Statement by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan at the UN Human Rights Council

19 June, 2024

Mr. President,

Armenia thanks the High Commissioner for the presentation of report.

The cruelty of wars and the immense suffering that they cause trample the human rights at their core. It is truly alarming, but certainly not unexpected that the High Commissioner focused the opening of his presentation on the human rights abuses in increasing number of conflict situations. Time and again the classic “for whom the bell tolls” comes to one’s mind.

Exactly a year ago, the High Commissioner warned at this august body about the humanitarian impact of the blockade of Lachin corridor, the sole lifeline connection for more than one hundred thousand Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. His concerns were shared by the UN SG, his Special Advisor on Genocide Prevention, the ICJ and wider UN human rights machinery. No international action followed to this clear cut early warning signs. In an atmosphere of total impunity Azerbaijan attacked and ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh.

We certainly concur with the High Commissioner that the binding orders of the ICJ should be unequivocally implemented. All those who were arbitrarily detained should be released. We further share his concerns on verbal attacks and reprisals against the UN human rights machinery.

I thank you.

Right to Reply

Armenia would like to exercise its right of reply to Azerbaijan.

In October last year the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution strongly condemning the military operation launched by the Azerbaijani army in Nagorno-Karabakh on 19 September 2023. The Assembly stated that the massive exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from the region had led to “reasonable suspicion that this can amount to ethnic cleansing”.

The European Parliament also condemned in the strongest terms the pre-planned and unjustified military attack by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. The European parliamentarians reminded Azerbaijan that the use of coercive practices to remove a civilian population from a territory may amount to a crime against humanity.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights observed in this regard that for Armenians “leaving home was the only reasonable option available” out of the “deep-rooted fear for their lives” and “future stemming from previous unresolved atrocities and ongoing intimidatory acts.”

With regards to the assurances of Azerbaijan that it will respect the rights of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh the Human Rights Watch argued that (and I quote) “such assurances are difficult to accept at face value after decades of conflict, impunity for alleged crimes, including against civilians during hostilities, the Azerbaijani government’s overall deteriorating human rights record, and the recent Azerbaijan-imposed, nine-month de facto blockade of the region, which left the Armenian population without enough food, medicine, and fuel”.

Meanwhile, in an atmosphere of total impunity now Azerbaijan continues to fuel anti-Armenian hatred and to make territorial claims against Armenia based on distorted historical narratives.

Azerbaijan publicly acknowledges holding 23 Armenian PoWs and civilian detainees in captivity, while evidence exists on the enforced disappearances of many others. Overall, throughout the conflict there are more than 1000 registered missing persons and enforced disappearances from the Armenian side.

The Freedom House emphasized that (and I quote) “freedom experienced a staggering decline in Eurasia in 2023, driven largely by the Azerbaijani conquest of Nagorno-Karabakh and the expulsion of its ethnic Armenian population.”

The freedom will further deteriorate worldwide if such cases of egregious violations of human rights will remain unaddressed. Thank you.

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