Armenian Human Rights Defender’s proposal to create a demilitarized zone between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been included in the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Monday.
The Ombudsman’s concept is being actively disseminated among the international community, and was presented to the PACE Special Rapporteur along with the relevant facts during the latter’s visit to Armenia.
In the resolution the Assembly therefore calls on both sides to negotiate on a process of delimitation and demarcation of the border and examine the possibility of creating a demilitarized zone with the presence of a peacekeeping or military monitoring force.
“Over the past year, my various meetings and discussions with the representatives of various international organizations had the aim of proving that the only effective way to prevent the criminal acts of the Azerbaijani servicemen is to establish a (demilitarized) security zone. The deployment of armed Azerbaijani servicemen, including the placement of signs and flags in the immediate vicinity of Armenian villages and on the roads between the communities has no legal grounds, they should be removed and a (demilitarized) security zone should be created,” Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan says.
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According to him, the delimitation and demarcation of the border with Azerbaijan, without the creation of a security zone will not only fail to ensure the rights of the citizens of Armenia, specifically those of the border residents, but will also cause further violations of rights and lead to tensions.