The office of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender, Arman Tatoyan, has published an ad hoc public report, stating that Azerbaijani authorities have carried out crimes against humanity with the armed attacks against Artsakh and Armenia during COVID-19, Armenpress reported.

The report discusses the “issue of launching a wide-scale aggressive war against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia by Azerbaijan during the COVID-19 pandemic, in opposition to a call for global ceasefire by the UN Secretary-General and the demand of the UN Security Council for a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations. It discusses the Azerbaijani state policy to make a human-made disaster during the pandemic to accelerate the rapid spread of the deadly virus, to achieve the eventual collapse of the health care system, causing increased deaths, other serious injuries and great sufferings to the population.”

“As part of a widespread and systematic attack, affecting not only the entire Armenian population, but also its own population, Azerbaijani armed forces intentionally accelerated the rapid spread of the deadly virus, instigated the collapse of the health care system, thus causing increased great sufferings,” said the report.

The Human Rights Defender’s report said that from March 1 to September 26, 49,400 Covid cases were reported in Armenia, adding that during the war, from September 27 to November 9, the number of reported Covid cases reached to 59,287. The report also delineates that during the 44-day war, 658 people died from Covid in Armenia, compared to 951 during the seven-month period between March 1 to September 26.

“These facts once again prove the claims of the Ombudsman that the Azerbaijani authorities should be held accountable for the war crimes as impunity leads to new, more severe crimes. The report will be submitted to the respective international organizations and the state authorities of Armenia,” the Human Rights Defender’s office said.