Respect Our People's Rights: Araik Harutyunyan Sends Letter to UN Secretary-General

The President of the "Free Motherland" party, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Shushi Technological University, and former Prime Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Araik Harutyunyan, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

We present the letter in full below:

“We welcome the commencement of the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which started on December 2 in Madrid, Spain, and we express our complete support for the UN’s concerns and efforts against global warming.

As the former Prime Minister of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, I can affirm that as a result of renewable energy production projects initiated since 2008, we have managed to fully provide our small republic with renewable energy over the past ten years. Today, I proudly state that in addition to being self-sufficient in terms of renewable energy, we have become an electricity-exporting state. This is noteworthy, especially considering that we have not benefited from any international financial aid while being in a military conflict with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Neither the conflict with Azerbaijan nor the international status of Artsakh can deprive us of our right to be a full part of the world and to contribute to addressing global challenges, as global problems do not recognize borders or statuses.

In your call to combat climate change and global warming, you set a benchmark for the reduction of greenhouse gases by up to 45 percent over the next ten years. We join your call and declare that we will make every effort to reduce those gas emissions by up to 70 percent in the Republic of Artsakh. All the prerequisites for making the Republic of Artsakh a predominantly green state have been created, and I am convinced that the day is not far off when my beloved homeland will become one of the most exemplary states in the world.

Respect our people's rights, especially as they are ready to be among the first to address the issues facing our planet.”