5 November 2024 Brussels: In the run up to COP29 to take place in Baku later this month, 52 Members of the European Parliament (MEP) address three main demands to the Government of Azerbaijan and the EU executive leadership, concerning the Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh as well as the Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Armenia. The Members of the European Parliament who co-signed, are from the main political groups, such as EPP, S&D, Renew, ECR, Greens/EFA, the Left as well as non-attached MEPs.
In the statement published today, the EU parliamentarians elaborate: “In the run-up to Conference of the Parties – COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan in November 2024, we would like to emphasize that besides being an impactful and significant conference on climate, it also embodies commitment to principles of justice and human dignity. Hence, it is of paramount importance for the host country, in this case Azerbaijan, to showcase commitment to these principles too.”
The Members of the European Parliament state, “In line with the relevant resolutions and reports of the European Parliament, adopted since May 2021, we call on the Azerbaijani Government to
- immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and captives in Baku, including the military-political leadership of Nagorno Karabakh;
- ensure that the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno Karabakh stays intact, including the monasteries khachkars and refrain from their albanisation as well as history revisionism;
- refrain from threats and any aggression against the Republic of Armenia, withdraw the Azerbaijani military forces from the occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia.”
Furthermore, the EU parliamentarians “call on the EU Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to heed the above-mentioned resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and act in their spirit”.
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Commenting on the statement the President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), Kaspar Karampetian said, “This call of the EU parliamentarians comes as a clear signal addressed both to the Azerbaijani and the EU leadership right before COP29. The EAFJD has been continuously sensitizing the MEPs on the issues covered in the statement, and we are grateful to them as well as to the European Parliament in general for being the voice of justice”.
“It is needless to say that the EAFJD, as a European grassroot organisations, will continue holding the EU executive accountable and working towards ensuring that it takes impactful steps in this direction,” concluded Karampetian.
Statement in the run-up to COP29 to take place in Baku Azerbaijan
In the run-up to Conference of the Parties – COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan in November 2024, we would like to emphasize that besides being an impactful and significant conference on climate, it also embodies commitment to principles of justice and human dignity. Hence, it is of paramount importance for the host country, in this case Azerbaijan, to showcase commitment to these principles too.
In line with the relevant resolutions and reports of the European Parliament, adopted since May 2021, we call on the Azerbaijani Government to
- immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and captives in Baku, including the military-political leadership of Nagorno Karabakh;
- ensure that the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno Karabakh stays intact, including the monasteries khachkars and refrain from their albanisation as well as history revisionism;
- refrain from threats and any aggression against the Republic of Armenia, withdraw the Azerbaijani military forces from the occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia.
Furthermore, we call on the EU Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to heed the above-mentioned resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and act in their spirit.
Co-signers
- GALATO ALEXANDRAKI ECR – GREECE
- NIKOLAOS ANADIOTIS NON-ATTACHED – GREECE
- SAKIS ARNAOUTOGLOU S&D – GREECE
