PACE MAKES DECISION ON CONTINUATION OF MONITORING OVER SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20. ARMINFO. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe regrets that, more than a decade after the armed hostilities
started, the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region remains
unsolved. Hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced and
live in miserable conditions. Considerable parts of the territory
of Azerbaijan are still occupied by Armenian forces, and separatist
forces are still in control of the Nagorno- Karabakh region, it is
said in the PACE draft resolution prepared by PACE Rapporteur for
Nagorny Karabakh David Atkinson.

According to the document, the Assembly expresses its concern that
the military action, and the widespread ethnic hostilities which
preceded it, led to large-scale ethnic expulsion and the creation
of mono-ethnic areas which resemble the terrible concept of ethnic
cleansing. The Assembly reaffirms that independence and secession of a
regional territory from a state may only be achieved through a lawful
and peaceful process based on democratic support by the inhabitants
of such territory, and not in the wake of an armed conflict leading
to ethnic expulsion and the de facto annexation of such territory
to another state. The Assembly reiterates that the occupation of
foreign territory by a member state constitutes a grave violation of
that state’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe, and
reaffirms the right of displaced persons from the area of conflict
to return to their homes safely and with dignity.

Therefore, the Assembly urges both governments to refrain from using
armed forces against each other as well as from propagating military
action. The Assembly calls on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to take
immediate steps to conduct speedy negotiations for the conclusion
of a political agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict,
the implementation of which will eliminate major consequences of
the conflict for all parties and permit the convening of the Minsk
Conference. The Assembly calls on the government of Azerbaijan
to establish contacts with the political representatives of
both communities from the Nagorno-Karabakh region regarding the
future status of the region. The Assembly condemns any expression
of hatred portrayed in the media of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The
Assembly calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to foster reconciliation,
confidence-building and mutual understanding among their peoples
through schools, universities and the media. The Assembly resolves
to continue monitoring on a regular basis the peaceful resolution of
this conflict and decides to revert to considering this issue at its
first part-session in 2006.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refers to its
Resolution :. (2005) on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk
Conference and recommends that the Committee of Ministers: i. urge the
parties concerned to comply with the United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), in
particular by refraining from any armed hostilities and by withdrawing
military forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan; report
to the Assembly on the efforts undertaken by member states for the
peaceful settlement of the conflict in accordance with the Resolutions
of the United Nations Security Council including whether member states
refrain from the supply of any weapons and munitions which might lead
to an intensification of the conflict or the continued occupation
of territory in violation of Resolution 853 (1993) of the United
Nations Security Council; allocate resources for specific training
programmes for teachers and journalists from both countries aimed at
better mutual understanding, tolerance and reconciliation.