HRC 55th Session: Item 3: General Debate

15 March, 2024

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

Mr. President,

At the high-level segment of current Human Rights Council session, the UN Secretary General stated that the path to peace begins with full respect for all human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social, backed by serious efforts at implementation and accountability.

Failure in respecting one of these rights in conflict torn situations magnifies the possibility of resumption of hostilities. When it comes to Azerbaijan then this state has consistently violated not one, but a number of rights of the Armenian population and continues to defy the international efforts for preventing further abuses. Thus, Azerbaijan continuous to threaten the fragile peace.

Azerbaijan kept Nagorno-Karabakh under 10 months long inhumane blockade then forcibly displaced its population. The most vulnerable groups such as children, older persons, and persons with disabilities disproportionally suffered from the lack of food and medicine, indiscriminate use of force, as well as the forced exodus that at times took more than three days. After ethnically cleansing Nagorno-Karabakh, now Azerbaijan is engaged in ethno-demographic engineering and destruction of the Armenian religious and cultural heritage.

Nobody has ever been prosecuted in Azerbaijan for these crimes. Moreover, Azerbaijan continuous to resolve to warmongering and territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia based on distorted historical narratives.

Indeed, the path to peace passes through the realm of human rights. Armenia is fully committed to this goal.

I thank you.

Right of reply

President,

Armenia exercises its right of reply to Azerbaijan.

For decades Azerbaijan has been continuously and consistently violating the human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

These violations have been extensively registered by the international organizations and relevant watchdogs.

The International Court of Justice has also referred to these violations, adopting upon the request of the Republic of Armenia a number of binding provisional measures on three different occasions. These measures rule that Azerbaijan, in particular should protect from violence and bodily harm all persons captured in relation to the Conflict, and ensure their security and equality before the law; should take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by its officials and public institutions, targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin; should take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its 2022 concluding observations on the report of Azerbaijan recommended “to ensure accountability and end impunity, including by conducting effective, thorough and impartial investigations into allegations of violations of human rights against prisoners of war and other protected persons of Armenian ethnic or national origin, which include reports of summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment and arbitrary detention as well as the destruction of houses, schools and other civilian facilities.”

The Special Procedure Mandate Holders in their joint communication to Azerbaijan expressed regret that they have not received a response to their earlier communication to Azerbaijan on the alleged torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war during the armed conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. They further noted that they are yet to receive information on the results of investigations carried out in Azerbaijan with regard to these crimes, as well as factual and legal reasons for the continued detention of the POWs after the cessation of hostilities, and the measures taken to inform families of the disappeared about their fate and the exact whereabouts.

There are many other violations committed by Azerbaijan, which are duly registered by the international structures. However, the lack of accountability can lead to new crimes. This must stop.

I thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications