Statement on "The aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters" as delivered by Ambassador Armen Papikyan at the 1319th meeting of the Permanent Council

10 June, 2021

Madam Chairperson,

The trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020 stopped the war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the direct involvement of Turkey and Turkish-backed foreign terrorist fighters. However, only a month after the signing of the document, Azerbaijan grossly violated, as it still continues to violate, a number of key provisions of the trilateral statement, in particular, paragraph 1 on a complete ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities and the commitment of the parties to remain at the positions they held at the time of the signing, paragraph 8 on exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead. By demolishing the houses and property of Armenians in the territories currently occupied by Azerbaijan, thus obstructing the safe and dignified return of the displaced Armenians, Azerbaijan also violates paragraph 7 on the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to the territory of Nagorno‑Karabakh and adjacent areas under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

On 11 December 2020, just a month after the signing of the ceasefire declaration, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in flagrant violation of their commitments under the trilateral statement, attacked the positions of the Armenian self-defence forces in the area of the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd of the Hadrut region of Artsakh and occupied the two villages and the adjacent territories. The operational maps released by the peacekeepers on 13 and 14 December clearly confirm the violation of the ceasefire and the occupation of the two villages by Azerbaijan. They also confirm that the Armenian forces were in the positions that they held at the time of the signing of the trilateral statement. This delegation is ready to provide the aforementioned operational maps to all interested delegations. It should also be recalled that as a result of this flagrant violation of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan, 64 Armenian servicemen were captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces. There can be no doubt that the 64 Armenian servicemen fall under the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war and they must be released and repatriated unconditionally and without delay in accordance with the requirements of international humanitarian law.

However, taking advantage of their impunity, the Azerbaijani authorities continue their cynical manipulations with regard to the Armenian prisoners of war. They have fabricated criminal proceedings and conducted mock trials of Armenian prisoners of war on the basis of confessions obtained under duress and on trumped-up charges. The fact that the Azerbaijani side announced the criminal prosecution of the Armenian prisoners of war about a month after their capture clearly indicates that the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to use them as a tool to exert pressure and advance their political agenda.

On 9 March 2021, the European Court of Human Rights decided to notify the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 39 of the Rules of Court, of interim measures in relation to 188 Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have jointly emphasized that “everyone deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the conflict should be returned to their homes” as stipulated in the ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020.

On 20 May, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which, among other things, “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners, both military and civilian, detained during and after the conflict, and that Azerbaijan refrain from making arbitrary detentions in the future”. The resolution further “recalls that there is currently no publicly available credible information about Azerbaijani POWs and detainees in Armenian captivity”.

The fact that despite the numerous calls from the international community, including the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, subjecting them to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, causes particular concern and is indicative of the real intentions of Azerbaijan. We have already presented to the Permanent Council the detailed facts about the torture and arbitrary killing of 19 Armenian captives, 12 of whom were civilians, including 4 women.

Madam Chairperson,

Armenia strongly condemns the illegal criminal prosecution of Lyudvik Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan captured during the recent aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh. According to international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions, the latter are considered prisoners of war and must be released and repatriated unconditionally and without delay. The mock trial launched on 2 June by the Baku Military Court is a gross violation both of the norms of international humanitarian law and of commitments under the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020.

Another mock trial took place on 8 June 2021 in the Yasamal District Court of Baku, during which Mr. Vicken Euljekchyan was charged with “terrorism” on the basis of trumped‑up charges and confession obtained under duress. It should be noted that Mr. Vicken Euljekchyan, who has dual Armenian and Lebanese citizenship, moved to Artsakh after the devastating explosion in Beirut. He was captured by the Azerbaijani forces on 10 November 2020 along with Ms. Maral Najaryan – you probably all remember Ms. Najaryan – who was later released thanks to the efforts of Ms. Valentina Matviyenko, the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia. They were captured while trying to collect their belongings from occupied Shushi after the signing of the trilateral ceasefire declaration. However, this did not prevent Azerbaijan from labelling them as terrorists.

