Armenia’s participation at the 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

11 October, 2024

The 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) took place in Geneva from 09 September to 11 October 2024.

The interactive dialogues and panel discussions of the 57th Session of the HRC focused on key issues on the Council’s agenda, such as truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, the use of mercenaries, arbitrary detention, the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as enforced disappearances. A number of interactive dialogues were held on the country-specific human rights situations.

The delegation of Armenia delivered 43 statements and aligned with 19 joint statements.

Statements made by the Permanent Mission of Armenia addressed the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, the destruction of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage, as well as the occupation of the sovereign territories of Armenia and territorial claims towards Armenia made by Azerbaijan. The permanent Mission highlighted the plight of the Armenian prisoners of war, enforced disappearances and missing persons, as well as manifestations of extreme xenophobia against Armenians and incitement of hatred. It was stressed on a number of occasions that Azerbaijan has been disregarding binding orders of the International Court of Justice, as well as the requests and communications set forth by the UN special procedure mandate holders. Statements reflected also on Armenia’s best practices and achievements in strengthening democracy in Armenia.

During the HRC57 the UN SR on truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence presented a report on its visit to Armenia, which was followed by an interactive dialogue. The Permanent Mission of Armenia mentioned in its statement that the visit of the Special Rapporteur coincided with the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The SR reported about the forced displacement carried out by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and called to include in discussions or agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adoption of mechanisms of truth, criminal accountability, and the preservation of the cultural heritage. The SR commended the authorities of Armenia for their commitment and expediency in assisting the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Special Rapporteur also commended the active role that the Government of Armenia has played in the international arena in memorializing the victims of genocide and advancing global discussions and mechanisms to prevent this scourge.

Under the agenda item 6 of the Council (UPR) Armenia together with Argentina, Fiji, Pakistan, South Africa and Norway delivered a Joint Statement.

Armenia co-authored the Joint Statement on behalf of the Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict, which was delivered during the panel on quality education for peace and tolerance for every child. The text particularly emphasizes the violations of human rights and humanitarian law during conflicts, including the need to investigate and prosecute crimes committed against children.

At the 57th Session of the HRC Armenia co-sponsored a number of important resolutions, including on the use of mercenaries, enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, elimination of domestic violence, social reintegration of persons released from prison, as well as promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.

Within the framework of HRC, Armenia together with Norway, IBAHRI and UPR info organized a side event on enhancing implementation of UPR recommendations through judicial engagement.

The next, 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council will start in February 2025.

Information on Armenia’s participation to previous HRC Sessions, as well as the statements delivered by the Permanent Mission of Armenia are available at the following website: https://switzerland.mfa.am/hy/news/ .

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