azerbaijan simply stopped any kind of cooperation in this field. Moreover, all calls of Nagorno-Karabakh and the international mediators of the conflict to jointly use the water reservoirs in the region were vehemently denied by Azerbaijan.

Second Right of Reply

President,

Armenia requested the floor to refute the allegations made by Azerbaijan with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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 cannot become the basis 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. The international mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution have reiterated that its comprehensive settlement should be based on the principles and elements elaborated throughout the years. One of those principles is the right of people to self-determination.

Armenia has expressed its good will on numerous occasions, including by passing to Azerbaijan information on the minefields.

However, Azerbaijan undertakes new provocative actions on a daily basis, such as, to name but a few, the continued illegal presence of Azerbaijani armed forces on the sovereign territory of Armenia, killings of Armenian servicemen on our territory, intimidation and attacks on residents of the border villages, mock trials of Armenian prisoners of war, and the rejection to provide any information on the whereabouts of many more Armenian detainees, continuous destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage.

The people who have passed through the horrors of the war both in 2020 and in 1990s should have the right to freely choose their political status, in full compliance with the international law. We believe it is a choice between life and death.

I thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications