During its 25th plenary session on Thursday, the National Council of Slovakia unanimously passed a resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) submitted by Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marián Kéry, (SMER-SD/Social Democrats). The document was adopted with 120 votes in favor, the Armenian Embassy to Austria reported.
The resolution strongly condemns the killings of civilians, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, monuments and cultural and religious sites, expresses concerns over the military involvement of third countries in the conflict and their destabilizing role and emphasizes that the process of achieving a lasting peace and determining the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be carried out under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The document also expresses deep concerns that prisoners of war (POWs) and other detainees, including civilians, have not been released in accordance with the provisions of international humanitarian law, particularly the 1949 Geneva Convention.
The resolution urges the government of Slovakia, the European Union and international organizations to ensure a proper investigation of all allegations of war crimes, including the use of cluster munitions, the immediate release of all POWs and civilians, as well as the unrestricted entry of international humanitarian organizations into Artsakh.
This is the second resolution on the recent 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh which has been adopted by the Slovak National Council. The first resolution on Artsakh was adopted by the National Council on October 22, 2020.