- KONSTANTINOS ARVANITIS GUE/NGL – GREECE (Vice-Chair GUE/NGL – Member of the Bureau))
- FRANCISCO ASSIS S&D – PORTUGAL (Coordinator for S&D of Committee of Human Rights)
- WOUTER BEKE EPP – BELGIUM (Head of National Delegation – Member of the EPP Bureau – Chair of the Delegation of ASEAN)
- PERNANDO BARRENA-AZA GUE/NGL – SPAIN (Head of National Delegation – Member of the Bureau of GUE/NGL)
- FRANÇOIS-XAVIER BELLAMY EPP – FRANCE (Vice-Chair EPP – Member of the EPP Bureau)
- LAURENT CASTILLO EPP – France (Chair Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries
- CHRISTOPHE CLERGEAU S&D – FRANCE (Vice-Chair of S&D – Member of the Bureau)
- CLARA DOBREV S&D – HUNGARY (Head of National Delegation – Vice-Chair Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly
- NIKOLAS FARANTOURIS GUE/NGL – GREECE
- CLAIRE FITA S&D – FRANCE (Vice-Chair Delegation to the Pacific-EU Parliamentary Assembly)
- LOUKAS FOURLAS EPP – CYPRUS (President of the Friendship Group with Armenia – Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee – Member of the EPP Bureau)
- EMMANOUIL FRAGKOS ECR – GREECE (head of National Delegation – Member of the Bureau of ECR – Vice- Chair Subcommittee on Public Health)
- GEADIS GEADI ECR – CYPRUS (Head of National Delegation – Member of the Bureau of ECR)
- JEAN-MARC GERMAIN S&D – FRANCE (Coordinator of S&D Budget Committee)
- RAPHAEL GLUKSMANN S&D – FRANCE (Head of National delegation)
- MARKETA GREGOROVA GREENS/EFA – CZECHIA (Vice-Chair Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly)
- CHRISTOPHE GOMARD EPP – FRANCE (Vice-Chair of Subcommittee Security and Defense)
- DIRK GOTINK EPP – NETHERLANDS (Vice-Chair Delegation relations with Afghanistan)
- MICHALIS HADJIPANTELA EPP – CYPRUS
- EERO HEINALUOMA S&D – FINLAND (Head of National Delegation- Treasurer of S&D – Member of the Bureau)
- CÉLINE IMART EPP – FRANCE
- PIERRE JOUVET S&D – FRANCE
- FRANÇOIS KALFON S&D – FRANCE
- ASSITA KANKO ECR – BELGIUM (Vice-Chair ECR – member of the Bureau – Coordinator of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs)
- FERNAND KARTHEISER ECR – LUXEMBOURG (Head of National Delegation – Member of the Bureau ECR)
- ELENA KOUNTOURA GUE/NGL – GREECE (Vice-Chair of Committee on Transport and Tourism)
- ANDREY KOVATCHEV EPP – BULGARIA (Head of National Delegation – Questor – Member of the Parliament’s Bureau)
- AURORE LALUCQ S&D – France (Chair Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs)
- MURIELLE LAURENT S&D – France
- MIRIAM LEXMANN EPP – SLOVAKIA (Head of National Delegation – Questor – Member of the Parliament’s Bureau)
- NATHALIE LOISEAU RENEW – FRANCE (Coordinator of the Sub-Committee of Security and Defense – Vice-Chair of the Delegation EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee)
- YANNIS MANIATIS S&D – GREECE (Head of National Delegation – Vice-Chair of S&D – Member of the Bureau)
- COSTAS MAVRIDES S&D – CYPRUS (Head of National Delegation – Member of the Bureau)
- NORA MEBAREK S&D – FRANCE (Vice-Chair of Committee on Regional Development)
- VANGELIS MEIMARAKIS EPP – GREECE
- NIKOS PAPANDREOU S&D – GREECE
- NIKOS PAPPAS GUE/NGL – GREECE
- THOMAS PELLERIN-CARLIN S&D – France
- EMMA RAFFOWICZ S&D – FRANCE (Vice-Chair of Committee on Culture and Education)
- CLOÉ RIDEL S&D – FRANCE
- BERT-JAN RUISSEN ECR – THE NETHERLANDS (ECR Group Chief Whip – Member of the Bureau – Coordinator of the Committee on Fisheries)
- MASSIMILIANO SALINI EPP – ITALY (Vice-Chair of EPP – Member of the Bureau)
- ERIC SARGIACOMO S&D – FRANCE (Vice-Chair of Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development)
- MARTIN SONNEBORN NON-ATTACHED – GERMANY
- MARIE TOUSSAINT GREENS/EFA – FRANCE (Head of National Delegation -Vice-President GREENS/EFA – Member of the Bureau)
- SEBASTIAN TYNKKYNEN ECR – FINLAND (Head of National Delegation – Member of the ECR Bureau)
- YVAN VEROUGSTRAETE RENEW – BELGIUM (Head of National Delegation – Member of the RENEW Bureau, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy)
- CHARLIE WEIMERS ECR – SWEDEN (Head of National Delegation – Vice Chair of ECR – Member of the Bureau – Vice Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs)
- MARIA ZACHARIA N/A – GREECE