HRC 51st Session General debate under Agenda item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

26 September, 2022

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

President,

Armenia reiterates its grave concern with regard to the aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia unleashed by Azerbaijan on September 13, which resulted in the occupation of the sovereign territories of Armenia, horrendous suffering, human losses and a large-scale destruction. This unprovoked and unjustified attack has been indiscriminate, targeting civilian population and infrastructure in 36 towns of Armenia. A number of human rights were violated during the attack by Azerbaijan, including the right to life, health, housing, education, food, water and sanitation, to name but a few.

Numerous breaches of IHL were also committed by Azerbaijan. Armenia will pursue accountability for these war crimes. The evidences of such crimes were widely disseminated by Azerbaijan itself through videos on social networks depicting torture, mutilation, and other kinds of ill-treatment.

Against this background Armenia deems necessary to draw this Council’s attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, since there is a clear connection between domestic repression and the war of aggression it pursues against Armenia. The popular discontent and dissent have been heavily cracked down in Azerbaijan, while flexing of muscles and expansionism are used by authorities to divert the attention of their public from the pervasive social griefs.

Severe restrictions on the rights to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, persecution and harassment of government critics have been reported by international human rights monitors. Azerbaijan is on the 154^th place on the world press freedom index. The Freedom House refers to it as a consolidated authoritarian country. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project discovered that Azerbaijan has been spying on over a thousand activists and journalists. Dozens of communications by the UN special procedure mandate holders on the grave situations with human rights defenders have been simply ignored by Azerbaijan.

We call upon the Special Procedures to address situation in Azerbaijan within the scope of their respective mandates, given the violations of Human Rights and suppression of civic space in that country.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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