BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15
Trend:
Armenia continues to violate all principles of international law related to the protection and management of water resources in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and at the transboundary level, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources said in their joint statement, Trend reports on September 15.
The hostile attitude towards nature and environmental terror in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts of Azerbaijan currently occupied by Armenia, pose a serious threat to the environment of the entire region, the statement reads.
According to the statement, as a result of the heavy pollution of transboundary rivers by Armenia, there is a great threat to the survival of wildlife in these rivers. At the same time, the use of reservoirs in the occupied territories has become impossible and has become a potential source of danger for the population living in the surrounding areas due to lack of maintenance.
“Armenia's non-participation in the UN Convention on the "Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes" makes it impossible to resolve transboundary water issues within the framework of international norms,” the statement reads. “Resolution No. 2085, adopted in 2016 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on deliberate deprivation of the residents of Azerbaijan's border regions of water, reflecting the demand of immediate withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the mentioned region and ensuring investigation of independent engineers and hydrologists on the spot, has not been implemented.”
“On the contrary, Armenia has expanded its activities in this direction. In recent days, the blockage of the Indjasu River, which runs through the village of Dovekh in the Tavush region of Armenia and flows into the reservoir in the village of Kemerli in the Gazakh region, has deprived the local population of water,” the statement adds.
As the statement stresses, this situation, which is a serious violation of the principles of international law and human rights, also poses serious challenges to the implementation of internationally accepted regulations, including the obligations under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“The latest open provocative activities of the Armenian leadership show that the country in addition to grossly violating international law and fundamental human rights continues to be a serious threat to peace and security in the region. We call on the international community to strongly condemn the illegal activity of Armenia and take urgent measures to prevent such unlawful actions of the aggressor state,” the joint statement concludes.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.