Dear colleagues,
Although our main focus is Afghanistan, and it requires urgent actions to prevent the region from new confrontations and to reach long-lasting solutions, the security challenges within the South Caucasus region are just as vital and require well balanced decisions based on international law and principals.
As an organization with a wide range of security-related responsibilities, I would like to drive your attention on new realities around Armenia and Artsakh Republic.
Almost one year ago Armenia and Artsakh faced the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan with the direct participation of Turkey and Turkish-backed foreign terrorists. Violating international human rights and laws the Azerbaijani army committed horrendous crimes, using chemical weapons, targeting civilian infrastructures, as well as vandalizing and destroying the Armenian cultural and religious heritage on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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The November 9 statement signed one year ago stopped the aggression, but security issues still remain outstanding. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not resolved, what’s more, for almost 5 months, Azerbaijani troops have been breaking the state boarders and keeping Armenia’s territories occupied.
Unfortunately, the OSCE has remained silent or has been unable to condemn the actions of Azerbaijan and Turkey against the people of Artsakh. We have also warned the OSCE and its participating States that if we fail to address this issue properly and decisively, we will be having more and more cases of the use of foreign terrorist fighters and jihadists as a means for projecting power and promoting political goals in the OSCE area. And today the issue of Afghanistan is a case in point.
Finally, reaffirming the well-known principles of the Helsinki Final Act, I would like to stress that the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination cannot be considered resolved through aggression. The NK conflict awaits its just resolution under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs which must include the determination of the status of Artsakh on the basis of the realization by the people of Artsakh of their inalienable right to self determination; the guaranteed safe and dignified return of the displaced population to their homes; and the preservation of the region’s historical and religious heritage.
Dear colleagues, we can prevent current and upcoming crimes and violations only standing against to nowadays crimes and violations.
Lilit Galstyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun) Supreme Council