The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has addressed the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in regard to the Armenophobic speeches by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. This is what the Human Rights Defender wrote on his Facebook page, adding the following:

“On May 20 and 28, 2021, the President of Azerbaijan gave speeches that attest to policy of Armenophobia and hostility.

The excerpts from those speeches have been set aside and forwarded to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group through official correspondence. They have also been sent to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, the United Nations and Council of Europe Commissioners for Human Rights and other international bodies.

This time, it refers to the speeches given at:

1. the discussion on “South Caucasus: Opportunities for Regional Development and Cooperation” hosted by the Nizami Gyanjevi International Center (May 20, 2021);

2. the meeting with local self-government bodies in Aghdam (May 28, 2021).

In the specified parts of the speeches, the President of Azerbaijan speaks in the language of force and threat, uses words and phrases to offend the dignity of all Armenians in Armenia, Artsakh and around the world and spark tension in Armenian society. These words are terrorizing. In those speeches, Aliyev highlights the advantages of the Azerbaijani people over the Armenian people only on the ground of ethnic belonging.

The aim of this monitoring conducted by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia is to show the genocidal policy of the Azerbaijani authorities, which underlies the gross violations of human rights, including cruelties, and poses a risk for peace and security.”