World Humanitarian Day is a reminder that we must act to alleviate human suffering, regardless of origin, religion or other circumstances. This is stated in a statement issued by Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day.
He noted in particular:
Every year, World Humanitarian Day brings together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises.
As a result of the war that began on September 27, 2020 against the Republic of Artsakh, an unprecedented situation of humanitarian crisis has broken out in the country – thousands of victims and invalids, including civilians and children, about 40,000 internally displaced persons, prisoners of war who are still illegally held in Azerbaijan in unknown conditions. Behind these statistics are individuals, families whose lives are undermined and whose fate is completely unclear.
The Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020 stopped the active phase of hostilities, but led to new serious security violations and gross human rights violations by Azerbaijan, such as taking civilians hostage and threatening them, killing civilians (still unpunished), deliberate violations of civil infrastructure, causing serious humanitarian consequences, intimidation of Artsakh people by various methods and systematic violations of the cease-fire. All this was accompanied by the hatred towards Armenians expressed by the President of Azerbaijan in his public speeches and state-level speeches.
Due to the unrecognized status of the Republic of Artsakh, the UN and other international organizations have no presence in Artsakh to monitor ceasefire violations, record violations of international law or provide humanitarian assistance. Although Artsakh has received some support from various individuals and organizations, a number of appeals to key international humanitarian organizations unfortunately still hang in the air.
It is imperative that the international community realize the severity of humanitarian problems in post-war Artsakh and force Azerbaijan to abandon its aggressive behavior and policy of ethnic cleansing of Karabakh Armenians, which leads to further complication of the already dire humanitarian situation.
On this day, I thank all those who have supported the people of Artsakh in overcoming the existing humanitarian problems, and I would like to once again call on all international humanitarian organizations to mobilize their will and resources to alleviate the suffering of the people of Karabakh. The UN and other organizations with a humanitarian mandate have a great role and responsibility in raising international awareness and taking action on these issues.
