Council of Europe's rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic addresses PACE on Jan. 23

The Council of Europe’s rights commissioner on Tuesday called on Yerevan and Baku to focus on human rights during the ongoing peace negotiations.

At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatovic, Europe’s rights commissioner, emphasized the need for “determined and collective efforts to regain lost ground and advance human rights,” in that context specifying issues related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

She recalled her fact-finding mission to Armenia and Artsakh from October 16 to 23 and emphasized that human rights violations were also recorded during the long Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

She called on the parties to establish strong human rights safeguards for all persons affected by the conflict.

“Just a few days ago, I published observations following a visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the first time in decades that a human rights mission of this kind was able to visit the Karabakh region. I stressed that effective human rights protection of all persons affected by the conflict over the Karabakh region is key to the success of the peace process,” Mijatovic said during her presentation at PACE.

In his presentation at the assembly, Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides drew the participant’s attention to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, saying, “we have become witnesses to yet another humanitarian crisis, affecting tens of thousands of people.”

“This acute humanitarian crisis has turned into a mass exodus of the Armenian population from the region. We need to take all necessary measures to provide immediate humanitarian relief and also address the long-term situation of the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, the increased and immediate needs of Armenia, stemming from the events of last September, should be properly and adequately addressed,” the Cypriot president said.