Statement of the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN Office in Geneva at the Second Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

25 November, 2020

Second Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

November 25, 2020

Agenda Item: 8, (a), Universalization

Delivered by Henrik Yeritsyan, Third Secretary

Mr. Chair,

On September 27, Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, despite the call of the UN SG for the global ceasefire in times of pandemic.

From the day one of the aggression Azerbaijan used cluster munitions against the residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh. The first attacks were directed on Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh and cities of Shushi, Hadrut and the village of Shosh. On the first days of war, when it was still possible to carry out some relief efforts, the State Emergency Service of Nagorno-Karabakh has found and neutralized 180 cluster munitions only in Stepanakert.

The Amnesty International was the first to confirm the use of cluster munition in the residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh. Later the British-American non-profit organization HALO Trust, which for years has been working on demining in Nagorno-Karabakh reported that “rockets and cluster munitions have been found in civilian areas and the usually clean and peaceful streets are pitted with bomb craters, burnt out cars and shelled buildings.”

The Human Rights Watch conducted an on-site investigation on the use of cluster munition in Nagorno-Karabakh and documented at least four incidents in which Azerbaijan used cluster munitions in residential areas. Let us highlight that this has been so far the only on-site visit of any international organization for observation of the use of cluster munition conducted in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh war. All other investigations were based on reports of the third parties.

In Nagorno-Karabakh the Human Rights Watch observed the remnants of a LAR-160 rocket, hundreds of the distinctive impacts of M095 submunitions, as well as remnants of the pink-colored nylon stabilization ribbons. One of the rockets exploded no more than 200 meters from the office of the ICRC.

Numerous residential buildings, private busineses, hospital, schools, markets and vehicles suffered varying degrees of damage from the attack. Human Rights Watch was not able to identify any military equipment or bases in the neighborhoods where the attacks took place. Even if there had been, given the indiscriminate effects of cluster munitions, their use in a residential civilian setting is not permitted under the laws of war.

These indiscriminate targeting of civilians once again demonstrated that Azerbaijan adheres to the policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Though the data is still not final, due to the aggression of Azerbaijan 59 civilians were killed, 171 wounded and more than 13.000 civilian objects and infrastructure damages.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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