The Artsakh Parliament building in Stepanakert
After convening an emergency session late Thursday night, the Artsakh Parliament issued an announcement urging the United Nations to take effective measures “to enforce peace in Artsakh” and to compel Azerbaijan to end the now seven-month-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor.
The statement also called the UN to “restore faith in human rights,” by applying its own Charter to the current escalating situation in Artsakh.
Below is the translated text of the statement issued by the Artsakh parliament’s press service.
On September 27, 2020, with the direct participation of Turkey and the involvement of foreign armed terrorists, grossly violating the principle of non-use of force and the threat of force, Azerbaijan unleashed a 44-day military aggression, which was stopped with the mediation of the Russian Federation, with the joint statement of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on November 9, 2020. In accordance with the procedure established by the tripartite statement, peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation have been deployed in the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) for a period of 5 years, with the possibility of further extension, if one of the Parties does not announce the intention to stop the application of this provision 6 months before the end of the period.
With the tripartite statement, the Russian Federation, in fact, implemented the provisions of peaceful settlement of disputes defined in Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, in particular, Part 1 of Article 33, moving the settlement of the dispute between the parties to the conflict to the field of “mediation, agreement and negotiations”, which failed as a result of the continuous and large-scale aggression displayed by Azerbaijan, creating a regional crisis with the involvement of direct and indirect parties to the conflict. On the other hand, the subjectivity of the Republic of Artsakh and the will of the people of Artsakh continue to be ignored. The people of Artsakh, in accordance with the popular norms and principles of international law, as well as the legislation of the USSR, exercised their right to self-determination in 1991, declaring the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) on September 2, and holding a referendum on Independence on December 10.
The Russian peacekeeping contingent stationed in Artsakh does not have an international mandate – a circumstance that gives a green light to Azerbaijan’s violations of the Tripartite Declaration and the norms and principles of international law, and the continued threat to the security and stability of the region. The actual proofs of the above are the gross violations of the cease-fire regime and norms of international law established by the Tripartite Statement by Azerbaijan, the records of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the UN International Court of Justice, and the PACE resolution. In particular, as a result of the blocking of the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor, the siege of Artsakh that has been going on for more than seven months, the disruption of infrastructure, the continuous intimidation of the civilian population, the propaganda of national hatred, the deliberate destruction of Armenian churches, historical, cultural, religious and other monuments and the many recorded cases of vandalism. The politics of ethnic cleansing with the mentioned and other methods are clear manifestations of crimes against humanity.
Based on all that, as well as the determination of the United Nations to save future generations from the scourge of war, ethnic cleansing and genocide, and the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, the highest representative body of the people of Artsakh, the National Assembly, calls on:
The Republic of Armenia:
to immediately take measures to endow the peacekeeping mission located in the Republic of Artsakh with an international mandate, applying the established procedure to the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, proposing to take appropriate steps in the direction of maintaining peace and security in the region.
The international community, represented by the permanent members of the UN Security Council:
to adhere to the goals and principles set forth in Chapter 1 of the UN Charter and guided by the procedure set forth in Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, adopt an imperative decision (resolution) by taking and establishing effective measures to enforce peace in Artsakh.
The Republic of Artsakh is committed to save its people from the scourge of war, to re-establish faith in fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the equal rights of large and small nations, therefore it expects from these structures to create conditions that will ensure respect for the obligations arising from the norms of international law, promote the provision of a dignified life for the people of Artsakh in conditions of freedom.