HRC 54 Session: Item 3 – Interactive Dialogue with the Working group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding exercise of the right of peoples to self- determination - Embassy of Armenia to Switzerland and Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN office at Geneva

HRC 54 Session: Item 3 – Interactive Dialogue with the Working group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding exercise of the right of peoples to self- determination

19 September, 2023

Delivered by Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative

President,

Armenia warmly welcomes the Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, and thanks for presentation of its reports.

At the outset I would like to inform this Council that few hours ago, Azerbaijan unleashed a new large-scale military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh. Civilian objects and infrastructure were indiscriminately targeted, causing casualties, just as during the previous aggression three years ago, and I’ll come back to it later in my statement.

At this point, we would like to thank the Working Group on the use of Mercenaries for its visit to Armenia in February 2023. We highly appreciated its fruitful exchanges, open and frank discussions with the vast range of interlocutors in Armenia.

Armenia greatly values its cooperation with the UN human rights machinery in strengthening and consolidating the democratic institutions and promotion of human rights. In this regard we are particularly glad that the Working Group specifically commended Armenia for its commitment to human rights.

From our point of view, the visit of the Working Group was scheduled in a timely manner, since Armenia has recently acceded to the International Convention against Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (Convention), thus becoming the thirty-seventh State party to that Convention. The accession comes with responsibilities and commitments, including in the legal domain. Armenia considers the cooperation with the Working Group especially pertinent in this particular context.

Shortly after acceding to the Convention Armenia adopted a new Criminal Code, which contains provisions dealing directly with mercenarism. According to the Working Group, Armenia stands out in its efforts to integrate the Convention into its domestic legal framework, providing sufficient safeguards for the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.

In addition to criminalising the mercenary activities themselves, the Criminal Code also prohibits acts that are often associated with mercenary activities, including through the potential involvement of foreign fighters. The Working Group further welcomed section 8 of the new Criminal Code, which prohibits crimes against peace and human security, and grave breaches of the rules of international humanitarian law in times of armed conflict.

The Working Group noted that Armenia has prohibited private military companies by law, and that its domestic legal framework regulates the activities of the security industry. The Government of Armenia has recently adopted a set of amendments to the Law on Private Security Activities. The Working Group stated that “Armenia has shown commitment to regulating the activities of private military and security companies operating domestically.”

We are encouraged by another finding of the Working Group that “Armenia can play a pioneering role in the Caucasus in advocating accountability, access to justice, and remedies for victims of violations and abuses perpetrated by mercenaries and related actors, as well as by private security companies.”

We concur with the Working Group that the victims of mercenaries may be at increased risk of vulnerability and may experience a heightened sense of fear due to a perception that there is no course of action available against the perpetrators.

We highly appreciate the visit of the Working Group to Syunik, the southern province of Armenia, to meet with the communities affected by the military encroachments into the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, as well to hear directly “from men and women whose daily lives are affected by acts of violence across the line contact with Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Azerbaijan has recruited mercenaries to suppress the human rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh both in the 1990s and in 2020. The Report recalls the joint press release of the Working Group and other special procedure mandate holders issued during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh on the use by Azerbaijan of mercenaries “affiliated with armed groups and individuals that, in some cases, have been accused of war crimes and serious human rights abuses during the conflict in Syria, thus seemingly perpetuating a cycle of impunity and risking further abuses of international law.”

Finally, the report of the Working Group puts to rest the allegations of Azerbaijan on the purported use of mercenaries by Armenia. During its visit, the Working Group “witnessed the readiness of Armenia to address issues related to mercenaries, mercenary-related activities and private security actors in times of both peace and conflict.” It further “noted that Armenia provides a positive example in that it has not followed the trend of contracting private military and security companies – whether domestically or from abroad – for core government functions such as military services.”

In conclusion, Armenia takes the recommendations of the Working Group very seriously, as it is the case with any of the Special Procedures Mandate Holders. We understand the value of the international cooperation in further strengthening the efforts aimed at proscription and prevention of mercenarism, ensuring accountability and justice for victims, and closing any possible gaps in this regard. Hence, we would be happy to continue the cooperation with Working Group.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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