Author: Garik Boshkezenian

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Armenia and Azerbaijan to prevent the incitement of ‘racial hatred’, as rulings were delivered in two opposing cases submitted by the respective countries.  The court declined the two countries’ specific requests and did not order the release of prisoners of war or the handover of landmine maps by Armenia.

The 7 December ICJ rulings often differed by only a few words. In both cases the Hague-based court ordered that Azerbaijan and Armenia ‘take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination’ — in Azerbaijan’s case ‘including by its officials and public institutions’, and in Armenia’s case ‘including by organisations and private persons on its territory’ — against Armenians and Azerbaijanis, respectively. 

The status of sites of Armenian cultural heritage in Azerbaijan was also covered by the court’s ruling, which ordered Azerbaijan to protect such places from ‘vandalism and desecration’ and ‘punish’ perpetrators.

The court also called on both countries to ‘refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve’.

The ICJ did not rule according to the specific requests made by Armenia and Azerbaijan. While it ordered Azerbaijan to ‘protect from violence and bodily harm’ all Armenian prisoners of war, and to ‘ensure their security and equality before the law’, it stopped short of ordering their release.

‘Armenia has not placed before the Court evidence indicating that these persons continue to be detained by reason of their national or ethnic origin’, the ruling reads.

At the same time, the court also did not issue any order to Armenia prohibiting the use of landmines or necessitating that it hand over landmine maps to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s legal team has argued that Armenia had used landmines as ‘a longstanding campaign of ethnic cleansing’. 

The court ruled that Azerbaijan did not provide evidence that proved that Armenia’s use of landmines has  ‘the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing’ of the rights of Azerbaijani ethnicity or nationality. 

Government officials in both countries declared that the rulings vindicated their respective positions. 

Following the publication of the Court’s decisions, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which they said that Azerbaijan is ‘committed to its obligations under international conventions’ and that it ‘will continue to demand that Armenia be held accountable for violations of international law’. 

The Armenian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, stated that ‘Armenia will consistently pursue Azerbaijan’s compliance with the Court’s orders, and will inform the Court of any violation’.

https://oc-media.org/icj-orders-armenia-and-azerbaijan-to-prevent-racial-hatred-but-declines-specific-requests/

President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Friday brokered trilateral talks between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Sochi on the anniversary of the signing of ceasefire and ending hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on November 9, 2020. The talks, according to the Russian government’s press statement, entailed the progress in implementing the earlier agreements between the two warring sides to establish peace and strengthen stability. The Russian leader also mediated the negotiations for the restoration and development of bilateral trade, economic, and transport links in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. After the crucial meeting, President Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev, and Nikol Pashinyan issued an official statement about the outcome of the trilateral talks. 

“We reaffirmed our agreements on the ceasefire and restoring normal life later in January. A lot has been accomplished during this time. Unfortunately, not every issue have been settled yet," said Putin. 

Putin expressed regrets about the tragic military conflict that unleashed at the volatile border, as he lamented the casualties, adding that Russia would ensure that such incidents are avoided in the future. President Putin promised to return over 53,000 war-displaced civilians from the Nagorno-Karabakh back to their permanent place of residence. Furthermore, Putin assured that no large-scale hostilities will take place between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as he will dispatch a monitoring group to work collaboratively with a contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Russia and Turkey operate a joint centre in the Nagorno-Karabakh region that was opened to observe a ceasefire after last year’s flare-up of hostilities. The centre was officially established in November 2020 in the Agdam region of Azerbaijan with 60 servicemen each from Moscow and Ankara. Russia also created a trilateral commission at the level of deputy prime ministers of the governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moscow. 

“It is not easy, but, nevertheless, this work is at an advanced stage, and there is reason to believe that we will soon be able to not only confirm the work of the corresponding group on unblocking transport links, but also make the appropriate decisions that everyone needs,” said Russian President Putin.

The revival of the conflict-ravaged region is at the center of the goal of the Russian efforts, Putin stressed, so that both the warring sides can engage in economic activity once again. Since Russia’s mediatory efforts, no serious incidents or deliberate provocations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have been witnessed, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev told the conference in Moscow. The situation has remained stable in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. 

Tensions over the contended South Caucasus piece of land have worsened over the past several years with Armenia and Azerbaijan blaming each other over who instigates and flares the regional conflict.  While both the Transcaucasian countries have held 'substantive' talks brokered by Putin, reports of fresh clashes emerged just hours after a ceasefire came into force. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia had signed an agreement to end the military conflict, and  Russia's defense ministry flew 1,960 Russian peacekeepers from an airbase at Ulyanovsk to be deployed on the front line to guard the Lachin corridor.  However, as early as last week, troops on both sides clashed violently on the Nagorno-Karabakh border resulting in 15 military casualties on the Armenian side and two from Azerbaijan.