Azerbaijan urges interim measures against Armenia

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan has called for introducing urgent interim measures against  Armenia, local news sources have reported.

Azerbaijan's representative Elnur Mammadov said that Azerbaijan considers it necessary to introduce urgent interim measures against Armenia. He said that Armenia continues the campaign of ethnic cleansing and incitement to violence against Azerbaijan, the reports added.

At the beginning of his speech to the judges, he cited a number of examples from history, including the Khojaly tragedy, when a large number of peaceful Azerbaijanis were killed by the Armenian armed formations as a result of an attack. He stated that now Armenia is continuing a decades-long campaign of ethnic cleansing.

“Temporary interim measures are necessary to protect against this direct threat,” he noted.

It should be noted that the UN International Court of Justice holds hearings on the claim of Azerbaijan against Armenia for violation of the international convention “on the abolition of all forms of racial discrimination” on October 18-19.

Azerbaijan earlier filed a lawsuit against Armenia in the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, for violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The lawsuit states that Armenia has committed and continues to commit a series of discriminatory actions against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their national or ethnic origin. The lawsuit underlines that Armenia continues its policy of ethnic cleansing and that it incites hatred and ethnic violence against Azerbaijanis by engaging in hate speech and disseminating racist propaganda, including at the highest levels of its government.

Referring to the period of hostilities that erupted in autumn 2020, Azerbaijan in a lawsuit contends that Armenia once again targeted Azerbaijanis for brutal treatment motivated by ethnic hatred. Azerbaijan further contends that Armenia’s policies and conduct of ethnic cleansing, cultural erasure and fomenting of hatred against Azerbaijanis systematically infringe the rights and freedoms of Azerbaijanis, as well as Azerbaijan’s own rights, in violation of CERD.

The purpose of the request is "to compel Armenia to abide by its international obligations under CERD and protect Azerbaijanis from the irreparable harm caused by Armenia’s ongoing conduct", pending the court’s determination of the case on the merits.