2016-04-13
The Armenia Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- The ongoing armed conflict in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan has resulted in the occupation of 20%of the territories of Azerbaijan and has made approximately one out of every nine persons in the country an internally displaced person or a refugee.
- The continuous efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to peacefully settle the conflict over 25 years unfortunately have not yielded any results.
- The international community has consistently condemned the use of military force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories. In 1993, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, condemning the use of force against Azerbaijan and reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders, demanded immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
- The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2010 arrived at an important conclusion qualifying the offences of the invading Armenian military forces against Azerbaijani civilians as acts of particular gravity that amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. By its judgment of June 16, 2015 the ECHR concluded that “Nagorno-Karabakh and other surrounding territories are now under occupation” and it’s Armenia “which exercises effective control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories”.
- Recent large-scale ceasefire violations by Armeniaat the line of contact on 2-5 April 2016 resulted in big losses for the both sides. The military personnel died from the Armenian side were all citizens of Armenia, so the question is what do the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia do at the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan?
- The primary objective of the ongoing peace process is to ensure the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the exercise by the forcibly displaced population of its inalienable right to return and the establishment of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within their internationally recognized borders.
- No acquisition of territory by force will ever be recognized by the international community as lawful. The EP has made its position clear on the settlement of the conflict in its resolutions of 20 May 2010, 18 April 2012, 23 October 2013 and 18 June 2015condemning the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories and supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, called for an immediate solution of the conflict based on the aforementioned UNSC resolutions.
