TODAY.AZ / Politics

2020 Second Karabakh War – logical outcome of UN's long-term silence on Armenian atrocities

14 January 2023 [21:07] - TODAY.AZ

By Trend

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the UN Yashar Aliyev addressed the Security Council during discussions on "Advancing the rule of law to maintain international peace and security", Trend reports.

While delivering a speech, the Azerbaijani diplomat noted that the UN was established to prevent wars and human suffering by complying with the international law of its members.

"As one well-known scholar said, the UN Charter is a constitution that defines and restricts the UN's activity, is a multilateral treaty, with fixed rights and obligations of member states, and is the basis for the set up of this organization. Even though these functions are universal and binding, they can sometimes be disregarded, which results in infringing upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, a further armed conflict escalation, intolerance based on national identity, and terrorist and separatist threats," he said.

Aliyev noted that upon joining the UN in May 1992, Azerbaijan had already faced armed aggression from Armenia for several years now, based on fictional ethnic nationalism, falsified historical narratives, and baseless territorial claims.

Despite its commitment to support the UN Charter principles, including the principle of pacific settlement of disputes, Armenia occupied a large part of sovereign Azerbaijan for almost 30 years. The effects of the aggression are shocking: tens of thousands of people died, an ethnic-cleansing policy was carried out against over 700,000 Azerbaijanis, hundreds of cities, towns, and villages were destroyed, huge damage was caused to the cultural and religious heritage of Azerbaijan, and the environment.

Armenia ignored the requirements established in resolutions 822, 853, 874, and 884, unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council in 1993, and the OSCE mediation didn't promote the settlement of the conflict through negotiations. The lack of an adequate response from the relevant international institutions, double standards, and discrimination in respect of generally recognized obligations, paved the way for Armenia to continue its position.

The resumption of battles in the 2020 fall was the logical outcome of the UN's long-term silence on Armenian atrocities. Armenia's direct attacks on Azerbaijani settlements resulted in numerous civilian injuries and severe damage to civilian infrastructure. Acting exclusively on its sovereign territory, Azerbaijan has taken decisive measures to protect its people and liberate the occupied territories, in full compliance with the UN Charter and international law.

Aliyev noted that following the second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan primarily pays attention to the recovery of liberated lands, to the safe return of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homeland, and to ensure a high standard of their living. In this regard, the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions have been created by the Presidential Decree of July 7, 2021. Large-scale reconstruction work is currently underway in liberated districts.

To ensure responsibility for violations of international law, Azerbaijan filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, several individuals who committed war crimes were prosecuted and punished. In the meantime, Azerbaijan initiated the normalization process of interstate relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries within internationally recognized borders.

The Azerbaijani diplomat underscored that Armenia's bias is an integral part of Yerevan's long-term policy, conducted against the backdrop of many years of gross violations of international law. It is paradoxical that Armenia, which committed aggression against Azerbaijan, carried out mass ethnic cleansing during the first Karabakh War, and committed other crimes against humanity now refer to the UN Charter and International Law. However, it would be naive to believe that Armenia has supposedly realized the need to observe principles of civilized behavior, and abandoned the deeply rooted racial hatred and superiority.

Aliyev stressed that Armenia should observe its international obligations, completely withdraw its armed forces and illegal armed formations from Azerbaijan's territory, put an end to territorial claims and illegal activities, stop landmine terrorism, clarify the fate of thousands of missing Azerbaijanis, compensate caused damage to Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people, as well as hold direct negotiations in order to find diplomatic solutions on interstate relations as soon as possible.

"Support for bilateral and fruitful talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan is more important for the entire international community than ever. The chance to establish sustainable peace should not be missed," he stressed.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/230577.html

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