Ombudswoman calls int'l community to strictly react to Armenian provocations

By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has called on the international community to immediately and strictly react to Armenia's provocations on the universally recognized territories of Azerbaijan.

In a statement addressed to the world community, the human rights commissioner noted that provocations are preventing the large-scale reconstruction efforts being carried out in the liberated territories and repatriation of the former internally displaced persons to their native lands, creating serious obstacles to the just and sustainable peace in the region by grossly violating fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The statement says that the Armenian armed forces launched another large-scale provocation in the late hours of September 12 in the directions of Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border, deliberately and seriously breaching the universally-recognized principles and norms of international law, fundamental human rights, and provisions of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020, signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders.

The ombudswoman noted that the military provocation inflicted casualties on servicemen, damaged military and civil infrastructure, and violated the rights to life, safety, and health of civilians and military personnel.

“We strongly condemn the mining by the sabotage groups from the Armenian armed forces of various territories of Azerbaijan in various directions, especially in the places where large-scale restoration and construction works are carried out, as well as on the supply routes using the hilly terrain and valley gaps of the area in the darkness,” the statement stressed.

Further, she brought to the attention that during 1991-2022 years, 3,190 Azerbaijani citizens, including 355 children and 38 women became victims of mine explosions. From November 2020 until September 2022, 242 persons were hit by mines, 40 of whom died and 202 others got serious bodily injuries.

Aliyeva emphasized that the fact that the mines, discovered as a result of demining processes that have been carried out in our liberated territories recently, were confirmed to be produced in Armenia in 2021, the lack of interest of Armenia in opening communications and traffic routes, as well as the lack of support to peace dialogue show that this country is uninterested in peace processes.

“We consider such military provocations, which are committed with the intention of ethnic hatred and enmity against Azerbaijan, intentionally and purposefully causing serious damage to people’s lives and health, at odds with norms of international humanitarian law, as a gross violation of fundamental rights and freedoms. By committing such violence, Armenia tries to slow down the extensive reconstruction works carried out in the liberated areas, so, delays the repatriation process of former internally displaced persons to their historical lands,” she noted.