Hatred is especially dangerous, when it is proliferated towards a neighbor, and even more dangerous, when there is an unresolved conflict in need of a robust peace process, Armenian MP Sona Ghazaryan said, addressing the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“This is a case in the context of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and systematic Armenophobia in Azerbaijan,” she said.

“You know too well the case of the Trophy Park in Baku that glorifies war and depicts Armenian soldiers in captivity, degrading human dignity and dehumanizing Armenians. This was a case of state-sponsored hatred and racism. The mannequins of Armenian soldiers were taken down only after Armenia filed a case with the International Court of Justice based on the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” the MP noted.

She reminded about the interim decision of the International Court of Justice, calling on Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to prevent incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by officials and public institutions targeted at Armenian nationals or people of Armenian descent.

“I believe that the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly should be very vocal and direct, calling state-level hatred, speech, racism and xenophobia by name. We should all together combat this, because hatred is a poison, it’s very hard to collect once it spills over,” Sona Ghazaryan concluded.