HRC 48: General Debate under agenda item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Delivered by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative

22 September, 2021

September 21, 2021

HRC 48^th Session: General Debate under agenda item 3

Item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative

President,

On September 21^st the Republic of Armenia marks the 30^th anniversary of its independence. Our Constitution and legal machinery envisage robust mechanisms for the human rights protection, effectively incorporating International Human Rights Law into our domestic system.

Ever since the independence, Armenia has been persistently contributing to the international efforts of Genocide prevention. In this regard we welcome the report of the High Commissioner on the intersessional meeting mandated by the HRC resolution 43/29. As a penholder of this resolution Armenia intends to continue working diligently and transparently with all fellow member and observer States of the Council as well as all other interested stakeholders.

President,

Armenia co-sponsored and voted in favor of the HRC resolution 45/31 on the contribution of the Council to the prevention of human rights violations. Hence, we hope that in future we will have the opportunity to engage into the discussion with the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission.

Armenia strongly believes that development, peace and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. We are convinced that lasting and sustainable peace cannot be established through uninhibited and sheer force, heinous war crimes and grave violations of the international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

In this context, we would like to draw the attention of the Council to the violations of human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who continue to suffer from the dire consequences of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020. The most heinous crimes committed by Azerbaijan include but are not limited to arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances of a number of Armenian servicemen and civilians.

Azerbaijan strives to conceal or shift the attention from these gross violations of IHL by putting forward the so-called mine-awareness narrative in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan can demonstrate its determination and sincerity on this issue merely by acceding to the Ottawa Convention and implementing its provisions in good faith. Otherwise, all the talk by Azerbaijan on the importance of the mine action sound totally misleading and hollow. Instead, Azerbaijan continues to hinder the access of international organizations for demining activities in Nagorno-Karabakh. In a stark contrast, as a gesture of good will, Armenia provided the maps of the minefields to Azerbaijan.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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