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 1307th meeting of the Permanent Council

25 March, 2021

Madame Chairperson,

Almost five months after the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020, which put an end to the violent war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan and its affiliates, the Azerbaijani authorities continue to flagrantly violate international humanitarian law, the Geneva conventions, decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and ignore calls from the international community for the immediate release of all Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees. The latest such call was made in a joint statement by members of the European Parliament, in particular by the head of the delegation for relations with the South Caucasus and standing rapporteurs of the European Parliament on Armenia and Azerbaijan. The members of the European Parliament expressed grave concern about the mistreatment of Armenian prisoners of war as documented and reported by the Human Rights Watch.

This latest report of the Human Rights Watch further reveals the cruel and degrading treatment and torture of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan and underlines that, and I quote: “The abuse, including torture of detained Armenian soldiers, is abhorrent and a war crime. It is also deeply disturbing that a number of missing Armenian soldiers were last seen in Azerbaijan’s custody and it has failed to account for them, ” end of quote. Thus, the report clearly indicates a high probability of mass enforced disappearances not only of military personnel, but also of captured civilians.

Against this backdrop, the deafening silence of the OSCE, both during and after the war, which has a strong mandate not only in relation to security related matters, but also human rights, is indeed regrettable, to put it mildly. Apart from individual appeals of several participating States, there has been no single appeal, no strong political message from the OSCE demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Armenian prisoners of war.

The absence of a meaningful international, including OSCE engagement, has led to an atmosphere of impunity, which Azerbaijan has been exploiting fully both during and after its war of aggression. It no longer sees any point even in pretending to comply with its international obligations, including OSCE commitments.

Madame Chairperson,

The actions of Azerbaijan can hardly be justified either by international humanitarian law or by the November 9 trilateral ceasefire statement. Whatever status the Azerbaijani authorities may try to arbitrarily assign to the Armenian prisoners of war, the trilateral ceasefire statement, namely its paragraph 8 prescribes, and I quote: “An exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead shall be carried out.” In other words, we are speaking about complete and unconditional return of all detainees, without exceptions or exclusions.

In light of the above, and given that Azerbaijan also continues to hide information about Armenian prisoners of war, the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan claiming that, and I quote, “ there are no women of Armenian origin in Azerbaijani custody”, end of quote, is particularly alarming, since, according to our information, 76-year-old Elsa Sargsyan, as well as mother and daughter Varya and Anahit Tunyans went missing after Azerbaijan took control of the Hadrut region of Artsakh.

Madame Chairperson,

The occupation of the Hadrut region of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, resulted in complete destruction of thriving settlements with tens of thousands of Armenian inhabitants and killings of civilians, including the extrajudicial executions of captured civilians. The international community, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as Human Rights Watch, have expressed their clear position on cases of flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention in the Hadrut region.

The statements made by the President of Azerbaijan during his visit to Artsakh’s occupied Hadrut region reveal the intention to destroy Armenian settlements and replace them with the Azerbaijani ones, which violates the provisions of the trilateral statement of 9 November, 2020, according to which the displaced persons must return to their places of residence. It also proves that the Armenians of Artsakh cannot survive under the Azerbaijani control.

Moreover, within the framework of its policy of ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijan is undertaking consistent steps aimed at annihilating or appropriating the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh. In parallel with the physical destruction of the religious and cultural monuments of Artsakh, which remain on the territories currently under its control, the Azerbaijani authorities at the highest level resort to a deplorable practice of falsifying historical facts and alienating the religious and cultural heritage of the Armenian people.

It is with this purpose that the President of Azerbaijan misrepresents the nature of the 17th century Armenian church in the village of Tsakuri of the Hadrut region distortedly claiming it to be of so-called “Albanian” heritage and labelling the Armenian inscriptions on its walls as “fake”, thus preparing ground for yet another act of vandalism. It is noteworthy that in the published video, the above-mentioned church has already been vandalized, as the religious symbols had already been removed.

This Delegation persistently raises the issue of the fate of the Armenian religious and cultural monuments and sites that are on the territories under the Azerbaijani occupation. Unfortunately, and we attribute this too to the lack of robust international reaction with the aim to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its actions directed against the cultural heritage of the Armenian people, the barbaric destruction of the Armenian religious and cultural monuments and sites continues unabated. Azerbaijan simply erases to the ground those sites whose Armenian origin and identity cannot be altered. The BBC correspondent in the documentary released today under the title “Nagorno-Karabakh: the mystery of the missing church” is about such a case of the Armenian Church of the Holy Mother of God in Mekhakavan. I should recall that this Delegation has already brought the issue of the fate of this Church to the attention of the Permanent Council on 19 November 2020, during the 1290th Permanent Council meeting, showing the footage of desecration and vandalism of the Church by Azerbaijani soldier who was standing on the bell tower of that church and shouting “Allahu Akbar”. And today, the complete destruction of the church became known from the investigation of the BBC correspondent who could not find any traces of the church, while knowing for sure that the church was standing when the Azerbaijani armed forces took control of Mekhakavan.

Madame Chairperson,

Two extremely dangerous precedents were created as a result of Azerbaijan’s war of aggression against Artsakh and its people: first, an attempt to resolve conflicts by use of force and mass atrocities, and second, recruitment, transfer and deployment by OSCE participating States of foreign terrorist fighters and jihadists into the OSCE area of responsibility.

Both precedents should have been a matter of serious concern and scrutiny for the OSCE relevant structures during the war and in its aftermath. Regrettably, this is not the case. Moreover, we see the continued lack of willingness or readiness on the part of those structures to deliver on their mandate.

We would not like to see this Organization becoming handicapped with an agenda narrowed down to only a couple of issues, whereas the OSCE is founded on the concept of comprehensive and indivisible security, that is to say that the security challenges and concerns of any participating State should be considered equally important to all. Prioritizing security related and other concerns of some participating States at the expense of others is the way to turn this organization into a forum for geopolitical rivalry, which is contrary to the whole idea of the OSCE as a framework for enhancing peace and security in Europe. Such an approach cannot be supported by this Delegation.

Madam Chairperson,

The current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is the result of a 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 based on the realization by the people of Artsakh of their inalienable right to self-determination, ensuring the safe and dignified return of the recently displaced population to their homes, and preservation of the cultural and religious heritage of the region.

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