Armenian prisoners of war are clearly deprived of the right to a fair trial. They are also subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In this regard, and in the light of a recent press release of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) expressing concern regarding the alleged failure of one OSCE participating State to meet its obligations to respect the right to a fair trial and the absolute prohibition of torture, my delegation wonders why the ODIHR did not make a similar statement in relation to the Armenian prisoners of war. We urge the ODIHR to demonstrate consistency with respect to the application of principles of international law and OSCE commitments.

Madam Chairperson,

Given the abundant evidence of the continuing torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and psychological pressure to which the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan are subjected, we reiterate that evidence and confessions obtained through unlawful means, including torture and ill-treatment, constitute a gross violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and cannot serve as a basis for prosecution, nor can they have any probative value.

Azerbaijan’s infamous human rights record is well known. For decades, the judicial system of Azerbaijan under the hereditary regime has fabricated numerous criminal cases on trumped‑up charges against persons who dared to criticize the regime. If the judicial system of Azerbaijan were independent, first of all, it should have prosecuted those who committed atrocities and war crimes both during the war of the 1990s and last year’s war against Artsakh, especially since the perpetrators themselves documented their crimes and made them public on the Internet.

Madam Chairperson,

Over the past seven months, Armenia has implemented all its commitments under the trilateral statement in good faith and has returned all prisoners of war and other detainees to Azerbaijan on an “all-for-all” basis. However, Azerbaijan’s consistent and deliberate violations of the trilateral statement seriously undermine the full implementation of the 9 November statement and pose new challenges for regional peace and security.

In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces, illegally present on the sovereign territory of Armenia since 12 May, continue their provocative and destabilizing actions in a number of areas. As we have already informed the Permanent Council, the provocative and deliberate actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces resulted in the murder of an Armenian soldier who was on duty in the immediate vicinity of the village of Verin Shorzha in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province. In the early morning of 27 May, six Armenian servicemen who had been carrying out engineering work in the border area of the Gegharkunik province of the Republic of Armenia were taken prisoner by Azerbaijani armed forces. The European Court of Human Rights has set Azerbaijan the deadline of 4 June to provide information about the status of the six Armenian servicemen abducted by Azerbaijan in the border area of Armenia’s Gegharkunik province.

The recently captured Armenian servicemen, as well as all prisoners of war and civilians illegally detained in Azerbaijan, must be immediately and unconditionally returned to Armenia. The Armenian Government is trying to resolve the situation peacefully to avoid further escalation and destabilization in the region. However, the restraint of the Armenian side should not be seen as a manifestation of tolerance towards attempts to seize its sovereign territory and kidnap its citizens.

Madam Chairperson,

The humanitarian situation on the ground remains dire and requires the urgent attention and intervention of the international community. As a result of Azerbaijan’s large‑scale aggression against Artsakh, over 100,000 people in Artsakh have been displaced and become refugees, and their property damaged, destroyed or looted. A significant part of the displaced population cannot return even after the ceasefire, since their settlements on the territory of Nagorno‑Karabakh proper are currently under the occupation of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s attempts to obstruct international humanitarian access to Nagorno‑Karabakh amid the dire humanitarian consequences and suffering inflicted on the people of Artsakh as a result of the war and the COVID-19 pandemic are of particular concern. In this regard, we reiterate the urgent need to lift all restrictions on access to Nagorno‑Karabakh, including access for representatives of international humanitarian organizations.

The current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is the result of the flagrant violation by Azerbaijan of several core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, namely, refraining from the threat or use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. There should be no illusion that the results of the use of force, accompanied by war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, can ever become the basis for a lasting and sustainable peace. Durable and sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which must include the determination of the status of Artsakh on the basis of the realization of the inalienable right of the people of Artsakh to self‑determination; the ensuring of the safe and dignified return of the displaced population to their homes; and the preservation of the region’s cultural and religious heritage.

Madam Chairperson,

I kindly ask you to attach this statement to the journal of today’s meeting.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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