Ensuring Azerbaijan’s accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and its statutory obligations

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15693 | 26 January 2023

Signatories:

Mr Ruben RUBINYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Gergely ARATÓ, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Mireille CLAPOT, France, ALDE ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Armen GEVORGYAN , Armenia, EC/DA ; Ms Sona GHAZARYAN , Armenia, ALDE ; Mr Joël GIRAUD, France, ALDE ; Ms Hripsime GRIGORYAN, Armenia, SOC ; Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Croatia, SOC ; Ms Cécile HEMMEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Ms Inka HOPSU, Finland, SOC ; Ms Arusyak JULHAKYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Finland, SOC ; Mr Jacques LE NAY, France, ALDE ; Mr Hayk MAMIJANYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Armen RUSTAMYAN, Armenia, SOC ; Mr Axel SCHÄFER, Germany, SOC ; Ms Liliana TANGUY, France, ALDE ; Mr Robert TROY, Ireland, ALDE ; Mr Vladimir VARDANYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

On 12 December 2022, Azerbaijan’s Government dispatched its proxies to close the Lachin Corridor, shutting Nagorno-Karabakh’s Road of Life. In parallel, gas and electricity are being periodically cut by Azerbaijan. This blockade constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental human rights of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people, creating a dire humanitarian crisis. Azerbaijan grossly violates paragraph 6 of 9 November 2020 Trilateral Statement, which stipulates that Azerbaijan shall guarantee safe movement along the Lachin Corridor.

There has been a large number of calls and statements from international community. The European Court of Human Rights indicated interim measures to Azerbaijan. This blockade is another episode of Azerbaijan’s state policy of ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, an objective publicly acknowledged by Azerbaijan’s leadership.

In 2020, Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale war against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh with grave humanitarian and human rights consequences: towns and villages were ethnically cleansed, while dozens of Armenian prisoners of war are still illegally kept in Baku. Moreover, in September 2022, Azerbaijan launched a military aggression against Armenia, occupying large swathes of Armenia’s sovereign territory, accompanied by gross violations of humanitarian law, including wilful killings, torture of prisoners of war, and degrading treatment of bodies.

With the deepening deterioration of human rights and aggressive foreign policy, Azerbaijan crossed the line of eligibility for membership in Council of Europe. There should be consequences for any country that violates its statutory and conventional obligations and its membership commitments.

The Parliamentary Assembly should address the issue of the humanitarian crisis resulted from the Lachin Corridor blockade, which eminently causes existential threat to the Nagorno-Karabakh people. The Assembly should call on Azerbaijan to comply with its obligations to unblock the Lachin Corridor. The Assembly’s unequivocal political and legal assessment of Azerbaijan's actions would hold it accountable for the continuous violations of human rights and humanitarian law.