Online discussion with the PACE Rapporteur
On the initiative of the non-governmental organizations of the Artsakh Republic, on August 17 an online discussion was held with Paul Gavan (Ireland), PACE rapporteur for the ‘Humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’.
ARTSAKHPRESS: The representatives of non-governmental organizations spoke about the issues that were directly related to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey on September 27, 2020.
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The efforts of the two Armenian states to overcome the crisis cannot be enough; the international community should widely support the Artsakh people to get over the difficulties. The permanent residents of the Artsakh settlements, currently occupied by Azerbaijan, who have lost their apartments and property, are in a desperate situation. At present, social assistance is provided by the governments of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.
Meanwhile, according to international humanitarian norms, those forcibly displaced should be supported by the relevant international organizations.
The PACE rapporteur listened attentively to the displaced people, who have been deprived of their homeland due to the 44-Day War. The issue of the return of Armenian prisoners held in Baku was also discussed.
Holding prisoners several months after the end of the war is a gross violation of international humanitarian law. It is inadmissible when the Azerbaijani side makes such an issue a subject of speculation, making it a matter of political nature. The detainees and relatives of the missing people presented a number of facts about atrocities committed against Armenian civilians and servicemen in captivity.
The preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of Artsakh in the territories under ther Azerbaijani occupation was also discussed. The Azerbaijanis disseminated videos and showed how brutally they destroy and desecrate the Artsakh churches.
All these are facts that show Baku’s goal to erase everything that is Armenian, to present the Armenian heritage as non-Armenian; they present it as Albanian or Udi. Representatives of the Artsakh non-governmental organizations also spoke about the Armenophobia propagated at the state level in Azerbaijan. Our opponent does not hide the plan to commit one more genocide.
Baku is doing everything possible to prevent the PACE rapporteurs on Nagorno-Karabakh from visiting the conflict zone. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe has not visited so far, which is considered an unacceptable fact for the Armenian side. They spoke about the need to exert international pressure on Azerbaijan, emphasizing that the Council of Europe, whose main task is the protection of human rights, firstly should deal with this issue.
In order to protect the rights of the people of Artsakh affected by the war, first of all, we must stand by them; discuss their problems in order to present them more clearly to the international community, in order to find appropriate solutions.
